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T A :T E A .K Y M
Discovery Of The Third Eye In The

Ancient Americas
(https://www.richardcassaro.com/discove
of-the-third-eye-in-the-ancient-
americas/)
By Richard Cassaro November 18, 2015 Category: Featured Articles,
(https://www.richardcassaro.com/category/featured-articles/)General
(https://www.richardcassaro.com/category/general/)
Scholars of Eastern religions recognize the Third Eye as having a long history in
India, China, and Asia, where Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism hold sway.
Strangely, the Third Eye is ignored by archaeologists of New World cultures, despite
extensive evidence of Third Eye symbolism in ancient American artwork. Are the
following Third Eye images from the New World (which I´ve researched and col‐
lected over the past twenty years) the key to unlocking the religions of the Maya,
Olmec, Aztec, Inca, pre-Inca, and other ancient American cultures?
(https://www.richardcassaro.com/wp-content/uploads/2015-02/11/third-9.jpg)
THIRD EYE IN THE NEW WORLD
I´ve been presenting this evidence of Third Eye symbolism
in the ancient artwork of New World cultures for many years.
(NOTE: Click on the video below to watch a 5-minute YouTube presentation I cre‐
ated to help explain this discovery of the Third Eye in the ancient Americas. To
learn more about this archaeological find, read my 2011 book Written In Stone.)
(https://www.richardcassaro.com/wp-content/uploads/2015-02/11/Bronx-Zoo-
click-on-the-video.jpg)
Si è veri cato un errore.
Prova a guardare il video su www.youtube.com oppure attiva JavaScript se è disabilitato nel

browser.
The “Third Eye” is a mysterious ancient faculty we all possess, according to oc‐
cult tradition. It gives us the ability to see beyond ordinary sight. Though mystics
and adepts speak of the mysterious powers the Third Eye endows us with (i.e.,
higher consciousness, greater perception, clairvoyance, expanded capacity for
self-healing) on a simpler level the Third Eye denotes spiritual insight, providing
us with a vision of our inner soul or higher Self, our true eternal being.
Readers familiar with Eastern religions will recall the Third Eye as having a long
history in India, China, and Southeast Asia, where the religious traditions of
Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism hold sway. The Third Eye is known throughout
the Indian sub-continent as the “urna” or “trinetra,” and is often marked by a dot in
the middle of the forehead, above and between the eyes.
THIRD EYE IN THE OLD WORLD
Third Eye symbolism in Old World cultures. This “forehead dot,” called “urna” or
“trinetra,”
signifies the Third Eye. By closing our two eyes and opening our Third Eye, we see our
higher “Self” or spiritual “soul within.”
During my travels and during my three decades of studying ancient cultures, I
have come to realize that the same symbolic Third Eye “forehead dot” present in
Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism is also abundant in the archaeology of ancient
New World civilizations.
This fact has not yet been recognized by scholars of New World cultures.
We find this Third Eye symbolism among cultures that evolved and flourished in
present-day Mexico, Peru, Columbia, Panama and even the United States (i.e.,
the Olmec, Toltec, Maya, Zapotec, Aztec, Inca, pre-Inca, and Mississippian
cultures, among others):
(https://www.richardcassaro.com/wp-content/uploads/2015-02/11/11.jpg)

(https://www.richardcassaro.com/wp-content/uploads/2015-02/11/3b.jpg)
3b 3b
This collection of ancient American artifacts, assembled here for the first time in
history, indicates that the same Third Eye “forehead dot” that plays such an im‐
portant role in the religions of the Eastern Hemisphere (i.e., urna and trinetra) is
also present in the Western Hemisphere.
Are these New World “forehead dot” images symbolic of the Third Eye?—The same
Third Eye known throughout the Old World? If so, then how is this possible, since
scholars insist New World cultures evolved separately from their Old World
counterparts? Do these examples of Third Eye symbolism in the Americas prove
that an ancient worldwide Third Eye tradition once existed?
There is a long history of the Third Eye in the so-called “occult tradition” or
“hermetic tradition,” and this tradition teaches that during a long-ago Golden Age
our ancestors had a “Third Eye” in the center of their foreheads. As humans
evolved, this Third Eye atrophied, becoming the modern “pineal gland,” located
precisely in the geometric center of the human brain. Today the Third Eye organ
no longer works in our daily lives and must be intentionally “awakened.” This
awakening can be achieved through the ancient practice of “Yoga,” a system of
holistic health traced to the Indian sub-continent.
A specific type of yoga called “Kundalini Yoga,” virtually unknown in the West, is
particularly structured to help seekers awaken the Third Eye and find the “higher
Self” or “soul within” (called “Atman” in India). Kundalini is an ancient Sanskrit
term denoting the “illumination” or “enlightenment” one experiences during the
discovery of the soul:
“This Mechanism, known as Kundalini, is the real cause of all so-called spiritual
and psychic phenomena…the secret origin of all esoteric and occult doctrines, the
master Key to the unsolved mystery of creation, the inexhaustible source of
philosophy, art and science, and the fountainhead of all religious faiths, past,
present and future.”
—Dr. Lee Sannella (Physician, Author, Founder of The Kundalini Clinic)
Kundalini Yoga teaches that the Third Eye or “ajna chakra” forms the sixth of
seven major energy centers or “chakras” in the human body. The chakras are
aligned in ascending order from the base of the spinal column in the pelvis to the
top of the head, like seven energy centers that interface between the physical
and nonphysical parts of yourself.
The seven chakras of Kundalini Yoga.

