DISSECTING THE ‘EYES’ AROUND THE WORLD

Author: Aarushi Bansal

CONTENTS:
1. Introduction
2. Ancient Mesopotamia and Sumerians
3. Egypt and The Eye Of Horus
4. Present day West
5. The Evil Eye/Nazar
6. Analysis and Conclusion

*****
The sense of sight is probably the one we use the most in our everyday life and the one that allows us to connect with
our environment immediately. In ancient times, the eye was not just this this passive organ that we know today
whose primary function is to see, it was truly an agent of action, wrath, or intuition. It was a very powerful tool, which
is probably why it has come to be heavily related to concepts such as protecting, sending energy and receiving it as
well.

The eye fascinated Surrealists, with

The divine eye in
its threshold position between the
Pontormo’s Supper at
inner self and the external world –
Emmaus (1525)
Magritte’s The False Mirror (1929)

The symbol is on the great seal of America and features on its dollar bill surrounded by an inscription that reads ‘new
order’. It is also associated to secret societies such as the Illuminati which is prime subject for conspiracy theories like
world control. America, money, Latin inscription, secret society are the perfect ingredients for making the eye symbol
a feared one and it doesn't help that there's a trend of celebrity photo shoots with the one eye symbol.
The principal national The Eye of Providence appeared at the top of A rotunda surrounding an inspection
symbol of the US, the Jean-Jacques-François Le Barbier’s 1789 tower, Bentham’s Panopticon prison
Great Seal was first used depiction of The Declaration of the Rights of was designed to ensure that inmates
in 1782 Man and of the Citizen never knew when they were being
watched

INTRODUCTION:
To many, the all-seeing eye stands for control over the people, however the reason for using it on the dollar bill was
to invoke the protection of God over the nation. This practice has existed for thousands of years so why the fear? Well
maybe because for thousands of years, the eye has also meant evil and destruction.

In this paper, we will study the eye symbolism across the world, its root and depictions of good and evil. We’ll look at
the psychology and philosophy of the eye, what is it about the function that makes it the advocator of self and a
cosmos that observes everything. Answering these questions, we will understand why we seek comfort in the eye but
fear it at the same time.

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA:
Let’s go all the way back to the earliest known religions. In the third millennium BCE, the Sumerians conveyed the
holiness of certain sculptures by abnormally enlarging their eyes to enhance the sensation of being observed.
Scholars say that the people of ancient Mesopotamia believed that the gods' eyes were all-seeing and protecting them,
but there were also gods with the evil eye who would punish them. The evil eye could also be projected by humans. In
fact, they believed that men were the instruments of gods to cause damage onto other people; a simple look or stare
by a person with ill-intent, jealousy or anger could cause harm. Hence, the watchful eyes also came in the form of
amulet, to be used as a sort of lucky charm, for protection against the evil eye.

This type of figurine known as an eye idol, made of stone and having incised eyes, has been
excavated at Tell Brak, where thousands were found in a building now called the Eye Temple.
They were probably dedicated there as offerings. Many are incised with multiple sets of eyes,
others with jewelry, and still others with representations of "children"—smaller eyes and body
carved on the body of the larger idol. Not much attention seems to have been paid to the rest of
the body in order to emphasise the eyes.

EYE OF HORUS:
In ancient Egypt, another polytheistic civilization, the eye symbol, known as the Eye of Horus or the Wadjet,
is one of its most popular symbols. Horus is the god of the sky and royalty. One of the many versions of the myth
tells how Horus sacrificed his own eye to resurrect his father, Osiris who was dismembered by his enemy. Horus's eye
therefore became the symbol for healing, wellbeing, and protection. Of course, ancient Egyptians also had eye amulets
to protect against evil.
The overall Egyptian concept of the eye is very similar to that of the Mesopotamians. There's a protective eye but
there's also a destructive or evil eye. The one difference is that Egyptians see the evil eye as complimentary to the
protective eye. This evil eye is the Eye of Ra. Ra is the Egyptian sun god, the creator god, and his eye is his female
counterpart. She is his doing, and his destructive side. Ra's eye is also equivalent to the sun disk, and can be embodied
as a separate female deity.

To the Mesopotamians, they are separate from each other. God is separate from evil, and evil is to be feared.

Another layer of understanding related to the eye of Horus is its mathematical use. The Egyptians mastered the
integration of anatomy and mythology into artistic figures. Interestingly, the eye of Horus is not just an apotropaic
magical symbol, but also an example of the mathematical knowledge acquired by them. Seth supposedly tore Horus's
eye into six parts. Each of these parts was given a fraction as a unit of measurement. These fractions add up to
63/64ths. This is extraordinarily. Authorities will have you believe that our ancient ancestors who built such
architectural marvels were willing to accept a 1.5 derivation in their calculation and say that 63/64 almost equals
one. It does not. It’s purposeful and shows a diminishment of consciousness, a part lost in putting together broken
pieces. Egyptians believed that perfection can never be attained, and this philosophy gives this calculation more
significance.

