What is the akh in ancient Egypt?

The akh: the dead person made effective and shining, at home among the gods.

What the sign shows: A crested ibis.
How Gerald Massey read it in 1907: For Massey the Khu is a stage on the soul’s way: the glorified spirit that has not yet reached its full likeness.
Where you see it today: The same root gives the name Akhenaten, “effective for the Aten”.
Where it stands in Massey’s book: Massey names it 25 times across the book. Book III, p. 127b: “White as the colour of spirit”; Book XI, p. 719: “The book with seven seals”; Book III, p. 120: “The gods and the glorified”.
Signs that look like it: Ibis, Benu bird and Ba. The app’s Symbol Trainer sets them side by side, so the eye learns to tell them apart.
In Massey’s words: “When the Manes has become a Khu, the Ka is still a typical ideal ahead of him; so far ahead or aloof that he propitiates it with offerings.” (Gerald Massey, Ancient Egypt: The Light of the World (1907), Book IV, p. 202b)
In the app: Trainer › Symbol Trainer › Akh. 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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