The Ankh

Egyptian mythology has always been fascinating, the pyramids, the mummies, the biographies, and the controversies of Alien connections make it a pandora's box for mystery seekers. 

But today our topic is not the mummies, pyramids, or heck even the Aliens.

Today we are going to talk about a certain symbol of ancient Egypt.

a symbol that everyone has seen, even if they have no idea about Egyptian mythology.

The Ankh.

The Ankh is related to almost all the Egyptian gods and goddesses, but with each figure, the Ankh receives a new meaning

The Ankh is the symbol of life.

But what is life?

Is it the cycle of life and death 

or it is the story of birth,

Maybe it is the energy that keeps us alive 

or the source that created it all

Life is complex

So let us start little by little

Most theories suggest that the Ankh represents the womb, where life grows. The complex union of male and female gametes causes the creation of life. 

                                      

Moreover, it signifies the balance of nature, the circle represents the cycle of nature. The simple understanding of everything that nature created makes its way back to it again. So that a new life can be created again and the cycle of life continues.

The cross symbolizes the material plane.

It also symbolizes the afterlife and thus was used during mummy formation and on the sarcophagi, so the person could easily travel to the other world. 

The symbol is strongly connected to all the gods of Egypt even Anubis.

But with each god, the meaning of the symbol changed slightly,

Isis

The story of Isis is the most important one, as the origin of Ankh as the key of life.

So the story goes something like this

Osiris who is a god came to Egypt to rule as a king, he proclaimed new laws, taught them new techniques of farming, and so on. Under his reign, the Egyptian empire flourished and he soon became for his wisdom and kind heart. His fame and fortune soon caused envy in the heart of his brother Seth.

So Seth killed him in a really creative way, he took the measurements of his brother while he was sleeping, careful not to wake him or the goddess Isis, his wife. 

With the measurements, he ordered to make a beautiful chest that was exactly the size of Osiris. A few days later he threw a party and invited Osiris as guest of honor. There he played a game that anyone who could fit in the chest could keep it. when it was Osiris turn he shut the chest close and locked it up. then he and his friends threw the chest in river Nile. 

Isis after learning about Osiris's death, went in search of his body. She found the chest and retrieved his body, she wanted to do the last rites of her husband so she went to arrange for the rituals after burying him near the banks so that no one found him. Seth went to check if the chest had drifted far away when he stumbled upon Osiris's body, Infuriated he cut up the body in fourteen pieces and distributed them in various parts of Egypt. 

Isis came back with her sisters to perform the last rites of her husband, when she discovered the body missing, so she transformed into a bird and flew all over Egypt and collected the pieces of his body. With the help of her sisters, she was able to stitch the body up and then covered him with bandages. After performing the rituals Osiris came back to life, but he said that he couldn't stay in the living world and would become the king of the underworld, he also mentioned that the child Isis was carrying would avenge his death and bring justice to Egypt.

Horus defeated Seth and became the king of Egypt, In the battle his one eye was damaged but got revived again.

In the Egyptian images where the ritual to revive Osiris is performed Isis is seen carrying the Ankh, she holds it over Osiris' body giving the breath of life to him. A lot of scholars believe that it was the first time the Ankh made its appearance.

Anubis

Anubis is portrayed as the god of death, He is also one of the gods who assisted in the resurrection of Osiris. The Ankh of Anubis symbolizes the protection of the dead, Anubis is also given credit for the invention of the process of mummification. He guides the souls into the afterlife and protects the tombs from predators and pests that can harm the dead body.

But how does he protect the tombs

Well, the answer is Ankh

An Ankh is kept in the coffin along with the mummies. Some people say that the ankh emits very high-frequency vibrations, these are inaudible to human ears but not to the sensitive ears of animals. These sounds drive away the animals and insects and protect the bodies from decaying. 

This is also a reason why the Ankh was majorly used as an amulet by the people. It drives away the predators and protects the travelers. But it should be noted that unlike the Ankh nowadays which are made as jewellery set from metals the Ankh in those days was made from gold and several other elements. The composition of Ankh is still not understood.

So the Ankh that you find in stores nowadays cannot be used as an amulet.

Many claim that the key to using Ankh is Melanin, a skin pigment, that serves as a semiconductor.

