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Some notes about the ankh symbol

See also free ankh pictures and clip-art.

he Ankh Cross represents life (immortality) and death, male and female, balance. It can also represent zest, joy of life,

nd energy. It's closely related to the looped cross that can mean fertility and life.

he Ancient Egyptians used the ankh to stand for a word meaning life. It is also called crux ansata, Latin for cross-ith-a-handle.

When the Roman Emperor Constantine claimed to have had a vision of death outside the walls of Jerusalem he made the

ymbol of punishment and death (the cross) synonymous with Christianity; Constantine's cross was made from a sword

nd a spear, a sign that a soldier could make, and non-Christians learned to hate and fear the brutality that was

sociated with this symbol for over a thousand years. As a result, the Ankh Cross, like the swastica usurped by the

azis, has become associated also with Christianity.

ike most religious or spiritual symbols, the Ankh Cross doesn't have a single simple meaning. The following extracts

om books on symbols might help you get a feeling for it, though.

Hall's Illustrated Dictionary of Symbols

Ankh. Egyption hieroglyph for life, possibly originaly a

representation of a sandal strap. As a symbol is denotes eternal life

and when held to the nose of a dead pharaoh ensures his

everlasting existance. It is held by many deities, in particular Atum,the sun-god of Heliopolis, and (when seated) Sekhmet, the

lion-headed war-goddess of memphis. A was Sceptre combining thedjedcolumn and ankh is the attribute of Ptah. On the walls oftemples it gives divine protection to the deceased. The Coptic

Church adopted it as a form of the Cross, called ansate (having a

handle).

Hall's illustrated Dictionary of Symbols in Eastern and WesternArt, James Hall, published by John Murray in 1994

Dictionary of Symbols, Liungman

The ancient Egyptian staff sign or god staffankh, which is also believed to be the

hieroglyph used to symbolize reproduction and sexual union. According to other

sources means life andzest for life. The best summary of its meaning isfuture life, life after death.

Hathor, who was both the goddess of the zest for life and the goddess of death,

carried and gave life with it. This contradictory character in many ways

corresponds to the Venus goddess Inanna, Ischtar, Astarte, and Aphrodite. For a derivation of

the relation between , and , see , in Group 29.

The hieroglyph is sometimes called the key of the Nile. The symbol is associated with Imkotep (living

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The significance of the Girdle of Isis is far more complex. Like ropework or plaited hair round the arms and

the loop of the cross, it infuses the concept of life and of immortality with the concept of the knots which tie

down mortal life on Earth and which must be unravelled to enjoy immortality. `Free your bonds,' says TheEgyptian Book of the Dead, `untie the knots of Nephthys.' And again: `Shining are those who carry thegirdle. Oh! Bearers of the Girdle.' The same meaning is conveyed by the Tibetan Buddhist book called The

Book of the Untying of the Knots. While the plain looped cross symbolizes divine immortality, soughtorattained, the Girdle of Isis makes clear the conditions under which that immortality is obtained - by the

untying of knots - dnouement in the true sense of the word.

A Dictionary of Symbols, Jean Chevalier and Alain Gheerbrant, translated f rom the French by John

Buchan-Brown, Blackwell, 1994 (the French edition was originally published by ditions Robert LaffrontS.A. in 1969, 2nd ed. 1982)

If you get this book, try and get the hardback edition: the reviews at Amazon say the Penguin paperback is

on cheap paper, at least in the US.

Note also that the English edition is not illustrated.

Links

Some other Web pages about the ankh:

The Afrocentric Experience said The Ankh is defined as: The symbolic representation of bothPhysical and Eternal life. It is known as the original cross, which is a powerful symbol that was firstcreated by Africans in Ancient Egypt.

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pantheon.org saysIt is also known as the Key of the Nile, representing the union of Isis and Osiris. Itis said that this mystic union would initiate the annual flooding of the Nile, providing Egypt with hervarious means to survive. The meaning of the ankh as womb, thus fertility and reproduction, iswell-illustrated in this particular legend.

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See also the wikipedia, and also I have some free ankh images.