One of the most common symbols associated with Freemasonry is the eye symbol. If you are at all interested of symbolism, you know something about the all seeing eye. But do you know what this symbol of mystical wisdom and insight of secret mysteries really represents and why the masons use it? Or do you know what's the history of this symbol "the Elite" endorses so much?
The history of the symbol goes to ancient Egypt. A very common interpretation for the symbol is that it represents the Egyptian Sun god Horus. Yes, there was such a symbol in Egypt, but when it comes to Freemasonry, the story of the eye symbolism is not so simple as one might think.
Context matters. Freemasonry is a branch of The Cult of Aton, dating back to the times of pharaoh Akhenaton. The Sun god Aton was a rival of all the other gods, including Horus. In his megalomania Akhenaton tried to eradicate all the other gods and cults by making his Cult of Aton the only allowed religion - an attempt of huge societal change that led to civil war and expulsion of Akhenaton and his coterie.
Many of the Sun gods (Aton, Amon, Horus etc.) were based on an older Sun god Ra. And many of these Sun gods were associated with the eye symbol, because Ra was depicted as an eye. This has led to a common misunderstanding. If you look at the history in the context of Freemasonry and "the Elite", it's not Horus they venerate, but Aton.
It's not the eye of Horus on the one dollar bill - it's the eye of Aton.
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| One dollar - Aton was the one and only allowed god |
Even Ra - one of the oldest Sun gods - was not the original source of the eye symbolism. The history of the symbol goes even further.
The eye symbol of Ra was inherited from Ra's mother - the ancient ancient goddess Wadjet, also known as Udjet. In English her name stands for 'eye'. She was once the tutelary deity of Lower Egypt, the area once controlled by the Hyksos kings. The area is also known as the Nile Delta, shaped like a triangle. (Greek 'delta' = Δ) This is why the eye symbol is so often inside a triangle.
Wadjet was depicted as a cobra. She was one of the most important deities in pre-dynastic Egypt. She was "the goddess" of the society - even her name meant literally 'goddess'.
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| "Wajdet" / "goddess" |
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| Ra and his two mothers Nekhbet (on the left) and Wadjet (on the right) |
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| Masonic symbolism: Serpent, eye and a triangle - all connected to Wadjet |
Wadjet was the patron deity of the ancient Stellar cult of Egypt. The priests of the Stellar cult (astronomers, astrologers) were called 'serpent priests' and in their very old tradition the pharaoh was their leader. This is why the serpent became a symbol of the pharaohs and the royalty. Many of the statues of the Egyptian royals have the uraeus cobra on their forehead.
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| Akhenaton and a cobra on his forehead |
You see the connection with the concept of the third eye?
Also, many of the later deities after Wadjet wore the same forehead cobra.
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| Horus and the cobra |
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| Isis and the cobra |
Today the eye symbolism can be seen in many logos:
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| MI5 |
And when it comes to the entertainment industry, there is no shortage of eye and serpent symbolism:
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| (tattoo on the finger) |
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| (Katy Perry album cover) |
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| (Cranberries album cover) |
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| (Daft Punk) |
