The trinity symbol is an image of three identical or similar elements located at an equal distance from each other and forming either a triangular figure or a circle. As a rule, these signs contain a deep spiritual meaning, and often miraculous mystical properties are attributed to them. They also mean the unity of three qualities, phenomena, states, hypostases into an integral essence. The article presents a description and photo of the trinity symbol that makes up a triangle.
Ancient origins
Some signs appeared long before our era, and it is now almost impossible to accurately determine their original meaning. The most ancient symbol of the trinity was the image of a triangle, which can be observed in the form of cuts on the bone and drawings on the first ceramics of the Stone Age. Over time, circles, dots, spirals, and other shapes appeared that made up a circle or a triangle. Not always such drawings had any meaning, most often they were just an ornament. Sometimes such images marked places of worship and burials.
With the development of the rich mythology and organized religion of the ancient Egyptians, Sumerians, Greeks, Celts, Iranians and other peoples, some signs became sacred. They symbolized the triads of gods or hypostases of one deity, his three qualities and manifestations, they denoted the higher, human, underground world, the process from birth to death, as well as other ideas about the universe.
During the formation of ancient philosophy, astronomy, geometry, the signs of triads acquired additional meaning. The whole, consisting of three parts, meant human qualities, states, actions, natural phenomena, elements, celestial objects, temporal relationships, art forms, mathematical functions, and other concepts. There are visual options for intersecting elements of triangular shapes and their combination with other geometric shapes.
Middle Ages
Early Christians depicted the image of God graphically with a triangle, images of which can be seen in Roman catacombs and gravestones. After the First Ecumenical Council (325), at which the formula of religion was approved, the church adapted some of the ancient signs as Christian symbols. Until the tenth century, the image of the three hypostases (faces) of the one God, namely the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit in human images, was not accepted. Because suchfigures like a triquetra, a stylized shamrock, a triskelion, a simple triangle formed from various elements, as well as other signs began to mark the Holy Trinity. Some ancient symbol of the trinity was turned into a decorative element of temple architecture and a richly illustrated bible. Similar signs appeared on frescoes and religious paintings, as decorations and protective amulets on knightly shields, weapons, armor, and also on family emblems.
19th century occultism
In the middle of the century before last, interest in philosophia occulta became widespread throughout Europe and many areas of North America, becoming quite a fashionable phenomenon in the middle and upper circles of society. With the development of science and technology, developments have appeared that bring the ideas of esotericism under a scientific basis. Many theoretical works were written, many books and magazines were published on various areas of the occult. Since in the esoteric tradition one of the main principles is the subordination of all entities to the law of the trinity, the symbol of the triad in the "secret teachings" is endowed with a special, mystical significance. In the occult publications of the 19th century, such images are interpreted from the point of view of their deep meaning in esotericism, as well as the sacred role of Western and Eastern religious systems.
Triangle
Since ancient times, the figure has been associated with fire, mountain, stone, peak, reflecting the connection between the earthly and heavenly worlds. The figure turned upside down personified the ancient Great Goddess, the giver of heavenly waters. Depending on thethe position of the top, the image means the feminine or masculine, and the two combined figures symbolize creation and creative power. The inverted triangle was likened to the cup and the Holy Grail, with the top up - the heart.
As the first symbol of the trinity, the figure most often reflected the sky, the earth and between them a person or a divine, human, animal essence. The triangle also denoted the world of the dead, the living and the higher realms.
- Among the ancient Egyptians, the vertical side of the triangle was identified with a man (beginning), the horizontal side - with a woman (middle, storage), the hypotenuse - with offspring (end). In the world of the gods, these foundations of procreation were represented by the triad of Osiris, Isis and Horus. The Egyptians considered the nature of all things and the perfection of the number three contained in a triangle, the sacred ratio of sides and hypotenuse of which corresponded to the ratio 3:4:5.
- In ancient Athens, the right triangle was dedicated to the goddess of knowledge and wisdom, Athena, and also symbolized the cosmos, creation, the absolute and was considered a divine creation. Tetractys of Pythagoras, containing ten points and nine equilateral triangles, was identified with the Great Consubstantial, containing everything else.
- In Christianity, the figure symbolizes the Trinity and as a triangular halo is an attribute of God the Father. The so-called shield of the Holy Trinity in the form of an inverted triangle is often part of the stained glass windows of Gothic cathedrals. During the Renaissance, a triangle with the divine all-seeing Eye was depicted as a signhigher holding, and later became part of the Masonic symbolism. The eye of God, depicted in a triangle, is also a symbol of Jehovah in Judaism and is present in the iconic art of ancient Egypt.
There are other figures that form three equal sides. The period and places of their origin are different, but in Christianity the meaning of the trinity symbol for these signs remains the same - they all identify the Holy Trinity.
Christian variants of the triangle
In the religious symbols of the Middle Ages, many varieties of similar figures appeared:
- The triangle in combination with the cross symbolized Jesus' death on the cross for human sins, his resurrection by God the Father, the repentance of Christians and the condescension of the Holy Spirit.
- Three fish that make up the triangle meant: Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior. They also marked the Trinity.
