The Number of the Counting

As we all know, I have more than a passing interest in the trident, that triple-pronged, magical weapon of Shiva and Poseidon. And I wonder, why THREE prongs? They say three times the charm, and it made me think of the number 3 and time being somehow connected?

I see that we live in a 3D universe, the first dimension being a point, the second a plane, and the third a cubic volume. So it seems to me that Shiva's "weapon" is aimed at these three dimensions, or "citadels" as it were.

Antahkarana

The fourth dimension is time, and perhaps this element is represented by the shaft of the trident, wielded by "will" or intention.

In All Good Things, the final episode of STNG, Captain Jean Luc Picard is shifting back and forth in time between three time periods, and in each time he causes a tachyon beam to be emitted from the Enterprise, aimed at the same point in space. This causes an anomaly that destroys the world, but if you look at it from a magical perspective, this is exactly the magician's goal - to "destroy" his current world and "create" a new one.

So, I think about my intent, or will, or shaft, being aimed at the same point in space, at three different times. It's Saturnian judo.



The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.

...And Saint Attila raised the hand grenade up on high, saying, "O LORD, bless this Thy hand grenade that with it Thou mayest blow Thine enemies to tiny bits, in Thy mercy."
And the LORD did grin and the people did feast upon the lambs and sloths and carp and anchovies and orangutans and breakfast cereals, and fruit bats and large chu... [At this point, the friar is urged by Brother Maynard to "skip a bit, brother"]...
And the LORD spake, saying, "First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin, then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less.
Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three.
Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three.
Five is right out.
Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it."