The eye is more than a sensory organ; it is the most precious human instrument through which reality is perceived in its widest form. It is often said that the eyes are the windows to the soul and that a single glance speaks more than a thousand words. Through the eyes, a person sees beyond the physical and perceives the unseen. It is precisely because of these characteristics that the eye has gained layered symbolic meaning throughout centuries of cultural evolution.
Since mythical times in Egypt, the eye held a special sacred significance and power, and it was associated with various deities. The all-seeing eye or the eye of providence, are concepts rooted in Egyptian mythology, most commonly associated with the eye of the great Egyptian falcon god Horus.
Horus, a god depicted as a falcon by the Egyptians, is one of the oldest gods of ancient Egypt and spans throughout Egyptian history in various aspects and forms. The name Horus is a Latinized form of the Greek name Horos, which originated from the Egyptian Hor and signifies the sky.
In early texts… but is known as Horus the Elder (Haroeris), he is the son of the god Ra and the brother of Isis and Osiris, as well as Seth and Nephthys. He is the god of the celestial vault and heights, and his eyes are the Sun and the Moon. He is also the face of the sky, the mediator between heaven and earth, gods and humans.
In his second, later aspect, Horus is the son of Isis and Osiris, also known as Horus the Younger (in the Greco-Roman period he was called Harpocrates), and he is often depicted as a child being nursed by Isis.
Both forms are associated with the famous mythical battle between Horus and Seth for the throne, which also symbolizes the struggle between light and darkness. In this battle, Horus the Younger defeats Seth, but in the process, he loses his left eye, which Seth cuts into six pieces. The god of wisdom, Thoth, who is also associated with the Moon, manages to heal Horus’ eye and restore it to him. Since then, Horus’ left eye symbolically represents the Moon and is black in color, while his right eye symbolizes the Sun, is white in color, and is also called Ra’s eye.
This healed left eye continues to exist. By living its own life it acquires the name udjat, the eye-protector, translated as “healthy,” “complete.” In later myth, Horus gave his eye to his father Osiris as a sacrificial offering. According to the myth, Osiris swallowed the eye and, thanks to it, returned to eternal life. In this way, the eye becomes a symbol of resurrection and the renewal of life, as well as the restoration of order.
Horus’s eye, udjat, represented to the Egyptians a mystical source of life and light, as well as the belief that it protects against negative influences. It was believed to possess great protective power and imbue whoever wears it with special protection. Therefore, the eye was the most common amulet in Egypt and remains ubiquitous to this day. Wherever we look, we see eyes. We encounter them in the form of amulets, jewelry, in all sizes and made of all types of materials: gold, silver, wood, porcelain, semiprecious stones, in tombs, on walls, in various depictions and drawings. In the New Kingdom, we encounter representations of Horus’s eye with wings, hovering above kings and gods as a symbol of protective strength.
The hieroglyph of Horus’s eye is shaped like a falcon’s eye or a stylized human eye. It represents a symbol of protection, good health, and divine power. The Eye of Horus is widely recognized and revered in Egyptian mythology and is still considered a powerful talisman today. The eye of Horus was also used as a measure, especially for precise measurements of ingredients in medicine, pigment measurement, soil, and crops.
In ancient Egypt, six parts of the eye of Horus were also associated with the six human senses: smell, sight, hearing, taste, touch, and thought as the sixth sense. Together, they complete the entirety of the human being.
As an amulet, the eye of Horus was most commonly made in blue and green shades from porcelain or semi-precious stones.
The eye of Horus was also used in Egyptian mathematics. The hieroglyph of the eye of Horus was a symbol for unity, representing the number 1. Each of the six parts of the eye of Horus represented a fraction: 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, and 1/64.
The eye of Horus as a protector and guardian could also be seen on the sides of boats and ships. It protected the vessels and looked forward during navigation to guide those sailing on the right path. The eye was also found on sarcophagi, and amulets of the eye of Horus were used in funeral rituals, as mentioned in Egyptian scriptures. The Eye of the Dead. A bandage was placed over the mummies’ eyes where the internal organs were removed to protect the deceased from bad influences, and they were also drawn on the soles of their feet to prevent them from taking a wrong step.
All these depictions of the eye, regardless of the period they come from, are very similar. The Eye of Horus is depicted as a human eye with an eyebrow, but with certain elements that resemble a falcon’s eye.
Astrologically, the Eye of Horus symbolizes the Moon. The loss of Horus’ left eye is also associated with the appearance of the Moon in the sky. When Horus loses his eye, the Moon is new, and when it is returned to him – the full Moon is visible. It is said that the brightness of the Moon is weaker than that of the Sun precisely because Horus’ left, Lunar eye, was damaged. The myth says that the magical healing and restoration of the eye occurred on the sixth lunar day. Thoth, together with fourteen other gods, filled the eye with precisely determined minerals and plants. The treatment lasted for fifteen days, as many gods participated in its healing, and Indeed, it takes so many days for the full Moon to appear. The healed eye becomes a symbol of the reestablishment of order and wholeness.
Behind this multilayered symbolism of Horus’s eye lies the eternal struggle between light and darkness, good and evil. Horus himself, as the avenger of his father, symbolizes the inner warrior who embarks on a battle against his own shadows. Horus’s eye, which dispels darkness and sees everything, reminds us that our eyes must always be open so that we don’t miss what is truly valuable and so that our soul can discern the light and move towards it.