What does the ankh mean?

The word ankh means “life”. Gods hold the sign to the king’s nose to give him breath, and it is written into names such as Tutankhamun, “living image of Amun”.

What the sign shows: A cross with a loop for its top. What it first pictured is not agreed: a sandal strap and a knotted cloth are the usual suggestions.
How Gerald Massey read it in 1907: For Massey it is one of Egypt’s charms of protection: a sign of the life that continues after death.
Where you see it today: Worn as jewellery and tattooed around the world. Egypt’s early Christians took a looped cross into their own art.
Where it stands in Massey’s book: Massey names it 14 times across the book. Book II, p. 116: “The power of a tied knot”; Book II, p. 113: “Charms for the dark road”; Book III, p. 169: “The wise woman and the medium”.
Signs that look like it: Knot of Isis, Shen ring and Djed pillar. The app’s Symbol Trainer sets them side by side, so the eye learns to tell them apart.
In Massey’s words: “The Ankh-cross signified the life to come, that is, the life everlasting.” (Gerald Massey, Ancient Egypt: The Light of the World (1907), Book II, p. 115)
In the app: Trainer › Symbol Trainer › Ankh. The app’s Symbol Trainer reads 42 signs this way, each with Massey’s own words and the page they stand on.

Last updated October 25, 2026.

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