Over the past Christmas season, I had the urge to reread the Harry Potter books. I read all 7 of them through the early 2000s and did “selective” readings as I was going through my Chinese Medical studies, to get my mind of medical themes. In rereading these books, I am currently on book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I am reminded of the power of 3s. In the Harry Potter series, even though the story centers around Harry Potter, it is the story of 3 friends: Harry, Ron and Hermione.
In Chinese philosophy and medicine, numerology is a very important principle. In Chapter 42 of the Dao De Jing (also spelled Tao Te Ching), said to be written by Lao Zi, it is stated (translation by Stephen Mitchell):
“The Tao gives birth to One
One gives birth to Two
Two gives birth to Three
Three gives birth to all things.”
One, written 一 in Chinese character is defined as unity, a symbol of Heaven, the Dao. Two is 2 ones coming together, 二 ,the duality, a symbol of Earth, the Yin-Yang. Three, written 三 , is The Three Powers or The Great Triad; Heaven above, Earth below and Human in between. Three is a number of movement, of creation and of growth.
The number Three is not just special to Chinese culture but to many cultures around the world. Take the Christian faith and its Holy Trinity: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Or in Goddess-based Pagan spirituality: Maiden, Mother, Crone. In Hinduism, the Trimurti are Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva. The 3 Jewels of Buddhism are Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. The stories we tell our children also have 3s, like The Three Little Pigs or Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Even well-known adult stories like The Three Musketeers, or the not so literary-rich black-and-white TV comedy The Three Stooges. The number Three is also prominent in math, science and art. Somehow or another this number has a resonance for us humans and life on Earth.
In my past 3 blogposts, I have been introducing 3 herbs that we commonly use in Chinese Medicine. These are Ginger, Licorice and Red Date. They are the 3 most frequently prescribed herbs in Chinese Medicine and are often prescribed together. The reason for this is their shared ability to assist other herbs in performing the formula’s tasks and to harmonize the herbal collective into a team, so that the body can better absorb the formula’s healing properties. Each of these 3 herbs shares the function of neutralizing the unwanted effects of any overly potent, hot or cold and uncompromising herb. Many of the classical formulae include this trio. This includes Gui Zhi Tang (Cinnamon Twig Decoction), Ba Zhen Tang (Eight Treasure Decoction) and Gui Pi Tang (Restore the Spleen Decoction). It is for this exact reason that these 3 herbs, as one of my professors Dr. Jiao, used to call them the 3 Amigos – the Three Friends, are in so many classical and modern formulae. Ginger, Licorice and Red Date are all food-grade herbs too; this means that they can be used over a longer period of time and our bodies respond well to them; as I mentioned in my last post, they are like whisperers to our bodies, appealing to our inner environment while bringing the healing to its proper place.
Just as Harry, Ron and Hermione are best of friends, where each can depend on the others for support, so are Ginger, Licorice and Red Date to us. Not only do they reverberate the resonance of 3, but also evoke a harmonious rhythm within our bodies.
Image Ginger Root by gate74 from Pixabay
Image Red Date by SW Yang on Pixabay
Image Licorice Root by gate74 on Pixabay
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