The Ankh as a Source of Energy

The Ankh has many functions and one of them is the production of energy.

Some researchers claim that the structure of Ankh can be used to generate electricity. 

The energy is self-generative and can be used to power complex devices, It may not be clear how it functions but there are articles that show it's possible.

The Pyramids stand as proof that people in ancient times were much more advanced than nowadays, So making a device that is self-driven and generates energy wouldn't be that hard for them?

Meanwhile, whenever an ancient structure or device seems so advanced, Alien theories suddenly spread like fire, and at other times people refuse to believe in extraterrestrial beings.

Well, let's forget the Ankh for a minute, 

What is the source of energy necessary for a living?

The Sun

Without the sun the solar system wouldn't be there, Earth wouldn't be there, and neither would we.

There are two forms in which this energy from the sun reaches us, Photons and Electromagnetic Waves. 

So can the Ankh represent the sun

Yes

If the horizontal portion is taken as the horizon the loop as the pathway of the sun, rising and setting and the vertical portion as the portal of life or energy, then we get the ankh as a representation of solar energy.

So, when we talk about life, it is not only the lives of humans but the energy that sustains the living world on Earth also.

This is why Ankh is such an important symbol, it is able to represent almost all the concepts of life.

Another important theory is the connection of Ankh with the River Nile.

The pyramids had underground passages which led to underground canals containing the water of the river Nile. Many believe that the key to open these passages was shaped like the Ankh.

Since water is a vital element for life

So, the key that holds the power to open the water channels Can also be referred to as the 'key of life'

The Ankh is also a symbol that establishes the connection between the physical and spiritual world or physical and spiritual energy.

The pharaoh underwent extensive rituals, before ascending the throne, 

The pharaohs were partial gods, who could easily connect to the spiritual world. In many of the paintings, the Egyptian gods are seen holding the Ankh at the lips of Pharaohs giving them the power to rule the kingdom. 

Scholar Adele Nozedar writes: 

"The volume of meaning that can be squeezed from such a simple symbol is awe-inspiring. The ankh represents the male and female genitalia, the sun coming over the horizon, and the union of heaven and earth. This association with the sun means that the ankh is traditionally drawn in gold - the color of the sun - and never in silver, which relates to the moon. Putting aside the complexities of these separate elements, though, what does the ankh look like? Its resemblance to a key gives a clue to another meaning of this magical symbol. The Egyptians believed that the afterlife was as meaningful as the present one and the ankh provided the key to the gates of death and what lay beyond."

Like every symbol in history, the Ankh has its' origin and controversies related to it.

The Ankh is believed to have originated in the 30th to 29th century BC. Egyptologist Sir Alan H Gardiner believes the Ankh derived from the strap of a sandal while Egyptologist E.A. Wallis Budge believes it derived from the belt buckle of goddesses Isis, also known as the knot of goddess Isis.

The knot of Isis symbolizes the female genitalia and fertility, many scholars agree with this theory. 

One theory that I don't agree with is that the Ankh is the Egyptian cross.

Oh, come on the Ankh was way before Christianity came, and no aspect joins the two, except maybe both are holy symbols. 

The Cross emerged from a place where people were brutally killed, while the Ankh represents a symbol of life.

Besides the cross is a masculine symbol and Ankh is a feminine one.

So there are not many positive things that connect the two.

You can argue how Jesus was resurrected like Osiris but Jesus was resurrected after he was brought down from the cross while the Ankh gave the breath of life to Osiris

The Ankh played a vital role in Egyptian mythology and culture, to date it is seen as one of the most popular symbols of ancient times.

Blue Rose Belles

(Archie)

(Let me know your views on the Ankh in the comment section.)

Lilith : The Untamed Queen

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They called her a demon 

A child-eating monster

the vampire queen

the first wife of Adam

but nobody saw her 

as who she was

nobody saw the 

real woman behind

the mask of a monster

the woman whose children

were killed ruthlessly

whose husband replaced

her almost instantaneously

and what was her fault

she didn't want to bow down

and tell me

 why should she?

when she was created as an equal.

 when she was deemed to be the queen.

             Lilith has been mentioned in many mythological stories, but there is no proof that it is the same person, Though all speak the same tongue confirming she is a demon. 

