The All-Seeing Eye: Sacred Origins of a Hijacked Symbol
Is the all-seeing eye a symbol of divine omniscience or sinister influence?
Today it symbolises control and domination by a shadowy elite, but its
original use was quite different. This article traces its use and
meaning back to ancient times, when it was a symbol of divine
providence, powerfully representing spiritual truth and awakening.
Humanity is Losing Its Precious Symbology
The all-seeing eye is a powerful esoteric
symbol which is widely misunderstood and misused today; few know what it
originally stood for. It was originally symbolic of a higher spiritual
power or God, a watchful caretaker of humanity or an awakened spiritual
part within. But these days it has quite different associations.
Today the all-seeing eye is more likely to be
seen as an “Illuminati” symbol of control and surveillance by elites
who to a large degree run the show on this planet at this time. This is
because, over time, dark sinister forces have taken over esoteric
symbols that for thousands of years were used to convey positive,
helpful, uplifting spiritual messages and principles. The all-seeing
eye is a prime example of how spiritual symbols have been hijacked and inverted.
There has not really been much push to understand the symbol’s original
meaning or to reclaim it for the spiritual significance it first
conveyed.
This is the first in a series of articles I
am presenting that will take a closer look at individual symbols, and
delve into their origins and history to uncover their deeper esoteric
significance. I am writing these as part of an effort to reclaim these
positive esoteric symbols and restore them to their previously esteemed
state.
Universal Nature of Symbolism
Symbolism has long been used by humanity to
communicate ideas which are best crystallised in a compact form. As the
well-known saying goes, a picture tells a thousands words! Esoteric symbols are
alive today as they were in the ancient past, but there is much
confusion surrounding their usage, history, intent, and meaning.
In ordinary life we use symbols to show at a
glance important information such as traffic and road signs amongst many
other symbols which are widespread and common today. Some other
examples are corporate logos and certification statuses.
Symbolism is also especially used in the communication of non-physical, spiritual ideas, phenomena, and processes.
The all-seeing eye is one of the most powerful and widely used – and misused – symbols
of all. In this article I trace its use from the earliest of times
through to the 18th century, and show what the symbol originally stood
for. My next article will examine its use from 18th century freemasonry
onwards, and show how it has since been hijacked and misused.
Use of the All-Seeing Eye in Ancient Cultures
India
Image: Shiva’s third eye
We perhaps find the precursor to what
eventually became known as the all-seeing eye in the Rig Veda, a
sanskrit text thought to have been written over 3,000 years ago and one
of the oldest known texts. In it there are many references to the sun
and to other deities as being an eye in heaven, as an eye which reveals
creation, or an eye which never closes.
One can liken this to being symbolic of a
high level of awakened consciousness that advanced spiritual beings have
and which an ordinary person can potentially attain.
The Hindu god Shiva has three eyes. The third
eye or brow chakra eye is known as the eye of Shiva, possessor of all
knowledge, which when opened will destroy anything it sees. Thus it is a
symbol of knowledge which destroys evil and ignorance.
This again can be likened to an awakened
higher spiritual part of a person which sees the truth of things and can
then eliminate within a person’s psyche that which is opposite to and
blocks divine consciousness from manifesting more. In this way it is a
“creative destruction” of evil to transform it into higher
consciousness.
Even in modern times, the eye of Shiva is
used in jewellery to give protection against evil to its wearer and to
gain wisdom and understanding from the world, from life events and from
the self, for positive transformation.
Nepal
Image:Buddha’s all seeing eye
In Buddhism, Buddha is referred to as the Eye
of the World. It is typical for temples in Nepal to display a graphic
of the “Eyes of Buddha” as shown to the right – notice it includes a
mark for the “third eye” as well. The eyes are also known as the eyes of
wisdom and compassion.
Statues of Buddha typically show a dot in the mid-brow to represent the third eye.
Ancient Egypt
Eye of Osiris
It is interesting to find that the Egyptian
hieroglyph for their god Osiris contains an eye as shown below. So as
with Hinduism and Buddhism we find a spiritual deity being represented
in ancient times as an eye.
Eye of Horus
Image:Hieroglyph for “Osiris” contains an eye
In ancient Egypt, the all-seeing eye was
known as the Eye of Horus or the Eye of Ra and also formed part of the
symbology of Wad-jet. Through various myths they were symbols of
protection, healing and restoration. The left eye of Horus was said to
be the moon and his right eye the sun.