I also stumbled across a few studies done by researchers who compared the eye of Horus and the human brain. when
we superimpose the symbol upon an image of the brain it appears that each part, each fraction corresponds to the
anatomic location of a particular human sensorium. It had also a tangible analogy in ancient Egyptian medicine. There
are six forms of perception corresponding to different parts of the symbol. Old hieroglyphic texts say the remaining
one sixty-fourth, the hidden magical piece corresponds to the sixth sense of intuition. On a subtle level, the sixth
sense is assigned to the sixth chakra, also known as the third eye which is associated with psychic experiences. If
channelled properly, it can assist you in seeking your own clairvoyance.
EASTERN RELIGIONS:
In the Eastern part of the world, religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism, have a different notion of the all-
seeing eye. This time, it's not a god that's all-seeing, but a mind that is. This all-seeing mind is the third eye, or the
mind's eye. This third eye is the eye of consciousness, and it resides in between and slightly above the two actual
eyes. In Hindu practice, it’s the sixth Chakra, or the Ajna. It is accessible, but not easily. It takes hard work, be it
meditation or other spiritual exercises entailing focus of the mind. They say that some people have it naturally. When
accessed, the third eye is the door to higher consciousness. Some call it enlightenment, others call this wisdom. The
third eye is the sight beyond ordinary vision. Hindus highlight this third eye by placing a tilaka or bindi, right on the
area of the third eye. Third eye is one of the main symbols of the Hindu god, Shiva. One can recognize Shiva by the
mark of the eye on his forehead. Interestingly, Shiva is also the god of destruction, but belongs to a trinity that
embodies creation and maintenance as well.

‘Urna’ in Buddhism, grants The 6 chakras in Elongated ‘tilak’ to Bindi, cultural symbol Shiva’s third eye using
divine vision and allows you to Hinduism emphasise the third worn daily and on which he destructs to
see beyond mundane eye special occasions maintain balance of the
suffereing cosmos

PRESENT DAY WEST:

In the West today, the all-seeing eye, also called the Eye of Providence, is considered an occult symbol that's strongly
associated to conspiracy theory of mass control. But just a couple hundred years ago, it wasn't the case. The all-seeing
eye was very much a Christian iconography, and as we've discussed, a mere evolution of the ancient concept of the
eye gods. The all-seeing eye on the American dollar bill was inspired by the Christian God. In the late 1700s, the
American Congress needed an official seal and after several years of design trials, they came up with this. On top of
the pyramid, which represents strength and durability of the 13 states illustrated by the 13 layers, is the eye that
represents the all-seeing and constant protection of God over the 13 nations. The triangle is God's Trinity, and the sun
rays, his divine glory. As for the Illuminati, the eye was never their symbol.

The popular thinking is that the ILLUMINATI an extremely powerful group who controls the world, but the Bavarian Illuminati were
actually against oppression. They despised church and governmental control. They were a secret group of like-minded individuals who
aimed for change, and shared their knowledge and wisdom. Their growing popularity threatened the authorities, so they were banned in
1785, but to this day, conspiracy theorists insist that they still exist, and are the puppeteers of the government and major world events.
Their claims however are unfounded. And somehow the symbol of the eye was attributed to them, to project fear and control.
 My interpretation of the pyramid often shown under the eye: At the top of the hierarchy is something that is no longer part of the
hierarchy, so if you move up the hierarchy enough what happens is that you develop the ability (as a consequence of moving up) to be
detached enough from the hierarchy. So, you're no longer really part of it and can move in all sorts of different directions

Understandably so, the eye is also a symbol of surveillance and control. Like in the cover of George Orwell's fiction
"1984", foreshadowing a society in constant surveillance, the eye is the only logical image that's depicts a message of-
you are being watched, make a wrong move, say the wrong thing, and you will be punished.

In The Lord of the

Rings, the Dark Lord
Sauron is a supreme
intelligence that exists
as a disembodied eye,
holding all of Middle
Earth under his gaze

The eye of control parallels the ancient evil-eye of god in the sense that it causes one to be in constant fear of
repercussion. Speaking of fear, the eye amulet used in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt has also endured thousands of
years, and is alive and well today, not only there, but in many parts of the world, such as Greece, Portugal, Pakistan
and as far as South America. It's called the Nazar or Mal de Ojo. And in english, it's simply called the Evil Eye,
The striking cobalt-blue eye is found in all bazaars of the world. In the last decade, evil eye imagery has most
frequently appeared in the world of fashion. Kim Kardashian, Meghan Markle and other celebrities have been
photographed on numerous occasions sporting evil eye accessories. Though often dubbed as ‘the evil eye’, the ocular
amulet is actually the charm meant to ward off the true evil eye: a curse transmitted through a malicious glare,
usually one inspired by envy. it stems from the belief that someone who achieves great success or recognition also
attracts the envy of those around them. That envy in turn manifests itself as a curse that will undo their good fortune.
The concept is well captured by Heliodorus of Emesa in the ancient Greek romance Aethiopica, in which he writes,
“When any one looks at what is excellent with an envious eye he fills the surrounding atmosphere with a pernicious
quality, and transmits his own envenomed exhalations into whatever is nearest to him.”

