The Legend of Zelda/WMG/Triforce

This page is for WMG Discussion of any theories relating specifically to the Triforce as it appears throughout the Zelda Franchise.

If you have other theories relating to the franchise, try here: The Legend of Zelda

The Triforce is a creation of Man
On that controversial note, look VERY closely at the circle surrounding the dais in front of the entrance to the Shadow Temple in Ocarina of Time. Is it just me, or does that look suspiciously like an alchemical transmutation circle? In other words, a circle used for practicing alchemy ? Specifically, the transmutation of human souls... To make a mystical substance that grants the user anything his heart desires... Hyrule's blood-stained history of greed and hatred... In search of the Triforce... —!!! OH. MY. GOD. The Triforce isn't just some object... IT'S A PHILOSOPHER'S STONE. AND THAT DOORWAY IS THE DOOR OF TRUTH!!! And during the creation of Hyrule, the Sheikah of Ancient Kakariko were— oh, GOD. The Door of Truth opens to the Sacred Realm, which contains ALL alchemical knowledge, and that knowledge would be used to create a Philosopher's Stone. But, in order to open the door AND in order to create the Philosopher's Stone, people had to be sacrificed. SO THE HYLIAN SAGES USED THE SHEIKAH AS TRIBUTE.
 * Religious skeptics often use "God is a creation of Man" as the basis of their train of thought. God can be easily interpreted as simply an idea, a justification for certain actions. Who is to say that the legend of the Goddesses is not just that: a legend? What if, should religious skeptics be believed, the idea of these Goddesses was a story invented to cover up something greater? What if there never was a Great Realm, or what if this so-called realm is something altogether different that what the stories of old tell us? What about the mystical Triforce?
 * So, the Triforce isn't an object that grants the user whatever his heart desires. It's KNOWLEDGE. Knowledge to CREATE an object that grants the user whatever his heart desires!!!
 * And the story of the Goddesses? A FABRICATED RELIGION.
 * Maybe that's why Bongo Bongo had his torture chamber set up. He wasn't torturing random people. He was exacting revenge on the Hylian armies for sacrificing his people in search of the Golden Power. And the Hylian army had him executed and sealed away TO COVER UP THE ENTIRE OPERATION.

The Triforce also represents the tripartite Freudian psyche.
The Triforce of Power is the Id, having no goal but satisfaction of desires. The Triforce of Courage is the Superego, standing for cultural conventions in direct opposition to Power's desire. The Triforce of Wisdom is the Ego, standing for reason and caution, and is the mediator between the id and the superego.

The Triforce also represents Plato's Tripartite Soul
In a similar vein to the above WMG, Plato speaks of three aspects of the human soul that must be balanced within you. The Rational Soul is the mind, the Spirited Soul is the will, and the Appetitive Soul is the emotion. Zelda and Link illustrate the mind and the will put to a virtuous use, respectively creating the ideals of Wisdom and Courage. Ganondorf shows what happens when you give into your base desires. A virtuous person will balance that emotion with wisdom and courage, creating the third virtue of Moderation. Failing to do so creates a lust for Power, and that is the attribute that Ganondorf exhibits when he becomes the Dark Beast Ganon.

The Triforce also represents the three Ancients from Eternal Darkness. Tripartite.
The Triforce of Power, gift of Din who has "strong arms" and symbol of all things hot, bloody, and red; is the artifact of Chattur'gha, literally a huge dick. Wisdom, gift of Nayru, who gave the land "law" and whose spell is a shield, is the artifact of Ulyaoth. And Courage, gift of Farore, whose Oracle is the keeper of secrets and whose chosen has serious multiple personalities (being that he's our Heroic Mime Player Character), is the artifact of Xel'lotath.

The Triforce stands for a love triangle.
Zelda's PRIDE Force It makes sense

The Goddesses always intended for Ganondorf to wield the Triforce of Power
Why? They needed a balancing factor. Just ten years before Ganondorf's ascension, Hyrule was in the middle of a brutal war and was tearing itself to pieces. The Goddesses weren't too happy about that, so they decided to give the Hyruleans a common, permanent enemy to fight rather than fighting each other. Enter Ganondorf. This is also the reason for the Hero and the Princess; in addition to a common enemy, they also needed a couple of heroes that they could all rally behind, potentially further strengthening the bond between races. As for support? Well, take a look for yourselves.


