Laura from Saxonburg, PA, asked:
Hi Julie,
I was always told that deaths come in 3s. The saying never gave a timeline, but it was generally understood that the deaths would be in close proximity to one another.
Now obviously, many deaths happen every second across the globe but is there anything to the idea that you will be surrounded by 3 deaths of a personal relationship within a short period of time?
The reason behind my question is, I just lived this phenomenon today. Two of the deaths were pets that belonged to others but I was very close to them. One was a beagle from a litter we had and the other dog was my brother’s.
Lastly, an uncle who had a recent elective surgery, never recovered, and was only extubated last evening, passed. He took his last breaths this morning.
As a veterinary professional, I deal with death and euthanasia daily, but it was all very close to me today. Perhaps I’m suffering from compassion fatigue because my heart took a big hit today.
There is so much grief surrounding me and I’d love to know if I actually get a reprieve for a little while, “with that rule of 3’s”.
Hi Laura,
So sorry to hear of your uncle’s and favorite pets’ passing.
I too have always heard deaths come in 3s yet thankfully, I don’t recall having personally experienced it.
After doing a bit of research, I learned the “deaths come in 3’s” theory, (also known as tripartite, triple and threefold deaths) is considered to be an “old wives’ tale” originating in, among others, Greek, Celtic and Germanic mythology.
My favorite narrative on this topic is about Merlin the Magician in the legend of King Arthur. It seems Merlin is associated with what’s known as a threefold death.
The story goes, Merlin was asked to prophesize about how a boy would die and said he will fall from a rock, will hang and drown (threefold death). Fast forward a few years and the boy, as a young man, while hunting, fell from a rock, got caught in a tree, and while hanging head down, drown in a lake. Now that’s a threefold death!
To answer your question, yes, I believe you’ll get a reprieve from others close to you dying in the near future. After all, as you said, the “death comes in 3s” concept never mentions a timeline!