Egyptian tattoos are becoming more and more popular all over the world. Their success is due to many factors. For example, every few years there are new films about mummies. And the mythology of this country has always attracted Europeans.
Egypt is a country shrouded in mystery. Its pantheon, pharaohs, complex rituals and culture have been studied for several centuries, but still retain many mysteries.
In modern tattoo society, Egyptian themes are used by representatives of different social and age groups. Do not forget about the occult and subcultural orientation of some tattoos.
Tattoo, history and mythology have always been closely intertwined. But we will not consider the Egyptian style only in the context of esotericism. With the same success, one could classify as sectarians every family that has a pyramid at home, a figurine of a sphinx, or an Egyptian cat.
Even in the 21st century, Egyptian tattoos and their meaning are controversial. Someone believes that they can help a person by attracting good luck into his life, protecting him from evil forces and the machinations of enemies. Others believe that by using Egyptian symbols in a tattoo, we are going against the foundations of a Christian/Muslim society.
As far as this is true, it is not for tattoo artists to judge, but for scientists and theologians. We will try to figure out what meaning different signs, symbols, images carry.
Deity tattoos
Do not forget such a direction as tattoos of Egyptian gods:
- Horus - god with the head/mask of a falcon;
- Anubis - a god with a dog's head;
- Bastet / Bast - the goddess - a cat, personifying beauty, fun, love, home;
- Set is a crocodile, or lizard. Associated with war, death, rage, storm;
- Ra is the supreme deity;
- Osiris is the father of Horus and the god of death and rebirth;
- Egyptian cat tattoo, or goddess Tefnut. In mythology, it was identified with heat and moisture. Today, the meaning of the Egyptian cat is somewhat blurred. They often confuse Bastet and Tefnut, who initially had nothing in common;
- Thoth is another god with a bird-like appearance. Depicted with the head of the sacred ibis bird. He was considered the patron of sciences, knowledge, scientists, order and the moon.
- Isis is the mother goddess, patronizing fertility, family, children and even successful childbirth. Often depicted as winged.
Horus God Tattoo
Tattoo God Anubis
Goddess Bastet Tattoo
god set tattoo
god ra tattoo
Tattoo god Osiris
Goddess Tefnut Tattoo
god tattoo
Goddess Isis tattoo
Other deities of the pantheon are rarely used in tattoos. But do not forget about the sacred animals of Egypt - the ibis, the Apis bull, the cat, the king cobra, the lion, etc. They are painted in the same fresco style. So it can be called realism to some extent.
The history of Egyptian symbols in Russia began a long time ago. When the first sphinxes appeared in St. Petersburg, public interest in the topic began to grow. He reached his peak during the time of esotericists, like Blavatsky, the Roerichs. Their followers used not only drawings and amulets, but also tattoos in the traditional style. Let's not forget about secret societies, like the Freemasons. The pyramid and the eye are still used with success.
Eyes, sphinxes and pyramids
Since Egypt became one of the centers of world tourism, the fascination with symbolism has captured not only Egyptologists, but also people who are far from history, archeology, etc.
Sphinx tattoos are a reference both to the famous statues of Egypt and to the Greek myth about the riddle that Oedipus managed to solve.
The Egyptian eye tattoo is a huge success. It is called the eye of Horus. From the point of view of the mythology of ancient Egypt, this symbol, called wadzhet, is the left eye of Horus, lost in a fight with another deity - Set. It symbolizes the moon. The deity Thoth healed Horus, and since then his eye has turned into a kind of amulet. Interestingly, it was allowed for all classes, from the poor to the pharaohs themselves. Belief in the power of divine protection is still preserved in some communities of the world.
Another well-known symbol in the form of an eye is the Eye of Ra. According to legend, it had its own power, subjugated enemies, turned into any female deity, participated in the process of creation, protected the deity (in the form of a symbol it was a security sign for the pharaohs).
There are many legends about the pyramids, annually fueled by many articles and discoveries. It is known that they use the principles of the golden section, the shape is often called ideal. Inside the pyramids, batteries are charged or discharged, razors are sharpened, cats go crazy. In general, there are enough reasons for people to want to get a tattoo.
Ankh tattoo
Very often people order an Egyptian cross tattoo. Correctly this symbol is called Ankh. Scientists believe that he largely influenced the early Christian ideas about the cross, because. is life, and an attribute of deities. The Christian counterpart recalls the death and resurrection of the Savior.
- It is depicted as a cross, the upper part of which has the shape of a loop.
- Often called the "key of the Nile", the "key of life". Indeed, the shape somewhat resembles an old key.
- In the views of the Egyptians themselves, it is a protective symbol;
- Often used by representatives of Gothic subcultural movements, representatives of the New Age movement.