 * The very existence of the Hero. The Hero was allegedly born to combat the King of Evil. But think about that for a minute; it was Link's actions that gave Ganondorf his power in the first place! If the Goddesses had never created the Hero, the King of Evil never would have been. So there must be some other motive.
 * In the prologue of the Wind Waker, it's stated that when the people of Hyrule prayed to the Goddesses, they were answered by the Great Flood. Now why would they do that, when they could just as easily focus their will and wipe Ganondorf off the face of the earth? Simple; at that point in the timeline, he was still a necessary influence, since without him, the people of Hyrule could easily fall back into their separate warring factions.
 * In Twilight Princess, he still has the Triforce. Word of God says that Twilight Princess follows the MM timeline of Ocarina of Time, so logically, Ganondorf should never have touched the Triforce in the first place. But he still has it, because the Goddesses meant for him to have it.
 * An earlier WMG suggests that when the Hero Of Time came back from his quest, it was while Ganondorf was still in the Sacred Realm searching for the Triforce. To alter what that WMG suggests, I propose that he managed to escape from the Sacred Realm, but since Hyrule was ready for his coup this time, he was captured and executed at the Arbiter's Grounds.
 * As I understand it, TP doesn't say that Ganondorf has the actual Triforce Of Power, just the affinity of the Triforce Of Power.
 * Affinity? TP doesn't say that, either. Besides, if Link had the Triforce of Courage in TP, Ganondorf probably had to have had it, too. What better person alive was there than Ganondorf?

Also of note is that Ganondorf never seems to die. The individual Heroes and Princesses all live out their days and pass on, even if a part of their spirit stays behind, but Ganondorf is always the same entity. This is because he has to be the same person, in order to stay the same ancient evil for people to hate. "Link: "So your being bad to be good?"
 * So wait, you mean Ganondorf is analogous to the Wicked Witch of the West/Elphaba in Wicked? Does that mean that the scene at the Mirror Chamber (in TP) when he did not die, but instead killed one of the sages, is his "Defying Gravity" moment?
 * This theory could be taken even further in that Ganondorf knows his job is to be evil enough to take over the world, but not enough to win. He let Link get all of the medallions, he had several chances to just kill Zelda once he had already lured Link. He loyally follows Genre Blindness when fighting Link, and he always waits until Link has all the tools he needs to defeat him to fight him. It could also explain why he doesn't ever scour the land for some boy named Link and smoosh him before he begins his plan.
 * In a legend of Zelda Abridged series the creator touches on this topic lightly by saying that Ganon turned evil because Hyrule was so peaceful that the king was going to lay off some of the castle guards.

Ganondorf: "Yes.""


 * This also explains one of the plot holes in Twilight Princess, the kidnapping of Ordonian children. Ganondorf was afraid, since this was the first time they were going through the cycle again, that Link wouldn't show up on his own, so he went out of his way to provide Link with some heroic motivation to make sure Link wouldn't stand him up.
 * Thus, we can conclude that Ganondorf is only Necessarily Evil, and that the intense "hatred" between Link and him is just business, nothing personal. After it's all over, he, Link, and Zelda all probably sit around playing poker in the afterlife while they discuss the best way to destroy Hyrule without screwing things up too much.
 * Go-Karting with Ganondorf, anybody?
 * Nah, they play tennis.
 * Case in point...

The Triforce is a Literal Genie.
To this troper's knowledge, the whole Triforce has only been used four times. The "first" two times were in A Link To The Past, when Ganon wished to rule the world and created a crappy world he couldn't initially escape from, which was then destroyed by Link's wish. In the opening cutscene of Oracle Of Ages/Seasons Link found the Triforce by himself, but with Hyrule at peace, all he truly wanted was another adventure, so Ganon came back. The fourth time was in The Wind Waker, and I hope I don't need to explain that one because it's in the dialogue.

