Origins Of The Ankh
The Ankh is primarily an Egyptian symbol. It was a hieroglyphic character used to mean “life” whether in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic writing or art. Egyptian gods and goddesses are often shown carrying the ankh by its loop, or holding one in each hand, with his or her arms crossed over the chest. Ankh is the popular name, however, it is also called the Egyptian Cross, the crux ansata, –Latin for “cross with a handle”, or the key of the Nile, among other names. The exact origins of the ankh, like much of Egyptian mythology, are unknown, but widely hypothesised and speculated. None of these conclusions are widely accepted as the origin of the symbol.
One popular theory is that the ankh originates from the belt-buckle of the goddess Isis. This theory is supported by both E. A. Wallis Budge, the English Egyptologist, and Wolfhart Westendorf. They concluded that both the ankh and the knot of Isis originated from ties used on ceremonial girdles. Alan Gardiner, one of the most prolific of English Egyptologists from the early 20th century, believed that the ankh may have originated from the shaped of a sandal strap because of similarities in spelling. Other theories are that the ankh originated as a symbol representing the sun’s path from east to west, with the loop representing the Nile. Another is that the ankh is instead symbolic of the union between heaven and earth, or Osiris and Isis.
Andrew H. Gordon and Calvin W. Schwabe produced a book in 2004, speculating instead that the ankh symbol was derived from the cattle culture of Egypt, and related instead to a series of symbols. The Ankh, as the symbol for the thoracic vertebra of a bull; the Was, a staff made from the bull’s penis that represents the power and dominion of Set; the Djed, a symbol of stability and steadiness, based on the sacrum of a bull’s spine. Over the years the ankh was adopted by other religions, such as Christianity, and various other pagan religions. It’s also been gradually developed to mean immortality, life, the elements of water and air, as well as other interpretations. Some, such as the Coptic Church, belief the ankh is a symbol of life after death.