All-Seeing Eye – Eye of Providence

The all-seeing eye, also called the Eye of Providence or Eye of God, has origins dating back to the Eye of Horus in Egyptian mythology. It has been adopted as part of the Great Seal of the United States, which shows the all-seeing eye floating on top of a pyramid. This can be seen on the back of the one dollar bill. It is often associated with conspiracy theories involving UFOs, the Illuminati or Freemasonry. It is also featured in the 2004 Disney film, National Treaure, and in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy as the Eye of Sauron.

In cemeteries the all-seeing eye symbol is usually found associated with Freemasonry or the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, like the example here. The letters F, L and T inside the chain links stand for Friendship, Love, and Truth.

Photo: Fairmount Cemetery, Denver, Colorado

Daughters of Rebekah

The Daughters of Rebekah (DR) are a female auxiliary of the International Order of Odd Fellows. The Rebekah Degree was first established in 1851 and there are separate Rebekah lodges today. This example shows the Odd Fellows three chain links symbol intertwined with the letter “R,” and a dove, representing peace, inside the letter “D.” The circular part of the “D” will often be depicted as a crescent moon.

Photo: Gravemarker of Jennie Outcalt (1884-1960), Fairmount Cemetery, Denver, Colorado

Odd Fellows

My favorite name for a fraternal association is The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF). The Odd Fellows purchase cemetery plots so you will often see many deceased members of this association buried near each other. Their primary symbol is three chain links joined together. In the picture above the number 30 is the lodge number.

Sometimes the chain links will encircle the letters F, L and T like in the example below. These stand for friendship, love and truth.

Top photo: Fairmount Cemetery, Denver, Colorado
Bottom photo: Littleton Cemetery, Littleton, Colorado