Demon, quite controversial isn't it, 

Who do you call a demon?

The one who is evil or whom you are afraid of?

Afraid of what?

Her wrath or afraid of realising the power she has over you?

Lilith's first appearance was around 3000BCE, in Mesopotamian scriptures," Lilitu" a class of storm spirits who are accused of prey on pregnant women and children. Four of these storm spirits deserve special mention "Lilu" ( a male demon), Lilitu or Lilith ( female demon), Ardat Lili ( Lilith's handmaiden) and Irdu Lili ( male counterpart of Ardat Lili). 

Ardat Lili is said to torment men in their sleep and father them with demonic children, while Irdu Lili is said to impregnate women with their class of demonic children. Lilith on other hand is accused of killing children and harming women, Lilu is often referred to as the father of Sumerian king Gilmerish, who according to the scriptures has a reputation of being cruel until he meets his friend Enkidu and becomes the hero of Uruk.

If the so-called "demonic children" were replaced by the word "illegitimate children", I think it will give a clearer view of the ancient beliefs. Throughout the years' Illegitimate children have been scorned upon by society ( even if almost all demigods were illegitimate) and addressing them as demon child won't be too much of a problem for them.

In some other scriptures, Lilith is often referred to as Innana's handmaiden( Inanna is another name of Ishtar). Who sent her to the world to lead men astray with her beauty,  more like to test their faithfulness to their beloved. Since Ishtar was the goddess of love, her test to judge the loyalty of men should be hard.

Now the next appearance Lilith makes is in ancient Hebrew text where her role is similar to Lilitu in Mesopotamian scriptures. Amulets are found with the names of three archangels Senoy, Sansenoy, Semangelof inside a circle and the name of Lilin or Lilith outside. The amulet was generally worn by newborns, it was supposed to protect them against the child-killing demon Lilin. Lilin was blamed to be associated with newborn deaths and miscarriages. 

       A manuscript regarding the amulet

But the unasked question is why would she harm innocent newborn babies?

Well, the answer is found in the most unexpected place, the bible.

We all know about Adam and Eve right! 

According to the bible, they were the first human beings created by God, who lived happily in the garden of Eden until they tasted the forbidden fruit and as a punishment was sent to live on Earth.

But what if I tell you Eve was not the first woman created by God?

According to the book of Isaiah, the first woman was created from the same dust like Adam.

But wait! didn't we hear that Eve was created from Adam's bone?

Confused!

Well, it seems after a lot of translations bible kind of erased a tiny information

Adam had a wife before Eve.

And her name was Lilith.

So what went wrong that the first woman ever created turned into a demon?

The answer is Adam.

Adam wanted dominance over Lilith, He wanted to prove that he is superior to her, but according to Lilith, they were equal. They were created by the god in the same way from the same dust, both of them held the same power and she would not bow down in front of him.

Their arguments went to such an extent that Lilith left the garden of Eden after screaming god's real name. She sought refuge in a cave near a sea where Egyptians are supposed to drown. 

Adam then complains to god that "Lilith left him", God pitied Adam and commanded his angels to bring back Lilith and if She refuses hundred of her children will die every day. So god is ready to kill a hundred children every day just because one woman didn't want to kneel in front of her male counterpart. ( how very great)

When the three angels Senoy, Sansenoy and Semangelof, found Lilith and told her about god's wrath,  she refused to return. According to the book of genesis, this is the reason why hundreds of demons die each day but isn't it unfair that you just categorized Lilith's children as demon's without them doing anything.

But she just traded her children lives for her independence doesn't that make her a bad person?

Does it? maybe it does? think once if she bore a girl child and saw her being treated the same way Adam treated her, would that be a nice view for Lilith to watch, her daughter being dominated by her brothers. I don't think so! 

Lilith's character is widely acclaimed now because she stood up against injustice, The injustice that still is a red flag in our society.

So did Lilith went on a killing rampage for revenge?

Maybe maybe not, if someone killed your children just to prove a point then any mother can become a psychopath and go on a killing rampage but there were also a lot of children who survived without amulet and some who died even with an amulet that proves that it was just a superstition.

There are two versions of that story.