The Triforce of Courage does not grant any powers.
Any time that it does appear to do so is only because of the placebo effect. Link does not, in any of the games where he possesses the Triforce of Courage, display abilities beyond those in games where he doesn't have it. Excluding item derived abilities, but those are their own subject. Taken to its logical conclusion, this means....
 * I have my own theory on that. Think about it: Link is -almost- always a kid with no advanced weapons training, and yet he manages to use anything he picks up like a master and completely obliterate the Forces of Darkness SINGLEHANDEDLY.

None of the individual Triforces grant power.
The Link from a Link to the Past is one of the strongest incarnations. The Zelda from a Link to the Past demonstrated actual telepathy, one of the most overt displays of power that she ever makes. Both of them inarguable lack any kind of Triforce, as Ganon had the completed set at the time. Ganon is harder to judge, as he always seems to have between one and three of them, but in Ocarina of time he managed to curse the Deku Tree and at least take advantage of the monsters infesting Hyrule before the door to the Sacred Realm was opened.
 * This would certainly explain why Link needed to assemble the entire Triforce in "Adventure of Link" to wake up Zelda.

Ocarina Of Time-era Zelda does not actually possess the Triforce of wisdom.
Clearly, the Triforce of power grants immortality, since Ganondorf is still alive from game to game. And presumably, the Triforce of courage is what enables Link to get chomped by zombies and fight massive dragons without having a complete mental breakdown - the man just does not know fear.

So you would think the Triforce of wisdom would make Zelda, well, wiser. But she's apparently not the brightest bulb in the chandelier. First, as a child, instead of merely trying to bar Ganondorf from the sacred realm, (Smash the ocarina, anyone?) she convinces Link that they need to obtain the Triforce instead. This turns out to be a completely stupid move, eventually leading to the split in the timeline that causes Hyrule to be destroyed in Wind Waker. Then she chooses to reveal her identity in the temple of time - the one place Ganondorf is probably watching like a hawk, since Link is there so often - and gets herself instantly captured.

Since Zelda receives no apparent wisdom from the Triforce of wisdom, it's possible she's simply a fraud.

Or, alternatively:


 * Zelda didn't have the Triforce of Wisdom when she made her original plan, and she admits long after that it was foolish. Once she does get the Triforce of Wisdom, she manages to evade Ganondorf for years, gather intelligence on the locations of the Temples, maneuver Link into position for freeing each of the Sages (consider everything she does; points Link in the direction of the Hookshot which is necessary to enter the Forest Temple, directs Darunia to the Fire Temple with instructions to hold off the dragon until Link can get the weapon necessary to kill it, manages to free Ruto from the ice and send her ahead to the Water Temple to prepare the way for Link, figures out that the monster in the well has been freed and tells Link what will be needed to kill it, and advises Link on the need to utilise time travel in order to enter the Spirit Temple, all the while giving him advice on how to cope with the changes in himself and the world), and finally reveal herself to Link and telling him about her endgame to lure Ganondorf into position to be sealed in the Sacred Realm by the Sages, before granting him the Light Arrows needed to hold Ganondorf off while this is being done. The only snag in the plan comes when she reveals herself, and only then because Ganondorf anticipated that Zelda would try to contact Link at some point, and manged to penetrate whatever defenses Zelda had put up, using raw, unfathomable power (Zelda's surprise and the condition of the Temple of Time suggests that Ganondorf would not have been expected to have as much power there. The rest of the plan ended up going off without a hitch.
 * Wisdom is one of those things that comes with age. A young Zelda couldn't possibly have it because she wasn't old enough. Power is similar because it also needs age to be effective and Ganondorf was already an adult. Courage is the only one that needs no age which is why Link always had it.


 * Agree with the above, but Zelda did make a huge mistake after she aquired the TOW. As an apparant gesture of apology and goodwill, she removed Link from the timeline so he could live a "normal" life. This act doomed Hyrule to once again being overrun by Ganon and subsequently destroyed by The Great Flood.

