The Ankh (𓋹) — Life, the Breath of Life

The ankh (𓋹) is the hieroglyph for 'life' (ankh), the most ubiquitous sacred symbol in Egyptian iconography. Temple reliefs and the Book of the Dead consistently depict the neteru holding the ankh to the nostrils of the pharaoh and the deceased, bestowing the breath of life (tjau n ankh) that animates the ka. Its form may represent the union of the male and female principles, or a sandal strap, or the knot of Isis — Egyptologists remain divided — but its function is unambiguous: it is the sign that distinguishes existence from non-existence, the gift that only the neteru can confer. In funerary contexts it appears alongside the djed and the was-scepter, forming the triad of life, stability, and dominion that defines divine power.