One claims that when the angels came to get her, she said that God only made her bring diseases among newborns, if the newborn is male, she has dominion over him for the first eight days but if female it is twenty days. When angels refused her out of fear of the kids she gave an oath that she will not hurt them if they wear amulets with the name of three Angels. Now the controversy arises, if that they went to get Lilith back, so Eve wasn't made then right?!. If there was no Eve then there shouldn't be their progeny, so from where did the newborns come? 

Another story claims that Lilith after quite some time wanted to return to Eden, upon coming to the gates of Eden, she saw that God had already replaced her with another woman, was infuriated and so she sought to harm the newborns. It is also said that she stole Adam's seeds to raise a progeny of demons.

Even if Adam and Lilith's relationship went into ruins that don't mean Lilith wasn't pursued later. In some folk stories of the middle ages, Lilith has been crowned as the Queen of Demons after her Reunion with Asphodeus, the king of Demons.

In some other stories, she has often been associated with the infamous Lucifer.

Given her sense of self-respect, Lilith wouldn't submit before them which means they respected her and gave her position of their equal. Isn't it interesting that demons could understand her but God couldn't?

Some middle-aged texts claims, Lilith to be a seductress, who lure the man to their death. The texts warn that if any man falls prey to her charms they will never be free from it and never come back to light.

In Greek mythology, there is a mention of a child-stealing monster called Lamia, Who is said to have a half-human and half serpentine body, she also has a vampiric nature of drinking male blood and killing them in their sleep. Many believe that Lamia and Lilith are synonymous.

However, in neo-paganism Lilith is viewed as a goddess, Gerald Gardener affirms that Lilith has been worshipped earlier in the historic period. According to Doreen Valiente, Lilith is, " a personification of erotic dreams, the suppressed desire for delights". She is said to be connected with Ishtar, Inanna, Asherah, Anath and Isis.

In the world of literature, Lilith was always painted as a seductress luring men into her trap, witches, someone who leads men to their destruction but the victorian Poet Robert Browning saw Lilith in a different light. He saw the emotional aspects of Lilith and painted her in a different light, where Lilith always loved Adam but Eve didn't.

Interestingly, Lilith's symbols are lion, owl, eagles, vultures and snake. Though the first three symbols don't justify her demonic character, Lion has always being a symbol of strength and magnificence, Owl of wisdom and Eagle of sharpness. These three symbols bring about a character of power, strength dominance and righteousness, although the last two degrade hr character, together all of them make her the strongest woman ever created. A deadly combination of beauty, body and brain, a true figure of women empowerment.

Though there is a lot of controversy regarding the character of Lilith one cannot deny that with her Aura and Power over everyone Lilith was and will always be The Untamed Queen.

                                                                                  blue rose belles

                          (Archie)

EASTER OR ISHTAR

 

" All is fair in love and war"

Love and war are two very different yet very similar terms. But just how close are these two words?

What if I tell you that there is a goddess who represents both love and war?

Yes, you heard me correct!

 Her name is Ishtar.

She was a goddess of the very first civilization of the world, THE MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATION.

She is not only the goddess of love and war but also fertility, destruction, death, justice, enmity, etc. Being the goddess of so many contradictory terms, her character is often seen as complex as that of the universe. She is also sometimes regarded as the  Queen of the Universe.

Her fierceness on the battlefield is captivating, along with her attire. It is said that even on a battlefield she used to be in her best attire like she was visiting her lover she wore a dashing and fashionable costume in form of armour, her jewellery was a part of her armour and weapons, she is always seen wearing a crown showing her superiority over others. 

You can say she was the eye-catcher of every battle. A goddess so fierce and determined to bring justice was also capable of loving so strongly that it will make you shiver with fear. Her love story was a tragedy just like all famous love stories but to think it was the first love story ever created had its own dark twist.

Ishtar's lover was Tammuz, their affectionate love and courtship was one of a kind but it was deemed to end in tragedy.

It is said that the goddess went to visit the underworld where her sister the Queen of Underworld resides, to show her compassion for the demise of her brother in law.  But her form was not anywhere near that of grief, she was instead dressed like in a battlefield. Her sister thought she was coming to conquer the underworld her ambitious nature was always feared by gods, so Ereshkigal ( the Queen of Underworld) devised a cunning plan to strip Ishtar of her power. 

