The Eye of Providence (known also as the all-seeing eye of God) is a well-known and popular symbol.
This symbol has been used for centuries in both religious and secular contexts, and therefore
its representation can be found in many places.
For Americans, The Eye of Providence is most commonly found on the reverse of the United
States one-dollar bill.
This design is in turn derived from the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States.
The Eye of Providence has also been associated with the Freemasons, and thanks to films,
such as the 2004 National Treasure, starring Nicolas Cage, conspiracy theories linking
the Freemasons with the founding of the United States have been popularized.
The Eye of Providence is commonly depicted as a single, realistic-looking eye within
one or more additional elements: a triangle, a burst of light, clouds, or all three.
The earliest-known depiction of this symbol dates to the Renaissance.
Nevertheless, eyes have had a strong symbolic meaning in many cultures over the course of
history.
The Ancient Egyptian Eyes
One of the most famous of these symbols is the Eye of Horus (known also as Wadjet, which
means ‘Whole One’), which was immensely popular amongst the ancient Egyptians.
According to ancient Egyptian mythology, Horus lost his left eye during a battle with his
uncle Seth.
This eye was magically restored by the goddess Hathor, who is believed to have been either
Horus’ mother or wife.
Thus, the Eye of Horus became a symbol of healing.
In another myth, Horus presented his eye to his father, Osiris, to help him rule the Underworld.
Osiris ate the eye, and he was restored to life.
Thus, in this myth, the eye became a symbol of life and resurrection.
These myths served to popularize the Eye of Horus as a protective symbol, and therefore
it was commonly made into protective amulets.
Such amulets continue to be popular even today.
The ancient Egyptians had another symbol similar to the Eye of Horus, which is known as the
Eye of Ra.
Unlike the Eye of Horus, this was an aggressive symbol that focused on the destructive aspect
of the god Ra.
In one of the ancient Egyptian myths, Ra was becoming old and weak, which caused people
to disrespect him.
Ra was furious that they no longer stuck to laws, and that they were making jokes at his
expense.
Therefore, he decided to punish mankind by sending the ‘Eye of Ra’ to destroy them.
The Eye of Ra was a goddess (different goddesses, including Hathor, Sekhmet, and Bast, are said
to possess this title) sent to earth in the form of a lion, and she immediately began
her slaughter of humanity.
Seeing the scale of the destruction wrought by the goddess, Ra regretted his action, and
called his daughter to stop.
The goddess, however, was in a bloodlust, and paid no heed to her father’s pleas.
Ra, fearing that all of humanity would be wiped out if the goddess was allowed to continue
on her rampage, devised a cunning plan.
The god had 7000 jugs of beer mixed with pomegranate juice, which made the beer red, and he poured
them in the fields around the Eye of Ra.
As the goddess drank the ‘blood’, she became so drunk that she fell asleep, and
only woke up three days later with a terrible hangover.
By this means, humanity was saved by Ra.
The Beginnings of the Eye of Providence
Like the ancient Egyptian Eye of Horus and Eye of Ra, the Eye of Providence is also associated
with the divine.
As mentioned already, the earliest-known representation of the Eye of Providence is from the Renaissance.
This representation is found in a 1525 painting called the Supper at Emmaus by the Italian
painter Jacopo Pontormo.
The subject matter of this painting is the second half of the ‘Road to Emmaus Appearance’
story found towards the end of the Gospel according to Luke.
In this story, which happens after Christ’s resurrection, Jesus appears to two of his
disciples who were on their way to a town called Emmaus.
After reaching the town, Jesus stays with the two men to have supper with them, and
this is the scene painted by Pontormo.
This painting was made for the Carthusians (a Catholic religious order known also as
the Order of St Bruno) of the Certosa del Galluzzo, in the suburbs of Florence.
Interestingly, a few of the monks were painted by Pontormo behind Christ, who is shown blessing
the bread.
Above the head of Christ is the Eye of Providence, which is meant to show that God was watching
the entire event.
The depiction of the Eye of Providence on Pontormo’s Supper at Emmaus shows that it
started off as a Christian symbol.
Within this context, the word ‘providence’ refers to ‘divine guidance’, specifically
to that provided by the God of Christianity.
Thus, in a way, the Eye of Providence is meant to represent a form of spiritual guidance
that pious Christians ought to follow.
The Eye of Providence may also be meant to represent the omnipresence, omnipotence, and
omniscience of God.
In addition, the elements surrounding the eye take on a Christian meaning as well.
For instance, the triangle is a clear reference to the Holy Trinity – God the Father, God
the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
The burst of light and clouds are meant to symbolize divinity, holiness and God himself.
As a matter of fact, these elements are also sometimes used when God is depicted in works
of art, for instance, when He is represented by the tetragrammaton, i.e. the name of God
in Hebrew transliterated in the four letters, YHWH.
Such depictions may be found on stained glass windows in Christin churches, like the abbey
church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, in Paris, where the Merovingian kings of Neustria were
buried.
Freemasonry and Conspiracy Theories
In time, the Eye of Providence was adopted by the Freemasons, who drew inspiration from
the use of human organs to represent abstract concepts by ancient cultures.
