Tradition states that the word 'ank', being derived from the word 'Ankh' was taken by the Hebrews from the Egyptians by Moses during the Exodus. This may or may not be entirely true for some sources maintain that the word Ankh was already in common usage throughout some parts of Northern Africa. Nevertheless 'Ank' in Hebrew, with the personal suffix, means ' my life' or ' my being' so it easy to make the connection between Ankh and Egypt.

During the time that the monotheism of the early Christian era evolved and eclipsed Egypt's polytheistic religion, the Ankh became adopted by the Coptic church. Known as the Crux Ansata or ' The Cross of Life' this ancient symbol was so important to Christians that they tooled it into the cover of one of the collections of gospels found at Nag Hammadi.

In short the Crux Ansata was simply and universally believed to be the key to the mysteries of antiquity. It eventually gave rise to the more modern story of St. Peter's golden key to heaven and in doing so opens up a whole range of esoteric meanings.

In ' The Secret Teachings of All Ages' Manly P Hall reveals that he believes that the Crux Ansata was not a Coptic or even Egyptian symbol but that in fact it migrated to many parts of the world via its roots in Lemuria and Atlantis. He states that originally it was the great fertility symbol of the people of Adoma. Examples of this were found by Augustus LePlongeon.

In his 'Sacred Mysteries Among the Mayas and Quiches' he notes that the Crux Ansata was found adorning the breasts of statues and bas-reliefs at Palenque, Copan, and throughout Central America. It was also discovered to be sculptured upon the back of at least one of the great stone figures found on Easter Island during its removal to London by ship and to where it now resides in the British Museum.

Irrespective of its originating source the Ankh, or Crux Ansata, has been consistently used in relation to the element water throughout history. Among the Babylonians, for example, it was used as an emblem of their water gods. Another recurring association of the Ankh is that of life or resurrection. Among the Scandanavians it is related to 'heaven' and immortality whilst for the Mayas it represented rejuvenation and 'freedom from physical suffering'.

This latter association has a close correlation to the early Christians who promoted the story of Christ, his crucifixion upon the T cross and his resurrection three days later. The loop of the Ankh is often therefore interpreted as the heavenly realm into which Christ ascended - although in an esoteric sense it is also seen as the rose crown of thorns which anointed the head of Christ during his time of his crucifixion. (See footnote 6)

Throughout the period of renaissance in occultism that developed from the early 15th century through to the early 20th century the Ankh appeared in many differing guises.

During this period it became emblematic of the Divine Feminine. As we saw earlier this connection had already been established in Egypt with the idea that the Ankh was a representation of Isis but from the Cult of the Virgin, and the development of importance played to Mary Magdelene in Christian mythology, the Ankh acted as a key opening up the feminine mysteries to a wide range of occult groups. This idea has grown particular strength in the past few years following on from the publication of Dan Brown's 'The Da Vinci Code'.

Through all of these seemingly diverse disciplines of the time a renewed interest developed into the planet Venus - the symbol of which was a slight modification of the Ankh.

The Alchemists, for an example, were one of those groups who were interested in the esoteric significance of Venus. However they modified and developed their understanding of basic Ankhian theory and Venusian concepts by working with the substance copper - both literally and metaphorically.

In the early twentieth century the occult writer and researcher A. E. Waite published his ground-breaking interpretation of the Tarot cards. In the third Arcanum of the Major Arcana he captured the totality of the Mysteries of the Feminine Divine and Venus. (See footnote 7)

Into the 20th century and a rebirth of interest in ritual or ceremonial Magick, mainly formed around the mystical secret society the Golden Dawn, continued raising the profile of the Ankh, through plagiarism of the Rosy Cross symbol and its modified successors.

Indeed the Golden Dawn initiates developed a unique glyph which they called 'The Rose Cross Lamen' which clearly draws upon the Ankh and its associated symbolism. The Rosicrucian movement followed a similar route of esoteric development but stayed closer to the roots of the femine and Goddess mysteries.