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.)
