thrice-male and thrice-great

[sophiaserpentia]

The term "thrice-male" occurs in at least three of the Sethian Nag Hammadi texts, see the search here for details.

Similarly, the term "thrice-great" is a translation of Trismegistus, an honorific used to relate to Hermes of the Hermetic tradition.

Does anyone know the significance of these terms? I mean, why thrice and not four times, or twelve times, or something else? Or are they just ancient ways of saying "double-plus good"?

Edit. It seems important for some reason to mention that this is on my mind because I woke this morning from dreaming about meeting someone who was, uh, graphically "thrice-male." I don't remember much more than that (and, gulp, might not say anything even if if I did).

Comments

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

This seems like a thought worth poking at. I wonder if there is something innate, or some kind of instinct, that draws us to repeating things threefold?

[aerope.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure. I suspect it's a cultural thing, albeit extremely well spread and ingrained in the West. I read a story at some point about some Native Americans and settlers having problems doing construction because the settlers would yell, "One...two...three!" and haul, and the Native Americans would just stand there because for them, four was the number with symbolic significance (something to do with the geometry of squares, four directions, etc.)