That mysterious eye is watching
The Eye of Providence
The Eye of Providence. The symbol that we just can’t seem to fully understand. Why is it on the U.S. dollar? What does it have to do with Freemasons? What does it have to do with Beyoncé?
The symbol does seem to have almost some kind of power, doesn’t it? Even though it’s called the Eye of Providence, or the All-Seeing Eye, comfort and benevolence aren’t always the first thing to come to mind with the symbol. Many people just find the symbol mysterious at best, and sinister at worst.
Origins
In Mackey’s The Symbolism of Freemasonry, he claims, that others claim the origins are “primitive sun worship,” and I suppose one could take the concept of a divine, watchful eye and find a parallel in proto-Indo-European worship of the very ancient sky god *Dyēus, with the sun representing the eye of that deity. The “all-seeing” nature of the sun, sometimes likened to an eye, carries over into Zoroastrian and Greek tradition.
In Eastern traditions, the Third Eye is a representation of one’s access to enlightenment or other forms of higher consciousness, among other things.
The Eye of Horus
The visual symbol of a single eye can be traced at least back to ancient Egypt, in the Eye of Horus, and the Eye of Ra. The Eye of Horus was a symbol of protection often seen on temple walls, associate with another solar deity, Horus, whose eye is perhaps taken from the eye of the falcon, the animal with which Horus is associated.
Renaissance
Okay, but when do we actually see the Eye of Providence as we know it originating in history?
That originated in Renaissance art, with an eye being place within a triangle. The simplest interpretation is the eye being that of God, the triangle representing the Holy Trinity, and sometimes rays of light emanating around or below it. A representation of a benevolent God’s watchfulness.
But artists during that time were also fascinated by esoteric iconography and it’s safe to say that symbols like this were intended to be open to interpretation sometimes.
“As a result, a motif like the Eye of Providence was deliberately esoteric in its appearance. It’s a symbol almost purpose-built to be reinterpreted, and maybe even misinterpreted.”
- BBC: The Eye of Providence: The symbol with a secret meaning?
Esoteric
Observant scholars point out that the eye motif has been a feature of esoteric symbolism that runs throughout history.
“This symbol can be traced back to the Greek classics, as evidenced by comparable emblems and references of 17th-century authors, followed by references in alchemy, astrology, kabala, Rosicrucianism, and Freemasonry.”
- Jonathan Kopel, PhD, The Eye of Providence and the Hamsa in medicine
U.S. Dollar and the Freemasons
While the Eye of Providence is a Freemason symbol (it stands for The Great Architect of the Universe), there is no evidence the Eye of Providence on the back of the U.S. Seal seen on the Dollar bill is a representation of Freemasonry. The Freemasons themselves have vehemently denied any connection, thought they did start officially adopting the symbol only 15 years later, and were using it occasionally before that, too.
The pyramid under the eye has 13 steps (there were thirteen colonies) and this design came from earlier designs of continental currency that featured a very similar unfinished pyramid.
The meaning of the pyramid is even more sketchy and there are plenty of esoteric enthusiasts who will gladly provide their own take. Hendrik Herzberg in the New Yorker describes the symbol as an “occult pyramid topped with mystic all-seeing eye.”
Nevertheless, the officially stated reason for the eye above the pyramid at the time was:
“The pyramid signifies Strength and Duration ... The Eye over it & the Motto allude to the many signal interpositions of providence in favour of the American cause.”
- Charles Thomson, 1782
DARPA
One of the weirder uses of the Eye of Providence is in the logo for the U.S. Information Awareness Office of DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency).
The logo uses the eye and pyramid motif from the back of the U.S. Seal. It’s a very on-the-nose, almost ridiculous way to symbolize vast data collection and surveillance, thus sparking the imagination of many conspiracies.
“The logo of the Total Information Project became the focus of much ire ... The logo, which depicted the Eye of Providence turning its gaze on the globe, was a public-relations nightmare, fueling both criticism and conspiracy theories.”
- Annie Jacobsen: The Pentagon’s Brain: An Uncensored History of DARPA
One final word
The Eye of Providence remains a mysterious symbol with a seemingly endless variety of interpretaions including connections to the Illuminati (including hand gestures from pop stars such as Beyoncé and Jay-Z), Watchers or to UFOs, depending on who you ask.