The amulet comes in various forms; as pins, keychains, home decors and essentials but often incorporated into
jewellery. To some the evil eye is just folk superstition, so the amulets are seen as souvenirs or art, but to others, the
evil eye is real, so it's best to not take any chances.

Why are they all blue? Good eye!

It first comes from Egyptian glazed mud, which contains a high percentage of oxides; the copper and cobalt give the
blue colour when baked. Blue is also believed to be the colour of protection because it is the colour of the sky, which
is the abode of the all-seeing good gods, or sun gods. If you haven't noticed, the eye is mostly associated to sun gods.
The sun not only resides in the sky, but it is the entity that sees everything and created everything. The red coloured
eye on the other hand, is associated with the evil destructive eye, the real evil eye, because red is symbolic of blood,
hell's fire, intense passion. Over the millennia, the eye has continued to mean the same things; the watchful good, the
evil destroyer, the self, and the wisdom of the mind.
ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION:
We, humans subconsciously read the eyes of those we communicate with. Eyes show emotions, motives, and
sincerity. Dilating pupils is a sign of emotional arousal which makes the person seem more trustworthy, whereas a
constricting pupil, being a sign of fear, makes the person seem less trustworthy. The eyes don't lie... unless you're an
emotionless psychopath, but even then, studies show that psychopaths tend to stare for a longer period of time. The
eyes mimic consciousness itself. It's not in vain that we say that the eyes are the window of the soul. The eye is the
ambassador of the being. When addressing a person, you don't look at their hair, or their nose, but their eyes. Just like
the eye of God represents God himself, the eyes are the representation of you. The eye is the bindi or the core of the
being we communicate with. To carl Jung, the eye is a living mandala.

A mandala is an artistic configuration of the cosmos; the cosmos of the self, or the self of the cosmos. It is rich with symbolism and could also
depict a metaphorical journey to enlightenment Mandala means circle in Sanskrit. The circle is symbolic of a whole, and inside of the whole is
the core or the bindi, from which expanded the whole. Mandalas are used by monks for spiritual growth and Carl Jung used mandalas to help
his patients bring chaos into order via their dreams. The eye ball, with its pupil and iris, is like the mandala configuration.

The eye represents the inside world, but it also observes the outside world. There is a feedback loop between the two
worlds, or perhaps there are just one and the same. The eye therefore represents the cosmos. Seeing someone
confirms their existence but being seeing by someone also confirms our own and increases self-awareness.

“I am because you are looking at me”

-Nicholas of Cusa
(Philosopher, theologist, astronomer)

Being watched and judged has been one of humans’ most basic fears. It's no wonder that a symbol of an eye could
instil fear. A study has shown that people acted more altruistically if they were exposed to an artificial eye on a
computer screen. To observe the eye requires light. It is light that allows the eye to discriminate between all the
colours of the world, and therefore images. God has been equated to light for millennia. Lately and arguably, so has
consciousness.

One can entertain that God = light = consciousness. For as long as consciousness exists, opposing forces will as well.
The eye may be that of the watchful good, or that of the ill-wishing evil. That's why the iconography of the eye can
rouse two different emotions, one of trust and one of distrust. It is who's behind the eye, or associated to it, that will
bring meaning to the eye.

*****
References:
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20180216-the-strange-power-of-the-evil-eye
The Truth Behind The All Seeing Eye - The Bearer of Good and Evil - YouTube
The Eye of Horus - Mystical Light of the Soul - YouTube
The Eye of Providence: The symbol with a secret meaning? - BBC Culture
Famous Symbols And Their Unknown Stories - Zillion Designs
The Eye of Horus: The Connection Between Art, Medicine, and Mythology in Ancient Egypt (nih.gov)
Eye of Ra vs. Eye of Horus | Egyptian Eye Symbols - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com
(PDF) THE SUPERSTITIOUS MYSTERY BEHIND THE EYE: THE SYMBOL OF EYE AND THE WAY THAT THE EVIL EYE BEAD IS REFLECTED IN
TURKISH SOCIETY FROM THE ANCIENT HISTORY TO THE PRESENT (researchgate.net)
Witchcraft Confessions and Accusations, edited by Mary Douglas
Third-Eye Theology: Theology in Formation in Asian Settings