Ankh

For other uses, see Ankh (disambiguation).

Ankh

The ankh (pronunced /æŋk/ in English, symbol ☥) was the Egyptian hieroglyphic character that stood for the word ʿnḫ, meaning life. Egyptian gods are often portrayed carrying it by its loop, or bearing one in each hand, arms crossed over their chest. It is also known as the Egyptian Cross, or as crux ansata, Latin for "cross with a handle".

Origins

Ankh in hieroglyphs

or

The is no single definitive interpretation of the symbol by Egyptologists. Unlike most Egyptian sacred images, it was not a human-like god with the head of an animal, or even the disk of the Sun, but a pure symbol of deity, the giver of life.

Diverse theories include E. A. Wallis Budge's that it might have originated as the belt-buckle of the mother goddess Isis, an idea joined by Wolfhart Westendorf with the notion that both the ankh and the Knot of Isis were used as ties on ceremonial girdles. Sir Alan Gardiner speculated that it represented a sandal strap, with the loop going around the ankle. The word for sandal strap was also spelled ʿnḫ, although it may have been pronounced differently.

Still other theories include the notion that the ankh represents the sun crowning over the horizon and thus represents regeneration, regrowth and renewal. It is also believed to represent the path of the sun from east to west (with the loop representing the Nile River), a stylized person, or that it is a combination of the male and female symbols of Osiris (the cross) and Isis (the oval) respectively, and therefore signifies the union of heaven and earth. Together these symbols reflect a continued existence.

Over time the ankh has come to symbolize life and immortality. Its keylike shape encourages the belief it unlocks the gates of death, and it is viewed this way by the modern Rosicrucians and other hermetic orders. The Coptic Christians have used it as a symbol of life after death.

History

Ankh was a hieroglyph that meant life or living. It appeared in the name of King "Tutankhamun", Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty (ruled 1333 B.C.E. – 1324 B.C.E.). The name is derived from the hieroglyphs which translate as Tut-ankh-amun meaning the "Living Image of Amun." Today, many people refer to him as Tut. When Tut was born, he was given the name Tutankhaten meaning the "Living Image of the Aten" - the Aten was the single god worshipped during the rule Akhenaten, the heretic king who is believed to have been the father of Tutankhamun. Not long after Tutankhaten became Pharaoh, there was a restoration of the previously-deposed state god Amun and Tut's name was changed to Tutankhamun.

The ankh appears frequently in Egyptian tomb paintings and other art, often at the fingertips of a god or goddess in images that represent the deities of the afterlife conferring the gift of life on the dead person's mummy. An ankh was often carried by Egyptians as an amulet, either alone, or in connection with two other hieroglyphs that mean "strength" and "health." Mirrors were often made in the shape of an ankh. Sometimes, in art, a god is portrayed touching a mortal with an ankh, symbolizing conception. The Ankh is almost never drawn in silver (because the Ankh is associated with the Sun, and gold is the metal of the Sun).

Hermeticism

Hermeticism is a belief system that may have come out of Egypt and whose beliefs could be considered a means of unifing many of the Ankh's meanings. It is unclear whether their beliefs created the ankh or added many meanings, or remain a coincidence. Their concept of God was The All, who purportedly claimed: "Nous, God, being male and female, beginning as life and light, gave birth, by the Word, to another Nous, the Creator of the world;" (Way of Hermes p. 19)

If the concept of the ankh suggesting the joining of the masculine and feminine is correct, with the top opened up to look similar to Ω representing the feminine (genitals) and the bottom shaft being a phallic symbol, then the rest may follow. If God is both male and female, the ankh is a symbol of hermaphroditism and can represent God. It also can be representing reproduction as both genitalia are pictured, with Nous having given birth.

The ankh and the cross

The cross (which is today one of the most widely recognized symbols in the world) was not commonly used as a symbol during the first two and a half centuries after the death of Jesus. This was the case because the cross as a means of execution had been used by the Roman Empire for killing enemies of Rome and slaves. The one exception was Egypt, where their own indigenous cross, the ankh, was a general symbol of "primal" deity. The ankh became a way that the cross could be pictured without the "insult" to the memory of Jesus. An example of the ankh in transition was discovered in the Fayaom oasis region on a 3rd century Christian bust, excavated in the 1960s.

To Christians outside of the ankh's influence, the image of the Roman cross of execution was "shameful" in the same manner as a hanging noose or a headsman's ax would be. Especially to professed Christains in fourth century Egypt, the association of the ankh with the cross seemed comfortable and familiar.

The ankh was gradually adopted by the fourth century Christian church in Egypt (which eventually became the Coptic church).

Elsewhere, the main Christian symbol at the time had been a stylized alpha, resembling a fish, and therefore known as Ichthys, the Greek word for 'fish'. However, the new "more positive" symbol of a cross eventually spread throughout the Christianized Empire. The distinct circular or "gothic arch-like" upper part of the Ankh was kept well into medieval times. The Ankh symbol has often been used as a Christian talisman.

Other uses

A similar symbol (♀) was used to represent the Roman goddess Venus. This symbol, known benignly as Venus' hand-mirror, is much more associated with a representation of the female womb. The same symbol is used in astrology to represent the planet Venus, in alchemy to represent the element copper, and in biology to identify the female gender.

Legacy

The ankh is widely employed in modern American pop culture as a device to communicate spiritual, as opposed to religious, beliefs.

Hippies of the 1960s and 70s wore it as a life-affirming sign indicating their disdain for materialism.

In Gothic subculture the ankh is a symbol associated with vampires.[1] Jhonen Vasquez is known to have used the symbol in mockery of the gothic subculture of today in his work Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. The ankh was worn by David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve as a gold pendant, the bottom part concealing a knife used for blood drinking, in the 1983 film The Hunger, based on Whitley Strieber's novel of the same title.

The ankh is featured in a number of computer fantasy games including World of Warcraft, Guild Wars, Ankh: Tales of Mystery and Garfield: Caught in the Act. It often is associated in a simplistic manner with "holy magic" and priestly characters.

In the Japanese anime TV series Yu-Gi-Oh!, the character Shadi uses the Millennium Key, which is in the shape of an ankh, to unlock and enter people's minds.

Elvis Presley wore an ankh necklace during his concert documentary Elvis on Tour while wearing the Blue Nail Jumpsuit. He was also known to wear the Christian Cross and the Jewish Chai. He once remarked, "I don't want to miss out on Heaven because of a technicality."

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Collier, Mark and Manley, Bill. How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs: Revised Edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998. ISBN 0520215974
• Salaman, Clement and Van Oyen, Dorine and Wharton, William D. and Mahé, Jean-Pierre (translation) (2000). The Way of Hermes: New Translations of The Corpus Heremticum and The Definitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius. Rochester: Inner Traditions.  ISBN 0715630938
• Three Initiates (1912). The Kybalion. Chicago: The Yogi Publication Society Masonic Temple.  ISBN 0911662251
• Amen, Nur Ankh. 1999. The Ankh: African Origin of Electromagnetism. New York: A&B Publishers Group. ISBN 1886433127

External links

• "Ankh: The Original Cross", The Afrocentric Experience, Retrieved March 18, 2007.

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