Pyramid on the dollar: the meaning of the symbol, the history of occurrence

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The dollar has been intertwined with American history from the very beginning. It has been called the root of all evil and the salvation of individualism.

But why does he look like that? The American paper currency has gone through many changes, its design being mostly governed by practical issues. Of particular interest is the symbolism of the images on the dollar bill. In particular, people have always been curious about the meaning of a pyramid with an eye on the dollar.

How American money appeared

The American currency didn't start with the dollar. Before paper currency became standardized and began to be issued at the federal level by a new country that became the United States of America, and before the creation of the US Treasury on September 2, 1789, the currency of the colonies, foreign money, bills were in circulation. It wasn't until 1775 that the Continental Congress issued the first common colonial currency.

Image Story

The actual design of this new currency was far from the modern look of US paper money, but already had familiar motifs. An unfinished dollar pyramid with 13 steps representing the 13 colonies now recognizable from the Great Seal of the United States was part of the design. Eye of Providence was added later.

Over time, the design of banknotes has undergone changes. It wasn't until 1913 that the Federal Reserve Act created the surviving modern form of currency. The act gave the federal government the power to issue Federal Reserve Notes (commonly referred to as US dollars) as legal tender.

But by this point, many of the design elements of the US currency, including the pyramid with an eye on the dollar, had already been used. The rough proportions, the font, the intricate borders, the green color, even some of the wording - all of these components have already been part of American banknotes.

Images of the Great Seal

First of all, the question arises of what the pyramid on the dollar means. She represents strength and prosperity. Some interpret the missing peak as a sign that the construction of the country has not yet been completed. The western side of the pyramid is in shadow while the front is lit, which some say indicates that the nation has not explored the West or figured out what it will do for Western civilization.

Eye over the pyramid

When Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams met to design the seal (they were the first of three committees to propose), they did not propose using the pyramid ondollar, but discussed this issue. They wanted the seal to have a symbol of divine providence. At the same time, the all-seeing eye, similar to the top of the pyramid, was an ancient symbol of divinity.

Letters at the base

As you can see in the photo of the pyramid on the dollar, on its lower bricks is the inscription MDCCLXXVI. It is not a random set - these are Roman numerals meaning 1776, the date America declared its independence.

In 1782, the "Eye of Providence" was adopted as part of the symbol on the back of the Great Seal of the United States. Many began to believe that this was evidence of Masonic influence on the American government. The "eye of providence" on the dollar bill was taken as a signal that the US government had been taken over by evil forces.

However, according to Bill Ellis, an emeritus American professor and researcher from the State of Pennsylvania, the pyramid and eye did not appear on the US dollar until 1935. They were designed as part of the Great Seal.

The dollar pyramid was seen as a man-made structure that lasted for centuries, and the founding fathers wanted the country to exist as long as the pyramids stood.

The Eye of Providence is a Christian symbol

The "all-seeing eye" is an image of an eye surrounded by rays of light (or glory) and enclosed in a triangle. This geometric figure is a symbol of the Christian trinity. Rays of light and clouds usuallyare used to depict holiness, divinity, and God. The eye is interpreted as the eye of God watching over mankind.

The eye is a sacred, very important and ancient symbol used by people for thousands of years. For the Sumerians, the eye was the sacred eye of God, and it was a symbol of wisdom, omniscience and generosity.

Native Americans believe that "the eye of the heart sees all" and as such is the eye of the Great Spirit who is omniscient. In Hinduism, the third eye of Shiva is the pearl in the center of the forehead, it represents spiritual awareness, heavenly wisdom. Varuna's eye symbolizes the Sun. Ancient sources also mention that the eye is part of the ancient hamsa symbol (protective amulet).

Depicted as an eye embedded in the palm of an open hand, the hamsa symbol has had many other names over the centuries. Some scholars believe that the symbol is of pagan origin and was later adopted by other religions. The hamsa is often worn as an amulet to invoke the hand of God or counteract the evil eye. Tracing the roots of this ancient symbol is not easy, because Jewish, Christian and Muslim scholars cannot agree on the interpretation of the hamsa.

Myths and fictions

The "Pyramid and the Eye" on the back of the Great Seal is a misunderstood symbol that has become a de facto victim: the media has greatly simplified it, presenting it as a background image of the evening's financial news. Conspiracy theorists have speculated on this image with might and main, and science fiction writers have not bypassed it.

Reversethe side of the Great Seal was not composed by an anagram found by drawing a six-pointed star whose dots touch the letters in the slogans to form the word "mason".

First of all, the original Great Seal is only a written description, no artwork was presented or approved by Congress in 1782.

Furthermore, the image of the star has nothing to do with the word "Mason" in the first edition of the reverse side of the bill (1786) or on the medal of the US government (1882).

An anagram is compiled on the 1935 one dollar bill (bottom left), but this version has nothing to do with the work of America's Founding Fathers and therefore is no proof that Freemasons had a secret influence on the American nation.

The Great Seal Pyramid is not truncated, it is not completed. In terms of symbolism, this is of great importance. In general, its symbolism and the meaning of the pyramid on the dollar are presented as "magical, secret, occult" and so on. Of course, there is a mystery in history. But that is because some facts remain unknown, not because they are unknowable or supernatural.

Creating Symbols

The origin of the Great Seal is neither "hidden" nor "little known". His history is very well documented. Less is even known about the origin of the American flag.

There is no intended meaning to the number of stones in a pyramid (or the shadow it casts). These details are simply invented by artists. Although the pyramid on the dollar is traditionallyshown with thirteen feet, the official description of the Great Seal of 1782 does not indicate their number. Also, this description does not contain indications of the right or left eye. Its creators did not call it the "all-seeing eye" or the "eye of Horus". They called it the "Eye of Providence".

The phrase Novus ordo seclorum does not mean "new world order". Novus ordo seclorum is an 18th-century Latin phrase (which, in turn, was borrowed from the 1st century BC). "New World Order" is a 20th-century English phrase that, if translated into Latin, would look very different. Seclorum is the plural form. Ordo refers to a sequence, not a system, hierarchy, or organization

Charles Thomson explained that the motto refers to the new American era beginning in 1776. He is associated with the speech of Thomas Jefferson: “Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. Today, we must appreciate the people who warn us of emerging threats to our freedoms from international (as well as national and local) organizations that are manifesting the negative effects of what is called the new world order.”

The Great Seal and all its symbols do not belong to any particular group past or present, secret or overt. This is the original American symbol, created in 1782.