Thus, the open eye was meant to symbolize watchfulness, and the Eye of Providence, being
the eye of the Supreme Being (since by this time many no longer believed in the Christian
God, but some other kind of divine or higher power out there).
This was meant to represent the watchfulness and care of the divine for the universe.
In addition, this symbol was meant to remind the Freemasons to maintain their standards
of morality, as they are being watched over by a higher force.
Furthermore, the Eye of Providence may be regarded as a sign of spiritual illumination
and revelation.
In some instances, the Eye of Providence is placed within or above the square and compasses,
arguably the most recognizable symbol of the Freemasons.
One interpretation states that the square represents morality or virtue, whereas the
compass represents boundaries or wisdom of conduct.
Another interpretation of the symbol states that the square deals with matters concerning
the earth and the body, whilst the compass deals with those of the heavens and the soul.
It may also be said that since the points of the compass are placed below the square,
it is meant to signify that one is only dealing with the moral and political meanings of the
symbol, but not their deeper philosophical and spiritual ones.
Moreover, the intersection of the compass and square may be understood as denoting the
intermingling between the divine and the human, and that there is a spiritual dimension even
in the most mundane aspects of life.
Numerous conspiracy theories have linked the Freemasons with the founding of the United
States through the Eye of Providence.
This symbol is also found on the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States.
The seal (both its obverse and reverse) is also printed on the reverse of the United
States one-dollar bill, and the symbol is therefore, quite literally, in most Americans’
pockets.
One common conspiracy theory claims that the application of the Eye of Providence on the
Great Seal was a way for the Freemasons to project their watchful power over the country.
As already mentioned, the Freemasons saw the Eye of Providence as a symbol of the Supreme
Being, rather than their own power, and that it was to remind them to uphold their standards
of morality.
Therefore, it is unlikely that they would have used it as a symbol of their power.
A slight variation to this conspiracy theory is that the American government is always
watching its people.
Though this is certainly not the intention of the symbol, if one were to return to its
original meaning.
In this case, it is meant to show that God is watching over America, and that the country
was being created under His watchful eye.
The phrase ‘In God We Trust’ on the reverse of the one-dollar bill is further evidence
of the symbol’s association with God, rather than with the American government.
The Great Seal
The Eye of Providence on the Great Seal of the United States is surrounded by a triangle
and a burst of light (like the ones used in Christian art), and it is placed on the top
of an unfinished pyramid.
The design of the seal was finalized in 1782, and the description of the reverse, as found
in Charles Thomson’s (who was the Secretary of Congress) “Remarks and Explanation,”
adopted by the Continental Congress (June 20, 1782) is “Reverse.
The pyramid signifies Strength and Duration: The Eye over it & the Motto allude to the
many signal interpositions of providence in favor of the American cause.
The date underneath is that of the Declaration of Independence and the words under it signify
the beginning of the New American Era, which commences from that date.”
Interestingly, whilst drawings of the obverse were made as soon as the design was adopted,
the first drawing of the reverse was only made four years later, in 1786.
This was drawn by James Trenchard, an engraver from Philadelphia, for the October 1786 issue
of the Columbian Magazine
The second drawing of the reverse that we know of was made by Benson L. Lossing, an
artist and historian, in 1856.
The drawing was meant to accompany an article he had written on the Great Seal for the July
1856 issue of Harper’s New Monthly Magazine . Lossing made some changes to Trenchard’s
design, and this second drawing has influenced all later realizations of Thomson’s written
description of 1782 (including the one on the reverse of the one-dollar bill, which
follows almost exactly Lossing’s design).
This is except for the Great Seal Centennial Medal that was struck in 1882.
The reverse of the medal followed Trenchard’s design closely, and it was the first realization
of the seal’s reverse to be issued officially by the American government.
Incidentally, the Continental Congress was provided with a design for the Great Seal’s
reverse, in case it wanted to impress the back surfaces of wax pendant seals, which
it had been using for treaties between 1815 and 1871.
The back surfaces, however, were never impressed, and enthusiasm for cutting a die of the reverse
gradually diminished.
Therefore, not one reverse die has been cut till this day.
Trenchard’s design of the Great Seal places the Eye of Providence atop an unfinished pyramid
with 13 steps.
This number is symbolic, as it represents the 13 original British colonies that formed
the United States.
The two mottos mentioned in Thomson’s description are in Latin, and are as follows, Annuit Coeptis
(meaning ‘He [God] has favored our undertakings’, and Novus Ordo Seclorum (meaning ‘a new
order of the ages’).
The former is placed over the Eye of Providence, whilst the latter under the pyramid.
The year of the Declaration of Independence, in the Roman numerals MDCCLXXVI (1776), is
found on the bottom step of the pyramid.
One of the changes made by Lossing to Trenchard’s design was to replace the right Eye of Providence
with a left one, and this has remained ever since.
In addition, Lossing’s pyramid, which is rather square, as opposed to Trenchard’s
elongated one, is given a deep perspective, and the ground around it is filled with flowers
and grass.