Horus was a falcon-headed sun god and it could be said the Eye of Horus was styled like an eye of a lanner falcon with its marking beneath the eye.
Image: Could the Eye of Horus represent parts of the brain used to manifest consciousness?
It is also very interesting to note that the
drawing of the Eye of Horus very much matches the cross section of the
mid brain where the thalamus, the pineal and pituitary glands are
situated. The pineal gland is often said to be the “third eye” and a
centre of spirituality and of spiritual insight, which can be developed
in a person.
It’s as if the Eye of Horus could be a
depiction of the thalamus as the eye ball with the corpus callosum the
eye brow above and the medulla oblongata (brain stem) and the
hypothalamus being the two markings below. If this is what they were
drawing but calling it the Eye of Horus, does it suggest they considered
the mid brain to be the seat of consciousness or even of divine
consciousness or “Horus consciousness”? Horus being a sun god and
symbolic of the universal Christ, a spiritual force which a suitably
prepared person can merge with.
Middle East/Asia – Hamsa
Image left :A Jewish Hamsa
In the Middle East the all-seeing eye has been known in the form of a hand-eye symbol called either Hamsa, Khamsa or Hamesh.
It’s the symbol of an eye in the palm of a
hand, usually the right hand. Again it is a symbol of protection against
the evil eye (bad luck caused by jealousy from others) and danger in
general and can been seen as a good luck charm in that way.
Image, right: Detail from “The Divine World” by Kahil Gibran
It is also known as the hand of Fatima in
Islam and the hand of Miriam in Judaism. In India it is known as Humsa
Hand. The Jains also have a form of the Hamsa in their symbolism with
the word ahimsa (meaning non-violence) inside a wheel instead of where
the eye would be. The Hamsa has been used for thousands of years and is
still in use today as amulets, charms or wall hangings. It would seem to
have its origins from ancient Mesopotamia with the hand of Ishtar being
a symbol of divine protection although it did not contain the eye in
the palm.
A more Christian-themed representation of the
Hamsa is an art work called “The Divine World” by Kahlil Gibran, a
Lebanese Maronite Catholic prominent in the early 20th century as a
poet, painter, writer, philosopher, theologian.
Image, left:A Nazar / Image credit: Alborz Fallah
In Greece and Turkey they have something
similar to the Hamsa which they call a “Nazar”. It is just an eye
without the hand but it is used in the same way and has the same meaning
as the Hamsa, that is, to ward off the evil eye, in the form of amulets
or hanging ornaments usually made from blue glass.
Similarly in Buddhism there is the “eye of Buddha” amulet to ward off the evil eye.
The symbol of an eye in a hand also appears
in Aztec and Mayan cultures and in Native American artworks although
archaeologists are not sure what meaning it had for these cultures.
Image, right:The enigmatic rattlesnake disc
To the right is a Native American example referred to as “The Rattlesnake Disc”
which was unearthed by a farmer in Moundville, Alabama in the 1800′s.
Some archaeologists think its symbolism may have represented a portal to
spiritual dimensions. It is the most elaborately decorated artwork
found at Moundville giving rise to the belief it was of the most
importance to its creators. Other artworks found there also contain the
hand-eye symbol.
Ancient Ecuador
There is also the amazing discovery in 1984 in La Mana, central Ecuador, of an ancient artefact referred to as the Black Pyramid amongst 300 artefacts found there of unknown origin.
It is not known what culture they come from
and the many objects found are baffling and seemingly out of place for
this part of the world, such as an object designed as a hooded King
Cobra of south east Asia. Cobras don’t exist in South America.
The so-called Black Pyramid is made from
black stone with an eye at the apex. The stone has gold inlays forming
13 levels of “bricks” and an eye at the top. These inlays glow when
under black light. Overall it looks like a representation of the great
pyramid of Giza (7,470 miles away) and also amazingly just like the eye
pyramid symbol used on the Great Seal of America and the US $1 bill.
It is also interesting to note the cobra
artefact has another similarity with ancient Egypt where the raised
cobra is associated with the Eye of Horus/Ra and Wad-jet in their
protective aspects with it being worn on the foreheads of Pharaohs at
the mid-brow right where the third eye is located. This symbolises the
raising of a person’s energies to a higher vibration which internally
leads to the awakening of psychic faculties such as those latent in the
third eye.
