Abraham, Isaac, Jacob – The three Patriarchs in the both Jewish and Christian tradition, founders of the Israelite nation of Judaism.

Father, Son, Holy Spirit – The Holy Trinity. The central mystery of the Christian Church, whether Catholic or Protestant. Also sometimes called the godhead. Most Christians do not consider these entities separate “gods,” or even aspects of one god, but rather believe that the God of the Bible consists of these three persons – who are distinct, but share the same “nature, substance, and being” and are co-eternal.

Jesus, Mary, Joseph – In Christian tradition, the Holy Family: Jesus the Divine Savior, Mary the Virgin Mother of Jesus, and St. Joseph the husband of Mary and “legal father” of Jesus. Joseph is sometimes venerated as St. Joseph the Worker and the patron saint of workers, since the Bible describes him as a carpenter. The exclamation “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!” is a popular expression of mild frustration, often used in order to avoid technical “cursing.”

Maiden, Mother, Crone – The three faces of the “triple goddess” common to many ancient cultures and religions. They can personify three stages of life for an individual (especially a woman) or three aspects of some larger, more abstract process or entity. Roughly, they represent beginning, middle, and end. The Maiden (Virgin) is also innocence and purity; the Mother – fertility, abundance, and nurturing; and the Crone experience, wisdom, mystery – and death (the ultimate mystery).

Spinner, Weaver, Cutter – The Fates, Moirai or Furies in Greek and Roman mythology. They are one well-known manifestation of the triple goddess – Clotho or Nona the spinner, Lachesis or Decima the weaver, and Atropos or Morta the cutter. An individual’s lifeline is spun by Clotho, woven into the tapestry of life by Lachesis, and the thread finally cut by Atropos.

Creator, Preserver, Destroyer – Many religions include gods that represent the same qualities or functions as the Greek Fates. In the Hindu trimurti (Sanskrit for “three forms”), Brahma is the creator of life, Vishnu is the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer. In some denominations of Hinduism, there is a parallel trio of goddesses, the tridevi, whose names are Saraswati, Lakshmi, and Parvati.

Id, Ego, Superego – In Freudian psychoanalytic theory, the three parts of the unconscious mind. Freud envisioned the id as expressing primal needs and desires, the super-ego (or conscience) as formed by the external demands of society, and the ego (or self) as constantly negotiating between the demands of id and super-ego.

Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis – Three elements of the dialectical method taught in both philosophy and rhetoric. This mode of reasoning is most often associated with Georg Hegel, but other philosophers have used and developed it as well. A beginning proposition (thesis) is posed against its opposite (antithesis), but rather than cancelling each other out, the two positions are reconciled so as to create a new proposition (synthesis). Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels adopted and extended these elements in their work developing a Marxist theory of history.

Being, Nothingness, Becoming – In this example of dialectical method, Hegel uses the opposing concepts of being and nothingness to demonstrate that of categories of thought are shifting and unstable. Being and nothingness, says Hegel, are understood as both opposed and as invoking one another. Being and nothingness in a sense define each other through their opposition. The human mind seeks to resolve the contradiction/opposition of these terms by creating a third category – “becoming,” which includes both nothing and being.

Pathos, Logos, Ethos – Sometimes known as Aristotle’s modes of persuasion, these three rhetorical appeals are found in most arguments and are still taught to students of rhetoric and composition today. Pathos is the appeal to feeling, logos to reason, and ethos to morality.

Philia, Eros, Agape – In Christian theology, these are types of love designated by different Greek words which are found in the Bible. Philia is regard or friendship, usually between equals, and is used to describe loyalty to friends (“brotherly love”), family, and community. Eros is intimate or sexual love. Though initially felt for an individual, with contemplation eros can become appreciation for the beauty within an individual – or of beauty itself, according to Plato. Agape is a transcendent love for humanity and creation. Sometimes called charity, in Christian theology it describes the unconditional love of God for humankind or the love of humanity for God. St. Thomas Aquinas defines it as “willing good to another.”

Beauty, Truth, Goodness – Called the transcendentals by many Western philosophers, these properties correspond to three fields of human interest and their ideals – the arts (beauty), science (truth), and religion (goodness). The philosophical disciplines which study them are aesthetics, logic, and ethics.