It is always connected to time: past, present, future. In ancient Rome the Fates almost always appear as three goddesses. Since ancient times femininity has been seen in three aspects: the virgin (Artemis), the woman (Hera), and the old woman (Hekate). Faust calls out three times until Mephisto appears. Peter denies Christ three times. Doing the same thing three times has magical effects— it represents the connection to reality.
According to Freud, refers to male genitalia. Jung considers three a mystical number; the three servants of the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute; the three witches in Macbeth; the three wishes that are free. All this relates back, as do many god-trinities, to the original trinity: father-mother-son.
It is the male child, since the number three, according to Western tradition, is uneven and, as a prime number, a genuine male number. In this tradition, the male child is seen first in terms of male fertility.
According to Jung, the number three is connected to the diabolical.
The den of craving in alchemy is depicted by a three-headed snake.
The three-headed snake in mythology is always Satan. Also, according to Jung, three belongs to the young; and in ancient China and the Greek patriarchy, it points to masculine attributes and their function.
On the other hand, Three as a feminine number is part of the tradition in the area of the Mediterranean, through the veneration of Mary in Catholicism and the rediscovery of the matriarchy. Also, Goethe’s play Faust, Part II, ends with a prayer to the great goddess appearing threefold: “Virgin, Mother, Queen.”