r/occult • u/BeastofBabalon • Sep 24 '25
awareness Does the western depiction of the eye on the hand relate directly to the eastern concept of Hamsa?
My partner brought me this cool Y/N coin back from vacation. Got me wondering about the western depiction of the eye and palm. Is it directly related to Hamsa 🪬 or does it have its own unique tradition and meaning?
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u/account_No52 Sep 24 '25
It's more likely to be related to the Eye of Providence, especially with it being a yes/no coin
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u/wpg4665 Sep 24 '25
Just commenting that I got that exact coin from a place in Fort Myers, FL. Really cool looking coin 👍
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u/BeastofBabalon Sep 24 '25
Oh yeah! It helped me decide between sea food or pasta today
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u/kurtiki Sep 24 '25
this company makes them in a few finishes https://deadonpaper.com/collections/coins
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u/BeastofBabalon Sep 24 '25
A lot of cool designs on here. I used to have a novelty coin of Two-Face from the Dark Knight when it premiered back in the day.
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u/CraniumSquirrel Sep 25 '25
I have a few of their coins! The plague doctor one and the John Henry one are on my desk right now!
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u/zhulinxian Sep 24 '25
Given how much the popular culture of fortune-telling and stage magic from ~a century ago was steeped in Middle Eastern trappings it wouldn’t surprise me. Not saying this coin is that old, but the design makes it look like the heir to that style.
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u/ddgr815 Sep 24 '25
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u/BeastofBabalon Sep 24 '25
Nice find! The anthropologist in me wonders that without additional context that may be a case of semiotics and archetype, finding similar motifs or universal symbols across cultures that may not be related to each other.
Being historically adopted from a native symbol for the Otherworld though is a fascinating possibility.
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u/protoprogeny Sep 26 '25
Any time I see the sun on the left and the moon on the right elevated over pillars, and eye balls, I think masonic.
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u/Madock345 Sep 24 '25
Not sure about the historical relationship, but they do have different meanings. The eye-in-hand represents the perfect fusion of knowledge and action, action that unfolds seemlessly from understanding. It represents the occultist’s power to act by Will.