nurgle.stelio.net

[ Models | Lore | Sources | Inspiration ]

Symbolism of Three Circles

Nurgle's symbol consists of three circles arranged in a triangular layout. There are a huge number of variations on this root theme, embellishing and decorating the core structure in endless ways, but the key symbol endures.

Some relationships between Nurgle's symbol and sacred number:

• There are seven ways in which you can pick elements from a group of three. For example with a group {A, B, C} the seven possibilities are: A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, ABC.
• The binary representation of seven is 111, the sum of whose digits is three.

The symbol is not unique to Nurgle; it's such a basic concept (which can be conveyed as simply as three dots) that it appears in a wide range of other roles as well. This page documents some of these for your edification and inspiration.

Mathematical Roses

r=sin(3θ/5)

r=sin(3θ/7)

r=sin(3θ/11)

r=sin(3θ/13)

r=sin(3θ/17)

These roses are formed by plotting the given equations in polar coordinates. They are centred at the origin and tangential to the unit circle. Any equations of the form r=sin(3θ/n) will give a similar shape, where n is an odd number that is coprime with 3. As n increases, the number of layers of ring increases.

Similar Characters

Sumerian: kur	Brahmi: i	Hebrew: segol	Tifinagh: yak	Tamil: akh	therefore
because	asterism	Japanese maps: historic site	Japanese maps: tea plantation	N'Ko: gbakurunen	Toki Pona: kulupu

Some of the special characters from unusual scripts may not render correctly on your browser if you do not have appropriate support for them. They are all reproduced as images above though, so that they are correctly visually represented.

• 𒆳 is the cuneiform sign for the Sumerian word kur, meaning land or mountain and used as a name for the underworld and the first dragon.
• 𑀇 is the equivalent of the letter "i" in the Brahmi script.
• ֶ is a segol, a Hebrew niqqud vowel with an "e" sound. It is placed underneath letters to modify them.
• ⴾ is the letter yak, with a "k" sound, from the traditional Tuareg Tifinagh abjad.
• There are many letters in Perso-Arabic scripts that can have triangles of three dots in their letter forms, including pe, vāʼ, ve, ṯāʾ, che, gaf, že, shin, ng, nga, nya, ṭe, and ce.
• ஃ is a special grammatical letter in Tamil script called akh, used nowadays to represent foreign sounds.
• ∴ is the therefore sign and ∵ the because sign, used in logic and mathematics as well as shorthand.
  • The ∴ symbol is also used in Masonic traditions to indicate an abbreviation.
  • The same symbol is used in meteorology to represent moderate rain.
• ⁂ is an asterism, used in typography to break paragraphs of text within a chapter. It can also be used to denote omitted information.
  • The same symbol is used in meteorology to represent moderate snowfall.
• J. R. R. Tolkien's Sarati, Valmaric, and Tengwar scripts (used for Elven languages) use three dots above or below letters for some of the diacritic marks that represent vowels.
• ⛬ is a Japanese map symbol for a historical landmark. ∴ is similarly used for a tea plantation.
  • A similar symbol, typically with thicker dots, is used in cartography in general to represent ruins or ancient sites.
• ߷, the gbakurunen, used in the N'Ko script to break paragraphs of text. It is derived from the shape of three stones used to hold a cooking-pot over a fire.
• The symbol for kulupu in the sitelen pona writing system for Toki Pona. This means group, or community, or organisation.

Heraldic Shields

Assevillers	Barca	Bisante	Blasimon
de Boulogne	Le Bourget-du-Lac	Bourgoing	Bousseviller
Chalon-sur-Saône	Courléon	Courtenay	Freytag
Goñi	d'Ivory	Koekelare	Landenberg
Leménil-Mitry	Liancourt-Fosse	Mâcon	Montrodat
Neipperg	Oberlauda	Oeschgen	Riches
Riein	Uzel	de Vassy	Vemmenhög

Some examples of coats of arms with three roundels (circles) or annulets (rings) in a triangle are shown above. There are others beyond these, and the symbol is used as a detail in the shields of many more.

The symbolism of heraldry can often be obscure. One notable characteristic is that bezants (yellow circles) represent gold coins and thus are indicative of wealth.

Alchemical Symbols

aqua vitae

silver

oil

caput mortuum

horse dung

• Aqua vitae (Latin for water of life) is a concentrated aqueous solution of ethanol. Essentially, distilled alcoholic spirits.
• Silver (associated with the moon) is a precious metal with many symbolic roles thoughout various mythologies, such as being able to harm monsters. It also represents greed and degradation of consciousness. This symbol is the one used by Isaac Newton.
• Oil has many purposes going back to ancient times, including as a spiritually purifying agent used for annointing.
• Caput mortuum (Latin for death's head) is the waste product left over from a chemical process and represents decline and decay. Its alchemical symbol is a stylised skull.
• Horse dung was used in the alchemical process of digestion, in which an alchemical concoction was gently heated over weeks by being encased in the manure.