All the chakras are connected, from the lowest to the highest, through a central
channel called the sushumna, which parallels the spinal column, and which can
be thought of as one’s axis mundi or inner soul. Two opposing channels, ida and
pingala, run to the left and right of the sushumna but do not connect with the
chakras. Ida is the left channel, our physical feminine side. Pingala is the right
channel, our physical masculine side. Negatively charged ida ends in the left
nostril, and has characteristics of coolness related to the moon. Positively
charged pingala ends in the right nostril, and has characteristics of heat related
to the sun.
Balancing the two channels in perfect equilibrium activates the sushumna and
awakens the Third Eye.
In addition to its presence in Kundalini Yoga, the Third Eye is used extensively in
the East, appearing in varied disciplines of Yoga and Ch’an Buddhism as well as
martial arts like karate, qigong, and aikido. The idea of the Third Eye, however, is
quite foreign to the West. Despite living in the “information age” of globalization,
this idea has yet to really cross the cultural divide to our own; it is still treated as
something strange and alien, an enigma unique to the Eastern religions.
Why?
Why won´t Western scholars or scientists study, analyze, discuss or even mention
the Third Eye in their research papers, archaeological investigations or academic
studies? Why is the Third Eye never taught in schools? Why are so many of us in
the Western Hemisphere oblivious to the deep and powerful roots and meaning of
the Third Eye, despite its long and storied history in the Eastern Hemisphere?
These questions become even more pressing when begin to examine the possi‐
bility proposed in the present paper—namely, that Third Eye symbolism is
present across ancient American cultures. Many examples don´t necessarily de‐
pict a “forehead dot,” but nevertheless still express Third Eye symbolism. For
example, in Peru the Inca king was often depicted in art with a semi-circular
“solar” motif around his head—an illustration, perhaps, of his spiritual Third Eye
awakening:
These ceremonial knives called Tumis show human beings crowned with a semi-circular
“solar halo,” which portrays them as being illuminated by the rising sun around their
heads.
Left: The entire head is inundated with “solar” (read “spiritual”) light. Right: The same
solar
light appears; here there is even a circled dot in place of the Third Eye.
The Inca king also wore a golden orb necklace across his chest, which may have
symbolized his knowing or “gnosis” of the “inner sun” or “higher Self” within.
Such representations may have implied that sunlight or soul-light resides inside
every human being.
Interestingly, the Incas understood the doctrine of duality—the ida and pingala of
Kundalini Yoga—believing a totality is comprised of two opposing and contrast‐
ing forces locked in equilibrium. They associated the male /pingala “side” with
the sun and the female/ida “side” with the moon. Victorian era archaeologist and
anthropologist Zelia Nuttall wrote:
“In Peru…a silver image of the moon, associated with the female
sovereign, was the complement to the golden effigy of the sun,
associated with the Inca [King]…
Two forms of cult prevailed: the Inca lords and warriors were associated
with the cult of the Above of which the emblems were golden images of
the Creator and of the Sun, “the lord of the day”…
…the silver huaca or image of the moon…was in the figure of a woman

and was kept under the charge of women, the reason for this being “that
the moon was a woman.”
—Zelia Nuttall, The Fundamental Principles of Old and New World

Civilizations
Like the ancient Hindus, the Incas understood the sun was spiritual and mascu‐
line while the moon material and feminine. It was on the basis of this
male/female relationship between the sun and moon that the Incas perceived
the entire universe as a duality, which they called hanan and hurin. Hanan ex‐
pressed the Sun, High, Strong, Aggressive, Right, and Masculine. Hurin denoted
the Moon, Low, Weak, Passive, Left, and Feminine.
More importantly, the Incas knew that it wasn´t just “duality” that was important;
it was the “union” of this duality…the “joining” of these hanan/hurin opposites…
that enabled the magic of “balance” and “transcendence” to take place. Author
Malena Kuss tells us:
“A more general aspect of Andean sensibility stresses the synthetic

