posted on Dec, 23 2004 @ 01:33 AM
You are certainly correct that the symbol of the All Seeing Eye can be found in many places, and used by different people for different reasons.
The symbol probably originated in ancient India, to symbolize the "Third Eye", or the Sahasrara Chakra. When the pre-Brahmic faiths evolved into
Hinduism, it became known as the "Eye of Shiva", the spiritual eye that, when opened, elevates one into universal consciousness.
From here it seems the symbol was adopted by the Egyptians, and incorporated into their myth cycles. In the legend, the solar god Horus challenged the
demonic deity Set in battle. Horus defeated Set and vanquished him, but lost an eye in the fighting. Thoth, the God of Science, placed Horus' eye in
the heavens, which became the sun. Therefore, in the Egyptian mythos, the All Seeing Eye always represents the Sun, as it represents the Yogic Chakra
in Hinduism.
The symbol found its way into Christianity in the middle ages as a symbol of God's omnipresence. From here, it eventually was adopted by Freemasonry
as probably symbolizing all three (the Chakra, the Sun, and the fact that God sees all).
Interestingly, there is no evidence that the Illuminati ever used this as a symbol, although this claim is made almost universally by conspiracy
theorists. When Adam Weishaupt published the Illuminati's rituals and symbolism, he listed the All Seeing Eye as a Masonic symbol, not an Illuminist
one.
In Freemasonry, the symbol appears in the Third Degree, and recurs in several degrees of the Scottish Rite.
[edit on 23-12-2004 by Masonic Light]