Interpretting Symbols - The Hidden Meaning of The Eye.
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Tiempo de lectura 3 min
I’ve been drawing eyes for as long as I can remember.
Sometimes consciously, sometimes without even realising it, they appear on the edges of sketchbooks, on the backs of envelopes, hidden inside other forms.
For a long time I thought it was just a habit.
Now I see it for what it really is, a message from my own soul, screaming at me to remember something I've forgotten.
What if the symbols, colours, sounds and images we are drawn to throughout our lives, aren't just background decoration or personal preferences. What if the very symbols we are drawn to are messages from our own souls, pointing us toward a part of ourselves or our own story that we've forgotten?
The Moment of Recognition
Last month, while painting, I caught myself staring into one of my own pieces. It was a simple shape, a curved oval, a pupil, but it felt alive. Watching me as much as I was watching it.
And for a second, I stopped, I noticed the awareness that sat beneath it.
It was as though something inside me whispered, “This is what you’re trying to show them.”
The art isn’t just something to look at.
It’s something that looks back.
And as is looks back, it asks us to look within.
The Symbol Through Time
The symbol of the eye is ancient, one of the oldest languages humanity ever created.
The Egyptians painted the Eye of Horus on tombs for protection and healing.
In Mesopotamia, the earliest carved idols were little more than clusters of eyes, vessels of the divine gaze.
In Greece, they wore blue-eyed amulets to guard against envy and ill will.
Across all of these cultures, the message is the same: the eye is awareness, the act of seeing and being seen.
Carl Jung wrote that “the soul speaks in images and symbols.”
He saw the eye as the emblem of consciousness itself, the moment the unconscious turns to look at its own reflection and realises, I exist.
The eye often signals the act of seeing, awareness, the witness self.
It points to inner vision as well as external sight.
It can indicate an approach to the Self (Jung’s term for the wholeness of psyche) because to see fully is part of becoming conscious.
Thus, when you see the symbol of the eye repeatedly, it may be an invitation to become more aware, to notice what you have not noticed, to awaken that interior gaze.
What do you see when tripping on Psilocybin?
Eyes! everywhere! I once wondered if this was just my fear of being judged, watched, perceived. And maybe there is a little of that.
Or maybe when the boundaries of perception blur, the first image that appears is the eye because It’s the psyche showing itself to itself.
The part of us that witnesses, is finally made visible.
The mirror is turned inward.
The eye represents your own inner gaze coming forward.
It signals a moment of awakening, of the soul wanting to see.
In short: when you “trip” and the eye shows itself, you’re being shown the symbol of seeing, not just outwardly, but inwardly, the witness, the observer of your inner world.
Why I Use the Eye in My Art
In my own work I use the eye symbol because it connects with so many layers of what I aim to express: communication, witness, reflection, awakening.
When I draw the eye, I’m visualising the quiet witness inside you that sees beyond the surface, the part of you that recognises truth, sensation, essence.
I believe art is a dialogue. The eye symbol invites you into that dialogue: “look, be seen, remember you are love.”
It ties back to my purpose: the art is not mine alone, it’s ours, and the eye symbol is one of the languages with which we speak to each other, through symbol, colour, form.
What It Means If You Are Drawn To Eyes
If you find yourself repeatedly drawn to the eye symbol, art, in nature, in other visuals this may indicate a deeper resonance:
You may be in a stage of life where seeing matters: seeing yourself, seeing others, seeing truth.
You might be awakening to your own witness-self or your capacity to observe your world differently.
The symbol might be holding a mirror for you: Do you see what’s visible? What’s invisible?
It could be signalling a call: to remember you are love, to invite the inner gaze, to live more consciously.
The eye symbol is ancient, potent, layered. From protection to illumination; from mythic healing to inner awakening.
Whether you encounter it on a piece of art, in a vision, or simply find your gaze drawn to one, allow it to be a doorway: a reminder that you are being seen, you are seeing, and you are part of the whole.
If you feel called, sit with the symbol for a moment. Ask: What do I need to see right now? and What part of me needs to be the witness?
