The renowned “winged globe” emblem first appeared in print in June 1891, on the cover of the debut issue of Unity magazine (now Unity Magazine). Since then, the symbol has gone through more than 100 different designs.

Unity founders Charles and Myrtle Fillmore chose the “winged globe” as a symbol for Unity because of the important message it conveyed. But what did the emblem mean? Unity magazine answered that question in its November 1891 issue.

The combination of the wings and globe symbolizes the “mind conscious of its spiritual origin and power,” according to Unity, vol. 1, no. 6. In the Chaldean and Egyptian cultures, where it originated, the symbol meant the “perfect soul.”

“It emblemized the soul in its flight back to the Supreme — its original source in the bosom of Absolute Love and Wisdom,” according to the magazine at the time.

It was the distinctive insignia of an occult society that existed in Egypt more than 20,000 years ago. The magazine concluded its explanation:

“The Great Pyramid was constructed under the direction of this society, and it is again manifesting itself in the world in the building of a ‘temple not made with hands,’ of whose permanency and just proportions the Great Gizah is the geometric symbol. That temple will be a unified humanity—by whom God is universally recognized as Infinite Supply—the Bountiful Father, the One Supreme Source of Life, Love, and Intelligence.”

A Symbol of the Earth and Its Soul

In April 1923, Charles Fillmore stated that the winged globe is “a symbol of the earth and its soul.”  He added, “As man develops spiritual consciousness, he attains the realization of the soul as the wings of the body.” Through the years, other Unity thinkers have expressed their   understanding of the winged globe.

“Wings have always been a symbol of freedom, of the ability to soar above the world,” former editor Martha Smock reminded readers in the November 1967 Daily Word.

James Sweaney suggested that Malachi 4:2 (KJV) was a biblical prophecy of the Unity movement: “But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings.” He called for the outstretched wings of love “to bring healing to all the world.”

The Fillmores cared more about the symbol’s message and less about its exact configuration, hence a multitude of variations throughout the generations.

The magazine would stop running the symbol in 1966, with the August issue marking the last time on its cover. Yet the emblem remains today, trademarked in August 1971 as ... the symbol of ascension of human consciousness.

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