Eye of Providence Sunburst Letterhead

The Eye of Providence, or the all-seeing eye, is a symbol showing an eye often surrounded by rays of light or a glory and usually enclosed by a triangle. Imagery of an all-seeing eye can be traced back to Egyptian mythology and the Eye of Horus.It also appears in Buddhism, where Buddha is also regularly referred to as the "Eye of the World" throughout Buddhist scriptures (e.g. Mahaparinibbana Sutta) and is represented as a trinity in the shape of a triangle known as the Tiratna, or Triple Gem.<br><br> In Mediaeval and Renaissance European iconography, the Eye (often with the addition of an enclosing triangle) was an explicit image of the Christian Trinity. Seventeenth-century depictions of the Eye of Providence sometimes show it surrounded by clouds or sun bursts. Today, the Eye of Providence is usually associated with Freemasonry. The Eye first appeared as part of the standard iconography of the Freemasons in 1797, with the publication of Thomas Smith Webb's Freemasons Monitor.Here, it represents the all-seeing eye of God and is a reminder that a Mason's thoughts and deeds are always observed by God (who is referred to in Masonry as the Great Architect of the Universe). Typically, the Masonic Eye of Providence has a semi-circular glory below the eye. Sometimes the Eye is enclosed by a triangle.<br><br> Popular among conspiracy theorists is the claim that the Eye of Providence shown atop an unfinished pyramid on the Great Seal of the United States indicates the influence of Freemasonry in the founding of the United States. This was dramatised in the 2004 film National Treasure. However, common Masonic use of the Eye dates to 14 years after the creation of the Great Seal, and the Masonic version does not incorporate a pyramid (although the enclosing triangle is often interpreted as one). Furthermore, among the three members of the original design committee for the Great Seal (or any of the ones that followed it), only Benjamin Franklin was a Mason (and his ideas for the seal were not adopted). Indeed, many Masonic organisations have explicitly denied any connection to the creation of the Seal