joining or fusion of complementary or opposing entities: large/small,
male/ female, insider/outsider…human/divinity, hanan (high)/hurin (low),
sometimes around a central point or entity…”
—Malena Kuss, Music in Latin America and the Caribbean
This “joining” of “opposites” “sometimes around a central point or entity” pre‐

cisely parallels the union of ida and pingala in Kundalini Yoga. This is the so-
called “alchemical marriage” (to borrow an alchemical term) that stimulates the
sushumna and awakens the Third Eye chakra; hence the gold Tumi in the photo
above.
It´s interesting to note that in India the word “chakra” derives from the Sanskrit
word for “wheel” or “turning” and is linked to the words “vortex” or “whirlpool.”
These words all imply first a center point and then, encircling that center point, a
periphery—basically, a circle with a dot in the center. This is noteworthy because
many depictions of the Third Eye in ancient American art use a “circled dot”
chakra as the Third Eye symbol—with a circled dot being the exact shape of an
Eye:
(https://www.richardcassaro.com/wp-content/uploads/2015-02/11/110.jpg) An-
cient Mayan jadeite sculpture of a mask with the Third Eye emblazoned
on the forehead in the form of a circled dot, from Guatemala.

Maya-Toltec limestone sculpture 13 3/4 in, with circled dot in position of the Third Eye.
From the Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection.

Mayan jade mosaic skull death mask with circled dot in the position of the Third Eye,
emitting rays of light.

Turquoise mosaic plaque with Third Eye “circled dot.” Mixtec, Post-Classic Mexico.

Ancient Mayan jadeite pendant with circled dot in position of the Third Eye.

Olmec sculpture depicting what appears to be a circled dot Third Eye symbol.

Toltec wall frieze depicting matching “halves” that combine to form a single image. Note
the
solar/floral forehead emblem, shaped like a circled dot “chakra” in the position of the
Third
Eye.
In these examples, a circled dot marks the Third Eye. In the Toltec wall frieze di‐
rectly above, “twin halves” of a human body “unite” into a single unified face and
head—highlighting not just “duality” but the idea that the “balance” of this duality
forms a totality.
Describing this Toltec wall frieze, author and researcher Victor Sanchez wrote:
“… modern humans have denied half of themselves. The indigenous

Toltec people of Mexico did not make that mistake. They knew that we
are double beings. They knew about the double nature of the world.
That is why they call the world Omeyocan, or “the place of duality.” …
Those ancient Toltecs were aware of our dual nature and envisioned the
integration of the two sides of our being as the goal of human
existence…We have lost contact and even awareness of our magical
side. In forgetting this, we have lost the source of our power…”
—Victor Sanchez, The Toltec Path of Recapitulation
Like the ancient Hindus, the Maya also believed that the world and everything in‐
side it is made of duality, including our own physical bodies:
“Throughout Maya history the left and right sides of the human body,
left/right spatial orientation, and handedness have had important
cultural and symbolic meanings… For the Classic Maya, as with
contemporary Maya peoples, the right hand or side of the body often
signified “pure, powerful, or superordinate,” and the left frequently
symbolized “weaker, lame, or subordinate” in particular cultural
contexts.”
—Dr. Joel W. Palka, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Vanderbilt

University
Note the parallel here to the ida and pingala left-side / right-side duality of the
Hindus. Incredibly, the Maya too believed that to touch the alchemical gold we
must understand and balance this duality; in fact, this was the fundamental
“religion” of the Mayan people. This is a truth recognized by scholars. Respected
Mayanist Mercedes de la Garza tells us that:
“…the basic concept of the Maya religion (and that of Mesoamerica in
general) is harmony of opposites…”
—Mercedes de la Garza, Maya
This idea of “harmony of opposites” is also visible in pre-Inca art and architec‐
ture across western South America. In some cases, it was directly related to the
Third Eye. In the following examples of Chancay art, two puma bodies on the
forehead unite into a single puma face/head:
Chancay art showing the merging of twin puma bodies to form a single puma head.
The body of the puma on the right symbolizes the “right” side of the human body,
while the body of the puma on the left symbolizes the “left” side of the human
body. The single head of the puma symbolizes the “joining of opposites” and
thus the awakened Third Eye.
In some pre-Inca cultures, like the Moche, the Third Eye was depicted as an owl
´s face; this is because the owl is an ambivalent symbol, encompassing both
sides of the duality and thus symbolizing a “union” or “reconciliation” of the op‐
posites as one:
Three examples of an owl´s face in place of the Third Eye,