"The Triforce of Wisdom" is a misnomer - it doesn't grant wisdom, but clairvoyance.
We are told that Zelda often has prophetic dreams, but clearly, she hasn't the faintest clue how to properly use the information she gets from them. Wisdom? No. The ability to see the future? Yes.
 * Actually this is partly right. Near the end of OoT Shiek explains that when the Triforce is broken each bearer gets the piece that coresponds with what force is strongest in their heart. Link believes courage is power. Zelda believes that wisdom is important. Ganondorf just wants to be powerful. They don't get the power because of the Triforce piece, they get the Triforce piece because they have the powers.

The three Triforce piece correspond to the original three Human races of Hyrule.
The Triforce of Power always went to the Gerudo, for obvious reasons considering they're a race of fighters, and was most likely suited for the single male every hundred years that was supposed to automatically be royalty. It gets less clear, however, when you consider the Triforce of Courage and the Triforce of Wisdom. Since Hylians were supposed to be the wise race that could hear the gods, and Sheikah guardians prized loyalty and honor above all else, one would assume that Wisdom went to Hylians and Courage went to Sheikah, but Zelda being turned into a Sheikah makes this seem unlikely. However, it only makes it seem unlikely, since Impa turned her into one, or even that she merely dressed like one, with a wig, makeup, body binding, and colored contacts. If you allow for the possibility that Link (either all of them, or just the Ocarina of Time Link) has Sheikah ancestry (for OOT Link, he could have been sent away during the possible genocide to protect the heir to the Sheikah equivalent of a throne. Pre-emptive edit to avoid naysayers: Not enough to keep the red eyes), it becomes downright likely. If you don't, it's possible that only the less courageous Sheikah survived the extermination (maybe to get rid of any candidates for the bearer of the Triforce of Courage?), and it passed to the next useful soul, or incarnated a new soul, or an old soul into a new character, that would fit its needs.
 * Perhaps flip Sheikah and Gerudo around? It takes quite a lot of courage to live (remember, Farore created life) in the unforgiving Haunted Wasteland, (hell, the Gerudo are the people of Spirit, which is another word for courage) and the sheikah were basically soldiers, and while brave, closer to Power (shadow could be interpreted as the subtle aspect of power). Hylians, being the only ones capable of understanding the gods (due to the long ears) get Wisdom. Of course, this way, the recipient of the individual pieces has nothing to do with their race, but since you're dealing with two hylians (stated outright by the new Deku Tree, as well as Link having none of the features common to sheikah) and a gerudo, it wouldn't fit anyway.
 * The Oocca are pretty much screwing this theory up. They claim to be the first race every created.
 * Keyword: Claim. Other keyword(phrase): Human races. As in, humanlike. As in the godesses' own image, at least the way they're portrayed in the opening to Wind Waker. Ooccoo might be the first race in Hyrule, but they're certainly far less humanlike than even the Gorons and Zora.

The hypothetical fourth triforce piece is Balance.
Its goddess is the goddess (or probably completely gender-neutral diety) of which Din, Nayru, and Farore were created. The goddesses are female since creation has typically been associated with females, in regards to carrying child and all. Until the three goddesses, most likely by association with the people, land, and the forests/lakes are balanced (as in "not in conflict", not "equal power"), the triforce will still be in three parts. The reason it breaks into three pieces when an unbalanced person like Ganondorf gets ahold of it is that the Balance piece is not there, so instead of being held together by beign one large piece, they are three pieces held together by a single tiny contact point between each two pieces (and magic, but it's symbolic). The last piece is not, in fact, physical, but it will appear in the center of the Triforce, sealing it into a filled triangle shape, once Hyrule/the goddesses are in balance or a truly balanced person touches th assembled Triforce and manifests the Balance piece.
 * Dammit, I was gonna say that! Also, this means each region in Termina can be assigned a Triforce piece.
 * Southern Swamp: Courage
 * Mountain Village: Power
 * Great Bay: Wisdom
 * Ikana Canyon: Balance
 * Alternatively, the "missing" Triforce piece in the centre could be interpreted more directly as "emptiness". From this, it makes a lot of sense that Ikana Canyon itself represents this emptiness, the centre triangle of the Triforce. It also explains why everything in the canyon is dead, as it actually lacks a goddess looking over it. Note that a similar observation can be made regarding the four surviving non-hylian races in Ocarina of Time (the Sheikah are dead, with just Impa remaining, and they could be considered merely a tribe rather than a race) - Kokiri are Courage, Gorons are Power, Zora are Wisdom, and then the Gerudo are Emptiness.
 * And maybe Tingle holds the non-Triforce of Emptiness.

