Of Egyptian origin, the eye of Horus is one of the symbols of Ancient Egyptian culture that appears most to this day. The god who originated it was the son of Isis and Osiris.
The eye of Horus is a symbol with origins in Egyptian mythology. The god Horus was the son of Isis and Osiris , he was represented by a falcon and had one of his eyes gouged out by his uncle Seth, a deity who represented disorder, while he represented the Sun, power and protection, in addition to mediating the worlds of the dead and the living.
The removed organ was replaced by an amulet, which is still used today in mysticism, freemasonry and even on dollar bills, as it also gained the attribution of prosperity over time. Furthermore, the left eye symbolizes feminine power, and the right eye symbolizes masculine power.
Summary about the eye of Horus
- It is one of the most common Egyptian symbols to this day.
- It means prosperity and protection.
- Its origin is in the Egyptian myths about the god Horus, mediator between the living and the dead.
- It is used in freemasonry and on dollar bills.
- Each of the eyes, left and right, has a meaning.
Meaning of the eye of Horus
The eye of Horus is used as an amulet to this day . In ancient Egyptian mythology, Horus was the god of the sky, the Sun and mediator of the worlds of the living and the dead. In a dispute with his arch-enemy and uncle, Seth, Horus had one of his eyes (the left) gouged out, which was replaced by an amulet, which today means power and protection.
Horus’s eyes were representative of the Moon and the Sun. The plucked eye represented the Moon. As Horus could not see straight because of this, a serpent was placed on his left side to aid his vision.
According to mythology, Seth and Horus had a conflicting relationship, as one symbolized disorder and authoritarianism, and the other, the opposite. Seth would have been able to remove Horus’ eye with one lick . Horus, in turn, removed Seth’s testicles.Don’t stop now… There’s more after the advertising 😉
Seth was not a deity considered evil. In fact, Horus and Seth symbolized the balance between the forces present in a pharaoh (prosperity, power, but also war). It was only after the Egyptians began to lose their lands to foreign invaders that he took on this attribution, which previously only represented that of a trickster, a human characteristic given to the gods, as was common in the mythology of Ancient Egypt.
Who was Horus?
Horus was an ancient Egyptian god who was considered the king of the living. His mother, Isis, according to some versions of the myths, conceived him after his father, Osiris, was already dead, murdered by his brother, Seth. Thus, both the rivalry with the uncle and the role of mediator between the living and the dead are justified, since he was the representative of the living, but was conceived through a dead man.
Eye of Horus symbolism
The eye of Horus, in addition to Egyptian mythology, was used by Freemasonry as “the eye that sees everything” . It is also used on dollar bills as a symbol of prosperity and associated with the Illuminati, a secret society. In Renaissance works of art, it represented the Christian God.
Origin of the Eye of Horus
In addition to the Egyptians, other ancient civilizations used symbols that increased the size of the eyes, as is the case with some Sumerian statues . However, its origin, as we know today, really lies in the mythology of Ancient Egypt.
Uses of the Eye of Horus
Because of the mystical meaning of the eye of Horus, it is often used against envy and the evil eye . It is present in jewelry, amulets and tattoos. Freemasonry uses it as the “all-seeing eye”, a symbol of the omnipresence and omniscience of the “great architect of the Universe”.