Image: via YouTube user Wellington Marin – Illuminati Pyramid from Ecuador
It is not known how old these objects are as
dating them has not been possible but they are thought to pre-date the
known ancient cultures of the region. There is also a pre-Sanskrit type
language (making it very old) engraved on some of the objects including
on the underside of the black pyramid where there are also markings
which appear to map out the stars of the Orion constellation, which the
pyramids at Giza also map. The 4 pre-Sanskrit markings are thought to
translate as saying “the son of the creator comes”.
Given the care taken to create this object it
would seem to have been an important symbol for its creators although
it is not clear how they interpreted it.
Ancient Greek
In the Hymns of Orpheus, the hymn To The Sun describes it variously as thus;
as an “eternal eye with broad survey” ;
and compares it to being the “Father of ages” ;
and as “Immortal Jove, all searching, bearing light” ;
then later as the “Great eye of Nature and the starry skies” ;
followed by “Faithful defender, and the eye of right”
So here we see in an ancient text of the
western world similar representation of the sun like that presented in
the ancient text of the east, the Rig Veda, as being an eye of the
creator and an all-seeing never closing eye watching over and protecting
the good.
Christianity
“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.” (Jesus in Matthew 6:22)“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry;” (Psalms 34:15)
“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” (Proverbs 15:3)
Image: Does the Talpiot tomb display an all seeing eye?
A possible first known use of the all-seeing
eye symbol in Judeo-Christianity is the so-called “Jesus tomb” from 1st
century AD discovered in 1980, which uses a similar symbol over
the entrance to the tomb. Regardless of whose tomb it is, could this be
a first known or early use of the eye-pyramid symbol in the
Judeo-Christian tradition?
In Christianity, the all-seeing eye or “Eye
of Providence” or “Eye of God” has been used as a symbol from at least
the 16th century as seen in the following painting below which depicts a
scene from Luke 24: 13-32 where after his resurrection, Jesus has
supper with two disciples.
The eye is inside a triangle, and surrounded
by rays of light, with the triangle representing the holy trinity and
the whole symbol meaning God’s omnipresence and all-seeing eye watching
over creation.
Some claim that the eye in triangle symbol
was added to the painting soon after the Council of Trent 1545- 1563, to
conform with its canons and decrees but even if that is so that would still place its use in the 16th century.
Image, right: 16th
century Christian painting – dated 1525 by Italian artist Pontormo
(student of Da Vinci), called Supper in Emmaus – depicts Luke 24: 13-32
In Alsace, France, the fresco painted above
the altar of the Abbey Church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste (1763) shows a
large example of the eye-in-pyramid symbol, with the rays of glory
breaking through the clouds.
Another example is on the Aachen cathedral in
Germany. It was originally built in the late 8th century under the
Emperor Charlemagne and then enlarged in the middle ages with various
other changes and updates along the way. It would seem the all-seeing
eye symbol was placed on the cathedral in 1766 to mark the renovations
done that year.
Note that these first two examples pre-date
the founding of the Bavarian Illuminati (1776) although Freemasonry
already existed in England and Europe by this time. Perhaps it was a
masonic influence that saw these symbols used on these cathedrals yet it
was not until about 1797 that masons are regarded as beginning to use
the eye-in-pyramid symbol.
The eye-in-pyramid symbol also features
prominently on the front facade of the Hartegbrugkerk Church in Leiden,
the Netherlands, built in 1835-36. The Latin words “Hic Domus Dei est et
Porta Coeli” translates to “This is the House of God and the Gateway to
Heaven.”
These are just some Christian examples of many that appear in Europe.
Conclusion
As we have seen, throughout history there has
been a strong tradition across time, continents and cultures of using
eye symbolism to generally represent a benevolent creator force watching
over, helping and protecting humanity and to represent a spiritual part
within.
In my next article I will continue to trace
the use of the all-seeing eye symbolism over the last 240 years and
reveal how it has been inverted and increasingly used for sinister aims
in current times.
About the Author
David Percival has had a long interest in
spirituality and the nature of reality and what makes people the way
they are. He has helped teach meditation and esoteric spirituality
subjects in the past and in coming to learn more about the hidden
agendas to suppress and control humanity he has a keen interest in
helping to turn a light on those things so others can learn more too in
the hope for a brighter better future.
Credits: **This was originally featured at Consciousreporter.com. Please give them a visit sometime.
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