The yellow piece on the Master Sword is the physical aspect of the Triforce of Courage.
Each Triforce piece has a physical component, it doesn't just "disappear" into Link/Zelda/Ganondorf. Zelda's may incorporate itself into the royal tiara-crown-thing, and was used as some sort of hair clip when she was  in Wind Waker (to symbolize wisdom), and the gold sigil attached to Ganondorf/Ganon's forehead in his human forms (held down by the blue thing in Ocarina and stamped directly into his head in Twilight Princess) (to emulate Zelda's piece?). It keeps evil from being able to touch the sword, and allows Link to have a better affinity with it than anyone else, including Zelda and (were he not considered evil) Ganondorf.
 * The theory is helped by the fact that the Triforce is most likely based on the three imperial treasures of the japanese emperor: The mirror of Wisdom, the sword of courage and the Jewel of Benevolence. I think it's obvious why there has to be a Triforce of Power instead of a Triforce of Benevolence, but the Jewel and the Sword certainly fit. As for the Mirror, Tetra was wearing her Triforce Shard as a necklace for the majority of The Wind Waker (It was under her scarf), so who says that this necklace wasn't reflecting, just like a mirror? Also, the Tiara is always made of shining gold or silver, both of which could reflect surroundings.

The Triforce double as the can for a Sealed Evil in A Can more terrible than Ganon.
It slowly begins to break out every time Ganon is defeated. To counter this the universe is reset, but each time the reset is weaker and weaker, causing things bleed over from alternate timelines.

The Triforce of Power actually used to be the Triforce of Benevolence.
The Triforce pretty much coresponds to the three imperial treasures of Japan, the Kusanagi Sword (Courage), the Yata Mirror (Wisdom) and the Yasakani Jewel (Benevolence). Only one piece doesn't fit, and that's power. Also, all we know about the godess Din, whom the triforce of power is supposed to represent, comes from legends. And her Oracle, the dancer of Holodrum, isn't really someone you'd associate with "power", unlike the singer Nayru, who everybody would associate with Nayru's attrubute, wisdom, at first glance. In fact, the attribute "benevolence" seems to fit the dancer Din a lot better. Maybe the goddess Din actually used to represent benevolence, but at some point her triforce-piece became corrupted and she lost that status. Maybe the same evil force that corrupted her triforce also drove Ganondorf mad and there is really a Man Behind the Man ? Was Ganon really just hijacked by someone else all this time? Maybe we'll someday know. If this theory is correct, the triforce of Power was presumably "purified" again, after Link won it back from Ganon and became the triforce of benevolence once more. However I always saw Courage and Wisdom as both the checks and support for Power, explaining the shape of the Triforce with Power at the top being held up by the other two. Power alone is the strongest aspect but will collapse without Wisdom to temper its use and Courage to oppose Power run rampant.
 * Actually, when you think about it-- the state of being benevolent is being WILLING AND ABLE to help. A benevolent person is able to help, give gifts, and thus HAS THE POWER TO CHANGE THE WORLD. 'Power' is sort of the same thing, although 'benevolence' means strictly for good. Think of 'Power' as being able to bestow bounty to the lands, 'Courage' as being strong enough to use what's given, and 'Wisdom' as having the insight to use correctly. That's a plausible trio of virtues. 'Power' could simply be a broader interpretation of the whole 'benevolence' idea. And what's funny is that if Ganondorf was a good guy, Power might not have been such a horrible curselike thing after all; instead of giving darkness, could he have given something else? And can the other pieces be interpreted alternately in this way, if somebody less virtuous got a hold of them?
 * Absolutely. I don't think the Triforce fragments themselves are inherently evil or good but that Power is the most easily corruptable. I mean, look at everything Ganondorf was able to do imagine if all that power was turned toward Hyrule's aid rather than its conquest. Likewise a negative aspect of Courage could be somebody who pursues their own selfish goals no matter what stands in their way even if it's the concept of right and wrong. A negative side of Wisdom could very well result in a manipulative and insightful tyrant.