Demonic Sigils Appearing in the sigil of the Great Earl and President of Hell, Morax, as depicted in the Ars Goetia, one of the books of the 17th century demonological grimoire The Lesser Key of Solomon. Morax is sourced from the earlier Pseudomonarchia Daemonum that was an appendix to the 16th century De praestigiis daemonum, which was a point-by-point rebuttal to the infamous Malleus Maleficarum.

Cultural References

pawnbroker

Banner of Peace

Austria: blindness

Sweden: deafness

Splinter's mon

• The European sign for a pawnbroker is three golden spheres arranged in a downwards-pointing triangle. These represent gold coins, and are linked to heraldic bezants.
• The Banner of Peace (bearing the Pax Cultura icon) dates to 1935 and signifies the protection of cultural artefacts during both peacetime and military conflict.
• The Austrian symbol for visual impairment and the Swedish symbol for hearing impairment both feature three black disks in a triangular arrangement on a yellow warning background.
• There is widespread use of three dots in a triangle as a tattoo, but the meaning varies greatly. It is sometimes used to ward off the evil eye, or to represent the holy trinity, or as shorthand for "mi vida loca" (often amongst gang members), or just as a decorative symbol.
• The character Splinter in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is often depicted with a mon on his robes in the form of three circles. Although in some depictions (notably the 2012 animated series) he is seen with a different (or no) mon.
• Three dots are a recurring motif in the second series of the science-fiction television show Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
• Some people believe that three red marks forming a triangle on your skin is a mark of alien abduction. Examples: [2008], [2009], [2016]
• Akkie Mars Code is a paper in which the author extracts an overload of meanings from the "three tiny dots" symbol, and veers into nutter territory.

Chemical Molecules

Pnictogen Hydrides (pyramidal)
ammonia (NH3)		phosphine (PH3)		arsine (AsH3)		stibine (SbH3)		bismuthine (BiH3)
Pnictogen Trihalides (pyramidal)
	nitrogen trifluoride (NF3)		nitrogen trichloride (NCl3)		nitrogen tribromide (NBr3)		nitrogen triiodide (NI3)
	phosphorus trifluoride (PF3)		phosphorus trichloride (PCl3)		phosphorus tribromide (PBr3)		phosphorus triiodide (PI3)
	arsenic trifluoride (AsF3)		arsenic trichloride (AsCl3)		arsenic tribromide (AsBr3)		arsenic triiodide (AsI3)
	antimony trifluoride (SbF3)		antimony trichloride (SbCl3)		antimony tribromide (SbBr3)		antimony triiodide (SbI3)
Borane and Boron Trihalides (planar)
borane (BH3)		boron trifluoride (BF3)		boron trichloride (BCl3)		boron tribromide (BBr3)		boron triiodide (BI3)
Chalcogen Trioxides (planar)
		sulphur trioxide (SO3)		selenium trioxide (SeO3)		tellurium trioxide (TeO3)
Aerogen Trioxides (pyramidal)
			xenon trioxide (XeO3)		radon trioxide (RnO3)

There are several covalently-bonded inorganic molecules with a trigonal structure that is either pyramidal or planar, as listed above. Others (such as PoO₃) may be possible, mostly through artificial means. In the table above, click on the image to be taken to the chemical's entry at the PubChem Project (where it exists), and click on the text to be taken to the relevant Wikipedia page.

Of the few homonuclear triatomic molecules, only triatomic hydrogen (H₃) has an equilateral structure, and that is only theoretical (the molecule decomposes in under a millionth of a second).

Additionally, there are several ions with a trigonal structure, including: trihydrogen (H₃⁺), carbonate (CO₃^2-), nitrate (NO₃^-), chlorate (ClO₃^-), and sulphite (SO₃^2-).

Beyond boron, heavier elements in the icosagen family form polymers or lattices in their hydride and trihalide compounds, and so are not in the scope of this list. Some other molecules with a central element bonded to three orbiting elements (like ClF₃) are excluded because they are t-shaped, and thus do not exhibit order-3 rotational symmetry.

For a discussion on the possible real chemical compound underlying a fictional chemical weapon from the Warhammer 40,000 background, see: TP-III (Trimethyline-Phthaloxyic-Tertius).

Related Symbols

triple spiral	triskelion	trefoil	trefoil knot	triquetra	Borromean rings
Hidari Gomon	ionising radiation	fallout shelter	biohazard	recycling	chemical weapon

There are also many trifoliate plants (having leaves divided into three leaflets), including the entirety of the Trifolieae tribe.

dedicated to the Lord of Rot