The All-Seeing Eye

Controversial but interesting. From Ancient Origins:

The depiction of the Eye of Providence on Pontormo’s Supper at Emmaus shows that it started off as a Christian symbol. Within this context, the word ‘providence’ refers to ‘divine guidance’, specifically to that provided by the God of Christianity. Thus, in a way, the Eye of Providence is meant to represent a form of spiritual guidance that pious Christians ought to follow. The Eye of Providence may also be meant to represent the omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience of God. In addition, the elements surrounding the eye take on a Christian meaning as well. For instance, the triangle is a clear reference to the Holy Trinity – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The burst of light and clouds are meant to symbolize divinity, holiness and God himself. As a matter of fact, these elements are also sometimes used when God is depicted in works of art, for instance, when He is represented by the tetragrammaton, i.e. the name of God in Hebrew transliterated in the four letters, YHWH. Such depictions may be found on stained glass windows in Christian churches, like the abbey church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, in Paris, where the Merovingian kings of Neustria were buried. (Read more.)