Ankh Info Poster

The Ankh Cross represents life (immortality) and death, male and female, balance. It can also represent zest, joy of life, and energy. It's closely related to the looped cross that can mean fertility and life. The Ancient Egyptians used the ankh to stand for the meaning life. It is also called crux ansata, Latin for cross-with-a-handle. When the Roman Emperor Constantine claimed to have had a vision of death outside the walls of Jerusalem he made the symbol of punishment and death (the cross) synonymous with Christianity. Constantine's cross was made from a sword and a spear. A sign that a soldier could make, and non-Christians learned to hate and fear the brutality that was associated with this symbol for over a thousand years. As a result, the Ankh Cross, like the swastika usurped by the s, has become associated also with Christianity. Like most religious or spiritual symbols, the Ankh Cross doesn't have a single simple meaning.