According to Mesopotamian mythology, one has to pass through seven gates to enter the underworld and at each gate, she had to undressing one item of her wearing and thus gradually getting stripped of her power. In the end, it is seen that she stood completely naked in front of her sister, totally stripped off her powers and Ereshkigal took the opportunity and killed her.

No! the story does not end here.

After the death of Ishtar, the world went on a rampage with infertility, lack of intimacy and cease of a love affair. In this scenario Ea the God of wisdom made a master plan to revive Ishtar from Underworld. His plot did succeed but as the ancient Mesopotamian saying goes 

"No one comes from Underworld unmarked"

The hole created in the underworld by taking Ishtar back to the upper world needed to be filled, Ishtar chose to substitute her place in the underworld with the one who is least faithful to her.

The first person she visited was her handmaiden, but she saw her wearing rags and still grieving, so she left her and visited her two sons she was satisfied to see them both grieving like this the last person she visited was her husband Tammuz.

If you think that Tammuz was a mess and killed himself then nope you are wrong.

Ishtar was appalled to see her husband sitting on the throne peacefully with no sign of grief on his face of his clothes. She became enraged with his behaviour and order to take him as her substitute in the underworld.

Do you see why I told you there is a dark twist in her love story?

Does it make her a villain, someone who is able to sacrifice her loved ones for her sole purpose?

I don't think so, Ishtar is the goddess of Love and War, two forces so strong that they can solely destroy or build a life. She is a symbol of the balance of the universe, For her, a battle can only be just if all the warriors are loyal to their kingdoms and as the Goddess of justice, she found her own husband unfaithful.

Ishtar was the patron goddess Eanna temple of Uruk. Underworld left a mark on her but if she was evil then she wouldn't be a patron goddess. Ishtar is associated with the planet Venus ( which is also the Roman goddess of love synonymous with Aphrodite but Ishtar's character is a lot more complex than Aphrodite).  Innana and Astarte are two other names synonymous with Ishtar. 

The famous symbols of Ishtar included the lion and the eight-pointed star, a symbol that has shown its face in many other mythologies.

Ishtar's revenge has been scorned upon by many historians deeming her as a fickle-minded person but on the other side her complex character is what made her more interesting and connecting, she teaches the lesson that unfaithfulness in a bond as sacred love is a crime itself whose punishment should be as cruel as death.

 In this context, we must remember that she is also the goddess of justice and as the Queen of the universe it is her duty to maintain the harmony between good and evil and the factor she chose for her substitute in the underworld is loyalty. So Tammuz wouldn't have ended there if he had shown his grief over losing her. Thus Tammuz was not a victim just guilty.

# factopedia01- The character of Wonder woman is said to be inspired by Ishtar.

Now, many people will be thinking why I am rambling about Ishtar, an ancient mesopotamian goddess of fertility on Good Friday?

Well to answer your questions let us recall some facts about Easter.

Why is Easter celebrated?

Easter is celebrated to remember the resurrection of Christ from death. The so-called Easter egg is seen as a form of new life and has been synchronized with the Christian legend to represent new life. 

The resurrection of Christ stand victoriously as proof of him being the son of god and sends the message of the success of his faith even after his death.

In meantime, Judas the infamous betrayer was burned with guilt, he even tried to return the money back to the governor. In the end, when he couldn't carry the guilt anymore he committed suicide.

If by now you have connected the dots then bravo.

But if you haven't then let me do it for you.

Now, if you remember someone else who also came back from death. Someone who was also wronged by her loved ones. Someone who judged people on the basis of loyalty and faith. Someone who stood as the symbols of balance.

Yes, I am talking about Ishtar, the ancient goddess. 

The legend of Ishtar was moulded into Easter to create an umbrella religion for all. To unite the people of Europe with a single religion and thus Ishtar's story and resurrection of Jesus gave birth to Easter.

It is sad to see that  Goddess Ishtar's worship was later seen as satanic when it originally paved way for one of the most important faiths of Christianity "Easter". Now it's time to ask yourself will you only talk about Easter or also remember the original goddess with it.

