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  • Decoding the Eye: Signs & Symbols

    The symbol of the eye derives meaning from our shared understanding of emotions ranging from wonder and joy to fear and anger. Often, it suggests a higher power - one that sees all, knows all, and wishes us good or evil. The specific uses of the eye as sign or symbol are particular to each culture but there are recurring themes of protection, healing, and enlightenment.

    Protection: Eyes can symbolize watchfulness and approval. They are used to ward off bad luck and protect from harm.


    Evil Eye

    A round blue glass pendant with smaller, concentric circles in white, lighter blue, and darker blue in the center. The design of the pendant mimics a blue human eye. It hangs on a brown string with blue beads on it.The evil eye is a concept found in many cultures and religions. This idea holds that a person possessing the evil eye can cause injury or even death to anyone they choose by simply gazing at them. Eye-shaped objects like these are used to protect people and property against the evil eye. 




    Hamsa

    A blue metal pendant in the shape of a human hand with five fingers. In the center of the pendant, there is a white and blue representation of a human eye. The symbol of an open hand, or hamsa, is found throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia. It has been adopted by many of the world's religions and cultures as a general symbol of protection. When a stone or eye is added to the palm, it becomes a specific ward against the evil eye.

    Protection: Eyes can symbolize watchfulness and approval. They are used to ward off bad luck and protect from harm.


    Eye of God
    A silver circular coin-shaped object with a human eye and eyebrow above a cityscape. With German words bordering the object and underneath the cityscape. The Eye of God, Osiris, or Providence is a symbol representing divine protection, watchfulness, and support. Iterations of the Eye of God can be seen in the Maltese Eye, Ojos de Dios, and the Great Seal of the United States. 




    Maltese Eye

    A wooden boat with bright blue and yellow paint sits on a stone dock. The boat has two stylized eyeballs affixed to each side of the bow.In Malta, fisherman affix or paint an eye on the prow of their boats. These depict the eye of Osiris - the ancient Egyptian god of the underworld, transition, and renewal. Traditionally, this symbol protects the fisherman and their vessels. 





    Ojo de Dios
    Many colorful, diamond-shaped pendants made of yarn are hung along a line with blue sky in the background.The indigenous people of Latin America create Ojos de Dios (or Eyes of God) from colorful yarn wound around a wooden cross as a prayer for long life and protection. In some cultures, a God's Eye is made to watch over a newborn child with a new colored yard added each year until the child reaches age 5. 



    Great Seal of the United States
    A portion of the backside of an American one-dollar bill. The bill is green and has text and patterns indicating that it is a one-dollar bill. In the center, there is an image of a triangular eye floating above a thirteen step pyramid. It is circled in blue. The Great Seal of the United States on the American dollar bill was adopted by the U.S. Congress in 1782. It features a thirteen-step pyramid representing the original thirteen colonies and an Eye of Providence capstone, symbolizing divine protection and approval.

    Healing: Eyes can symbolize renewal and protection of the body. They are used to ward off illness and as prayers for health or healing. 


    Eye of Horus
    An aged jade colored amulet that represents an eye and eyebrow. The pupil of the eye and the eyebrow are black, and the inside of the eye is cut out. Surrounding the eye is a line above and below that extends outwards like eyeliner. The lines continue below the eye with three lines downward and one line curving into a swirl. According to ancient Egyptian mythology, the falcon-headed god Horus lost his eye in a battle. The eye was magically restored and it then became a symbol for the restoration of health and protection from harm. 




    A black and yellow rectangular postal stamp with scalloped edges. On the left side of the paper there is an eye with an eyebrow with an attached swirl. On the right side at the top, it says Egypt, bellow that there is a green crest and at the bottom there are Arabic words. In modern times, the Eye of Horus appears in a wide variety of cultural contexts. It has been used as a symbol of modern Egyptian ethnic and political identity. Almost four thousand years after its original use, it can be found on items like this postage stamp that was issued during the presidency of Anwar Sadat in 1976.

    Healing: Eyes can symbolize renewal and protection of the body. They are used to ward off illness and as prayers for health or healing. 



    Ex-votos
    A rectangular silver-colored piece of metal on a white background. The piece of metal has an embossed, imprinted image of two human eyes surrounded by hairs or curved lines. The whole pattern is bordered in an almond-shaped line. The metal piece shows signs of wear and tarnish. Ex-votos or milagros are small offerings to ask deities for favors or thank them for help. They are typically created or purchased as a part of a pilgrimage and left at an altar or shrine. Sometimes they are used in homes and as personal amulets for protection. Eye-shaped votives have been used since ancient times to ask for the restoration of vision and divine intervention. 

    An oval shaped silver piece on a white background, with a pair of eyes and eyebrows in the middle surrounded by a silver lace like pattern. At the bottom of the piece there is a cherub. This ex-voto is made of silver, and was created in the 19th century. It was most likely used in a Catholic church or shrine.





    A yellow-brown almond shaped aged clay piece, in the shape of an eye. It has a chunk missing on the bottom left. This eye-shaped ex-voto is made from clay, and was fabricated over two thousand years ago (200 BCE). It was created and used in at a shrine in the modern-day Middle East. 

    Enlightenment: Eyes can symbolize both divine perception and personal enlightenment. They are used as reminders of faith and ethical behavior. 

    Eyes of Buddha
    A young boy stands in front of a Buddhist temple adorned with a stylized painting of human eyes with a dot in the center. The boy is from Central Asia, and he has a shaved head and wears a yellow robe. The temple has a white, round bottom and a gray stone spire, and is decorated with multicolored prayer flags. The Eyes of Buddha are a symbol of wisdom and enlightenment originating in Nepal. This sign has two parts. The eyes represent how Buddha sees all realms after achieving enlightenment. A dot between them is the third eye which sees inward and symbolizing spiritual awakening. 

    A gray park bench with a stylized painting of a pair of human eyes. The eyes are almond shaped and have black eyebrows painted over them. In between the eyes, there is a dot, and beneath the eyes, there is a swirl indicating a nose.The Eyes of Buddha can also be found in public art across the world, including this park bench in the Sunset District of San Francisco.
    Enlightenment: Eyes can symbolize both divine perception and personal enlightenment. They are used as reminders of faith and ethical behavior. 

    Saint Lucy
    A small statue of a woman wearing a robe on a blue background. She has light skin and long brown hair, she wears a white and red robe, and holds a gold palm frond in one hand and a gold platter with two eyeballs on it in the other.Images of St. Lucy, or Santa Lucia, often include eyes in her hand or on a dish. In the Catholic canon, Saint Lucy was martyred while imprisoned by the Roman Empire. In one story, her captors gouged out her eyes. In another, she did it herself - presenting her eyes to her jailors on a plate. In both stories, her eyes were miraculously healed. She is the patron saint of the blind. 



    An illustration of a young woman dresses in a white robe, red sash, and head wreath with lit candles on it. She stands with a young child dressed in a winter jacket, hat, and mittens. They look into a window from outside. The woman holds a large loaf of bread on a platter.Her annual religious holiday, Saint Lucy’s Day, is observed on Dec. 13 and is considered a festival of light in the darkness of winter. Saint Lucy's Day is popularly observed in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and in Scandanavian communities in the United States. Young girls often dress as Saint Lucy with a white robe and wreath of candles around her head. People often exchange coffee and special gingersnaps (pepparkakor) and sweet saffron buns (lussekatter) with their neighbors.