from the ancient Moche (Mochica) culture Peru.
Sometimes, Third Eye symbolism in New World cultures takes the shape of a
three petal flower or plant, which, in the Old World cultures of Europe is called a
fleur-de-lis emblem, as shown below:
Left: Funeral mask with Third Eye dot inside fleur-de-lis symbol. Maya, Tikal. Middle: Za-
potec
urn with fleur-de-lis symbol. Right: Fleur-de-lis symbol whose shape—three leaves with the
leaf in the middle taller and wider than the twin leaves flanking it—depicts the “balance
of
opposites” and “awakening the Third Eye.”
Here in the images of the Mayan and Zapotec cultures, we see a fleur-de-lis on
the forehead, depicted in place of the Third Eye. Inside the fleur-de-lis is a circu‐
lar symbol, perhaps a chakra. This “fleur-de-lis on the forehead” is not an uncom‐
mon theme in pre-Columbian art. As shown below, sometimes the fleur-de-lis
takes the form of a corn plant, a motif associated with the Olmec culture. Note
how the Olmec artist encodes an ear of corn, or perhaps a pine cone, as the
“center” leaf of the Fleur-de-lis.
(https://www.richardcassaro.com/wp-content/uploads/2015-
02/11/42.jpg) Olmec jade figurine (900-300 B.C.) with Third Eye “fleur-de-lis”
symbol depicted as corn ear or pine cone.
One of the most interesting and pertinent symbols used to depict the Third Eye
is the sun. We see this in Peru especially, as shown in the following Moche art:

Central part of a gold bell depicting a man with an

awakened Third Eye. Moche culture, Peru. Museo Tumbas Reales de Sipán.
The Moche may have understood that the Third Eye and the sun are directly
linked insofar as the Third Eye “sees” the “soul within” (read “sol within”).
Finally, the Aztec sculpture below shows a direct reference to the Third Eye on
the forehead. The symbol is clearly shaped like a giant single eye:
Mysterious single eye pattern above the forehead (in the
location of the Third Eye) of the Aztec fire god, Huehueteotl.
This collection of images forces us to ask some penetrating questions:
Was the Third Eye a “Universal Religion” shared by all New World cultures? Other‐
wise said, just as the Third Eye has long been at the center of Old World religions in
the Eastern Hemisphere (Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism), could this same Third Eye
have been at the center of New World religions in the Western Hemisphere? If so,
then was the Third Eye a kind of “lost Universal Religion” shared globally in
Antiquity?
To learn more about the Third Eye in ancient American cultures, read my 2011
book Written In Stone. You can purchase a copy here:
(https://www.richardcassaro.com/richard-cassaro-store#!/Written-in-Stone-
Paperback/p/6675290/category=0)
(https://www.richardcassaro.com/richard-cassaro-store#!/The-Missing-Link-
%E2%80%93-Ebook/p/66392736/category=0&forcescroll=true)
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Richard Cassaro’s new book, The Missing Link,

explores the meaning, transformations and
propagation of the ancient world’s most impor‐
tant religious icon. His first book, Written in
Stone, is a wide-ranging exploration of hitherto-
unknown connections among Freemasons,
medieval cathedral builders and the creators of
important ancient monuments, in support of
his theory that a spiritually advanced mother
culture, lost to history, is behind many of the
world’s architectural and artistic traditions.
Prior to the publication of Written in Stone, Cas‐

saro enjoyed a successful career as a U.S.
correspondent, professional journalist, and
photo researcher for Rizzoli Publications, one of the world’s leading media
organizations. Cassaro, who is a graduate of Pace University in New York City,
has examined first-hand the ancient ruins and mystical traditions of Egypt,
Mexico, Greece, Italy, Sicily, France, England, India, Peru and Spain; he has lec‐
tured on his theories to great acclaim in the United States, Egypt, Italy, Spain and
Peru.
Richard Cassaro © Copyright, All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication
of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or
owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear
credit is given to www.RichardCassaro.com (http://www.RichardCassaro.com)
with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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Discovery Of The Third Eye In The

Prova a guardare il video su www.youtube.com oppure attiva JavaScript se è disabilitato nel

—Dr. Lee Sannella (Physician, Author, Founder of The Kundalini Clinic)

The seven chakras of Kundalini Yoga.

…the silver huaca or image of the moon…was in the ﬁgure of a woman

—Zelia Nuttall, The Fundamental Principles of Old and New World

“A more general aspect of Andean sensibility stresses the synthetic

—Malena Kuss, Music in Latin America and the Caribbean

This “joining” of “opposites” “sometimes around a central point or entity” pre‐

“… modern humans have denied half of themselves. The indigenous

—Victor Sanchez, The Toltec Path of Recapitulation

—Dr. Joel W. Palka, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Vanderbilt

—Mercedes de la Garza, Maya

Three examples of an owl´s face in place of the Third Eye,

Central part of a gold bell depicting a man with an

Richard Cassaro’s new book, The Missing Link,

Prior to the publication of Written in Stone, Cas‐

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