                                Blue rose belles

                                    ( Archie)

Medusa : Monster or Victim

 Medusa is one of the most interesting figures of Greek mythology. For those who don't know her by name her description will help , she is a woman with snakes in her head in place of hairs and whoever looks into her eyes turns to stone . Remember her now ! , She has prominently taken place in modern day urban fantasy and mythological fiction and has been a figure of fascination for writers and scholars alike. But the question still hangs in air , who is Medusa and what is her story?

Most may think that mythology is a bunch of baseless story, but is it or it is just a cryptic message telling us to decipher the truth of the society at that time. You see there are many versions of the same story so it is hard to understand which one is real and which is a diverted  .

But in the end the main story revolves around Poseidon and Athena's rivalry and Medusa was their scapegoat . The rivalry of Athena and Poseidon dates back to the creation of Athens , they both wanted to be the patrons of the city and so a competition was arranged , the one who could give the best gift to Athens will be their patron. Athena gave the olive tree and Poseidon a fountain but unfortunately the fountain had salty water instead of sweet water. So obviously the Athens choose Athena as their goddess and not Poseidon. Thus Poseidon was pissed and wanted to have revenge.

Then he met medusa , her beauty attracted him , well you see medusa wasn't always a snake woman . She was beautiful with long hairs and startling eyes , eyes so  gorgeous that anyone could drown in them . Some stories claim that Medusa was also a priestess of the temple of Athena but other say that she was an ordinary mortal. Priestess or not she was beautiful and had an affair with Poseidon. Now there are many versions of story that predict Medusa willingly had sexual intercourse with Poseidon while few others claim she was raped by him . So willingly or unwillingly Poseidon did it at the shrine of Athena.

That's it Poseidon wanted revenge so what better way to do it , than taking away the virginity of a girl at the feet of the goddess who herself is eternal maiden. Athena got blind with anger but she could do anything to a god so her rage was directed to Medusa . She cursed Medusa in such a way that no one can ever look into her eyes again without turning into stones and each strand of her hair turned into a snake. As usual Poseidon ran away without giving the girl a second look . Coward . 

See Poseidon ran away without getting any punishment while it was the woman who got to face the society. After sometime Athena turned a bit soft towards her and turned her sisters to Gorgons so that they could take care of Medusa. 

Now let us try to decipher the story forget about the curses and think Medusa as an ordinary woman , a woman who fell in love with a man . She loved him with all of her heart but then she was betrayed , tortured  ,raped by him and in the end thrown away like a tissue paper . ( Getting the familiarity of the story). Now do you remember I told that medusa was beautiful, maybe that was just not only from outside but from inside too. Maybe it was her beautiful and inexperienced soul that attracted everyone but to much attention comes with a price , maybe there were people who were jealous of her and when her lover left her they made sure that she would never find anyone to heal her broken heart again. She was thrown away by the society tainted as a bad omen . Now what about her eyes , the pretty eyes that can pull you in trance . Eyes are the doorway to the soul right!  Maybe the person who dared to look into her deep eyes was petrified because of what he saw  , because of the unattended wounds of her heart because of that scars that still bleed but Moreover maybe because she smiled even with the intense pain engulfing her. Her sisters the only family she had , the ones who stood with her were also thrown away by the society.

Then again she was accused to turn people into stone just for fun . She was looked down as the villan who lead innocent people to their deaths  turning them to stone statues in her garden but what if the story is just metamorphosed what if the snakes on her head depicted the her intense venom against the society which destroyed her . What if the persons who came to her garden saw her and heard her story never left because they supported her , may be that's why the society called her a villain because even after everything they couldn't stop her from being the centre of attraction . When they couldn't stop Medusa even after everything  ,they threw the last straw ,they sent someone to kill her and warned him not to look into her eyes (in ordinary words don't believe her).

So we have the hero Perseus who slayed the Gorgon Medusa.

End of story 

Or is it

Because even after so many eon's  of her demise she is still the image of admiration and inspiration among a large section of people. Her strength and endurance is still talked upon . So the society failed to dominate the villain or was she just another victim of the society. In the end it depends on us what we want to believe or what we think. Was Medusa a hero or villain depends on us.

                            _ blue rose belles

                                       ( Archie)