- Triangle containing the Greek letters Omicron, Omega and Nu. These letters signify the words εγω ειΜι ο ων spoken by God to Moses from the burning bush (Exodus 3:14), which are translated as "I am who I am." Literally, the phrase was taken from the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament.
- Three figurines of running rabbits create two triangles, inner and outer. The symbol was often present as a relief element of architecture and wooden details. The sign also signifies the Triune God. Such an image is found in the wall paintings of ancient Egypt and, perhaps, thensymbolized a man, a woman, offspring.
Trikvetra
It is believed that this beautiful balanced symbol originally appeared in Celtic culture and denoted the three positions of the sun in the sky: sunrise, zenith, sunset. The current name of the figure comes from two Latin words, tri and quetrus, meaning "triangular". The symbol has another name - the triple Celtic knot. The sign was quite common among the northern European population, and can often be seen on Celtic crosses. For these peoples, the symbol was associated with the god Manannan, for the Scandinavians - with Thor.
Later the tenth century, the sign as an ornamental element began to appear in the culture of the B altic Slavs - the Varangians. From them, the image came to the lands of Russia, where the triquetra was extremely rare and, most likely, remained just a beautiful pattern. If we talk about the meaning of the symbol of the trinity among the Slavs, then in Russia such images were practically not used. Common forms in Russian ancient Slavic ornament and sacred symbolism are a cross, a square, a circle (Kolovrat). The symbol of the Divine Trinity appeared after the baptism of Russia.
In medieval Europe, the triquetra became a Christian symbol of the Trinity, as well as a popular element of architecture and artistic decoration. In the early ninth century, the magnificently illustrated Book of Kells, created by Irish monks, the triquera motif is repeated many times. The figure can be single, double, maybematch with outer and inner circle and triangle.
Banner of Peace
The symbol of three circles or dots has a very wide range of interpretations, in many ways similar to an equilateral triangle. The most famous version of the sign was the Banner of Peace, the design of which was developed by the Russian artist, philosopher and writer Roerich Nikolai Konstantinovich for the International Pact for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in 1935. The description and purpose of using the symbol in a formal contract is as follows:
A distinctive flag (a red circle with three circles in the middle on a white background) may be used to mark the monuments and institutions referred to in Article I, in accordance with the model attached to this treaty.
(Treaty on the Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historical Monuments (Roerich Pact)).
About how widespread the sign is in the religious culture of different peoples and what inspired the artist for the ideological and visual content of the Banner of Peace, Roerich himself speaks in his letters and notes published in the two-volume collection “Diary Sheets”:
What could be older and more authentic than the Byzantine concept, going back centuries to the first generalized Christianity and so beautifully realized in Rublev's icon "The Holy Life-Giving Trinity" of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra. It is this symbol - the symbol of ancient Christianity, illuminated for us also by the name of St. Sergius, our sign prompted me, the meaning of whichand expressed in the attached picture, retaining all the elements and their location, according to the Rublev icon.”
The Temple of Heaven also has a sign of the Banner. The tamga of Tamerlane consists of the same sign. The sign of the three treasures is widely known in many countries of the East. On the chest of a Tibetan woman, one can see a large fibula, which is a sign. We see the same brooches both in the Caucasian finds and in Scandinavia. The Strasbourg Madonna has this sign, just like the saints of Spain. On the icons of St. Sergius and the Wonderworker Nicholas the same sign. On the chest of Christ, in the famous painting by Memling, the sign is imprinted in the form of a large breast fibula. When we sort through the sacred images of Byzantium, Rome, the same sign connects the Sacred Images around the world.
Trifol
The name of the figure means shamrock and comes from the Latin trifolium. This symbol of the trinity of the Lord originated around the tenth century. It reached its popularity in the 13th and 14th centuries, when it was often used in architecture and stained glass. This is a graphical shape consisting of an outline of three intersecting rings. The term is often applied to other triple symbols. Curiously, the logo of the famous Adidas concern also contains a stylized shamrock.
Valknut
The three interconnected triangles are named after the Old Norse words valr (killed warriors) and knut (knot). The sign is present on many archaeological sites of the ancient Germanic peoples. The compound noun valknut appeared in the modern era, and it is not known howthe symbol was named at the time of its historical depiction.
Scientists, giving a description of the symbol of the trinity of the Valknut, find it difficult to interpret it accurately. Some associate the sign with the god Odin. Academician Hilda Ellis Davidson, an authoritative specialist in Germanic and Celtic paganism, believed that the figure meant Odin surrounded by his attributes, two wolves or ravens. These animals, like the Valknut, were often depicted on cremation urns found in Anglo-Saxon cemeteries in East Anglia. Since the symbol is present next to the image of Odin on gravestones and offerings, most experts believe that the symbol corresponds to religious practices associated with death.
The image is used in the modern folk culture of neo-paganism. Like other ancient symbols, in our time, the Valknut sign takes on new interpretations. It is used by various political and commercial groups, and the image is occasionally found in modern folk culture. Since the sign comes from the traditions of Germanic paganism, it is used as a symbol of their heritage by some "white" nationalist groups. Despite this, the Valknut has not been classified as an objectionable image by the German government.