Like Link and Zelda, there was another bloodline pre-designated for the Triforce of power. Ganon is not part of this bloodline
It is difficult to believe a benevolent Goddess like Din would allow a single, corrupt being to take her piece of the Triforce while her sisters allow their pieces to go to generation after generation of people who are only alike in looks and name. Why would she do that? My guess is she didn't. Originally their was another sacred Hylian bloodline that held the Triforce of power and essentially acted as the pre-Sheikah guardsman. But one generation of guardian began to feel pangs of fear and unworthiness for their place in the grand scheme and fled Hyrule at about roughly the time Gannon began searching for the Triforce. Now, on the child side of the timeline the Goddesses convinced him to come back and stop Ganon before he can take it, but Ganon kills him before being captured and sent to the Arbiters grounds. Afterwards, the Power bloodline died out, but the Spirit of the guardsman came back and took Link in as a sort of heir to the Power bloodline; teaching him what he learned from his lineage in the hopes that he may liberate the Triforce of Power from Ganon and protect it from those who would abuse it, hence making Link both the Hero of power and courage and allowing the Guardsman, aka the Hero's Shade, to rest in peace.


 * The adult side of the spectrum has the Guardsman witnessing the chaos and destruction of Ocarina of Time and seeing the Bloodline of Courage disappear. Feeling Even more worthless and less necessary for guarding the Triforce of Power, the Guardsman moved on to another realm, away from his destroyed homeland. When the Goddesses showed him the damage Ganon was doing on Hyrule once again and ordered him to aid them, the Guardsman refused, feeling that he could do nothing. So while the Gods condemned their world to live under the sea, they cursed the Guardsman to live an immortal life until he fulfilled his heroic purpose. Many times this guardian tried to prove he could be a hero to escape the hell of being immortal, but the Goddesses informed him that they would not lift the curse until he aided the guardians of Courage and Wisdom in restoring Hyrule. Thinking that the Guardian of Courage no longer exists and that Hyrule is lost, the Guardian of Power resigns himself to wandering the seas in search of money and glory. As the Goddesses send more ludicrous stories about Ganondorf being killed and a new guardian of Courage being found, he tunes out their words and eventually begins to sink into madness . . . until by chance he meats this guardian of Courage and discovers that there may be a way he can get out of this immortality loop after all. At first he only helps the Guardian of Courage to help himself undo this madness, but as time wears on he realizes that this was his purpose all along, and that all else he has done has been selfish and mindless. So when he is given his reward all he asks for is the opportunity to aid the Guardians of Courage and Wisdom in rebuilding New Hyrule. In doing this, the Goddesses lifted his curse and allowed him to truly live, and thus Linebeck went on to carry on the Power bloodline and live up to the name he had ignored for so long.

Time is one of the Triforce Elements...

 * But it's only accessible by combining two or three of the others, or some strong native power, like Shadow magic in Chrono Trigger. Most every character that has some kind of time power also had multiple aspects of magic to hand. Vaati borrowed Moblins from the future (which shouldn't exist because Ganon made them), because he had Light Force (Wisdom) from Zelda and his native Picori magic. Link could time travel only in games where objects with magic power could resonate with his Courage piece, but because they're objects, not the Triforce itself, this power is very limited (certain locations, certain periods, etc).

Dark Link is from an alternate Hyrule where the Hero of Time was corrupted.
Possibly, when Link got the last Fused Shadow, the timeline split. In the alternate timeline, Link killed Zant, keeping him from taking them. However, this kept him from knowing about Ganondorf, since he never went to the Arbiter's Grounds. Midna returned home with the Shadows, attempted to stop Ganon, failed, and was killed. The Shadows returned to their finder, which happened to be Link. They corrupted him, twisting him until he became a shadow of his former self. He knew of the time split, so he traveled to the other Hyrule and went back in time to stop this from happening. He failed. So, his solution? Kill the Hero. He presented himself to Ganondorf as a shadowy creature, only able to take the Hero's form when he was semi-ressurected. He has yet to succeed. ...Yeah, it doesn't make sense, but c'mon. This is WMG we're talking about.