The Ankh a symbol of Life… Where the Cross symbolizes Death!
The origin of the Ankh symbol is not entirely well known, but it can be seen in the Egyptian hieroglyphic writing.
The Ankh was taken by the Hebrews from the Egyptians and was introduced to the language by Moses, who was instructed in the wisdom of the priests of Egypt along with many other mystical words.
The ankh represents the union of man and woman and symbolizes the creation of life through this union. According to one of the theories about the origin of the ankh, the symbol could be the combination of the male and female symbols representing Osiris and Isis, the cross and the oval, respectively.
It was believed that the union of Osiris and Isis flooded the Nile every year and gave life to Egypt by providing fertility. That is why the symbol is also known as “the Key of the Nile” and why it is considered to represent the union of heaven and earth.
Other theories suggest that it represents air and water as important elements for generating life. It is also considered to be the key to the mysteries of nature. On the top, it has a kind of circle or oval, which has no beginning, no end and symbolizes the heavenly world, the god Ra, the sun.
But above all, the Egyptian cross or Ankh symbolized the respect for the dead of the Egyptian civilization. Respect that has reached our days, throughout different civilizations, through The Book of the Dead, one of the main works that have come to us from Ancient Egypt.
It can also be seen represented as a magical bond that brings together all things in the knot of the center and makes it possible for them to remain united. It is then the so-called Knot of Isis, the notion of rejoining,
Isis, as the second person of the main Egyptian trinity, formed by Osiris, Isis, and Horus, is the divine mediator, the Goddess of Love and Life, who will gather the scattered pieces of her divine husband Osiris, a symbol of the Mystery.
Likewise, man accesses superior knowledge by developing his will, in an effort to unite with his inner being, his true Being, where the consciousness of his own immortality dwells.
Meaning’s and Symbolism:
- The Egyptian cross, also known as Ankh, was originally an Egyptian hieroglyph used to represent the word “life”. By extension, this cross became primarily a symbol of life.
- This cross was also placed on the lips of dead kings, bearing in mind that according to the mentality of ancient Egypt, death did not mean the end, but was merely a transition to the afterlife, to eternal life.
- As is usual with many symbols of religious or spiritual origin, there is no single meaning for this symbol. Throughout history, this symbol and its variations have been used by different cultures and religions that have given it different meanings.
- Among the Egyptians, it was mainly a symbol of life or immortality. In this sense, it also had a certain relationship with death and the rites associated with death.
- The symbol of the Ankh has also been interpreted as a symbol of balance between opposing forces, for example, between masculinity and femininity. It can also represent joy, energy, and fertility.
- One of the interpretations of the meaning of this symbol relates it to sexual union and therefore to fertility and life. This allows us to understand this symbol not only as a symbol of present life but also as a symbol of future life and immortality.
- There is another theory, which related the T, of the lower part of the cross, with male sexual attributes, while the upper part, the handle of the cross, the uterus or the woman’s pubis, symbolizing the reconciliation of the opposites, unity between both sexes and above all, reproduction and therefore, the cycle of life.