Frescoes, mummies and scarabs
Egyptian-style tattoos are often depicted, repeating the traditional temple frescoes characteristic of Luxor and Giza. Such drawings do not carry a cult meaning. If you want to make a tattoo with some symbol, you should think about how it will fit your image.
Tattoos can also depict mummies. Their meaning is no longer connected with what the ancient Egyptians, who believed in resurrection, had in mind. For people, a mummy is something like a zombie - a walking dead man who wants to kill someone, and, most likely, eat him. Mummies are drawn in different styles. It can be new school, realism, or even trash polka.
Next, let's remember about no less interesting sketches of Egyptian tattoos depicting the pharaohs themselves. Perhaps the most common drawings are Nefertiti - the beloved wife of Akhenaten, Tutankhamun - the young prince, whose legend of the curse still causes lively discussions in pseudo-scientific circles. The boy, who ruled for only a year, became more popular than many more successful ancestors and descendants. Don't forget about Cleopatra. The last representative, the beloved of Mark Antony, became the heroine of not only books and films, but also the choice of many people who order Egypt in tattoo parlors.
Tattoo with hieroglyphs
Egyptian hieroglyphs deserve special mention. Their meanings are easy to find even on Google, the sketches are extremely simple, repeating real images on temples and in tombs.
According to an ancient legend, in antediluvian times, Thoth, one of the supreme gods, inscribed knowledge in all key areas with the help of hieroglyphs.
Modern hieroglyphic writing is greatly simplified. In the time of the pharaohs, it was more original and figurative. The site contains samples of photos of Egyptian tattoos, on which you can see the classic style. Often this is an image of people, animals, plants, various composite symbols.
lotus and feather
There is a myth according to which from Sesen - an ancient lotus that rose from the abyss of chaos, our sun was born. The symbol represents both sunrise and sunset, rebirth, the power of creation, creativity. Egyptologists have also found out that the sesen is one of the signs used as official symbols in Upper Egypt.
The feather belonging to the goddess Maat has become a symbol of justice. It is placed on one scale. On the other is the heart of the deceased. If the scales keep balance, the soul finds eternal bliss. In addition to a fair and just trial, the pen has become a symbol of harmony and truth. The feather became the hieroglyph for the goddess.
How much does an Egyptian style tattoo cost?
Any prices depend on many factors, the main of which are the complexity of the image, its exact match to the example, and size.
The size of the tattoo in square centimeters determines the ink consumption and the time that the master spends on the job. Also, the cost may depend on the degree of detail, the creation of a background around the image, etc. If you want a large-scale image in Egyptian style, don't expect it to be cheap.
Scarab beetles, crosses, cats, gods and pharaohs.
A photo
Photo gallery of works with Egyptian tattoos. In this section, we offer you the opportunity to see tattoos on various parts of the body.
The Ankh cross (bow of life, Crux ansata, looped cross, Egyptian cross) is such an important occult and sacred symbol for ancient Egypt that it is difficult to find any religious image of the Egyptian gods where this sign would not be present. As a rule, he was depicted on the walls of tombs and reliefs. But why? What made him so important to the ancient mystics?
What does the ankh cross look like?
The Ankh cross outwardly completely duplicates the no less famous occult symbol - the Tau cross, but unlike it, a loop or circle is added to the top of the horizontal bar. This is one of the oldest sacred signs with a deep symbolic meaning, it was not for nothing that Ankh was called the house at the temple for high priests, and the servants themselves were called ankhs.
Cross Ankh - relay race of ancient civilizations
The Ankh cross appeared in Ancient Egypt, becoming almost his "esoteric calling card". But some researchers and theosophists argue that in fact he came from even more ancient times, from the "lost" civilizations - Atlantis, Lemuria, and so on. Therefore, the Ankh cross can be regarded as a kind of “relay race” for hundreds of thousands of generations of mystics and as a secret cipher that conveys sacred knowledge to everyone who is able to penetrate its deep symbolism, to those who have the key to understanding sacred signs.
Symbolic Meanings of the Ankh Cross
Literally, the term "ankh" in Egyptian means "life", or "who lives."
The Ankh cross combines two symbols: the cross is a symbol of life, and the circle is a symbol of eternity. As a result, we get a deep symbol denoting an immortal, a person who managed to revive himself in eternity. This is the Ankh cross.
The combination of a circle and a cross is also a sign of the fusion of the spiritual and the material, a symbol of initiation, rebirth, and also a symbol of seeing the subtle worlds.
Some researchers of esoteric symbolism interpret the basis of the Ankh cross (Tau cross) as a symbol of the descent of the spirit into matter, and the circle as a “divine eye” that sheds light on the human world.
In addition, the Ankh cross symbolizes the union of the female and male deities, Osiris and Isis, and thus the union of the earthly and heavenly.
Ankh cross in Egyptian mythology
The Ankh cross was associated with the solar deities Aten and Ra. The solar disk with rays, at the ends of which the hands holding the Ankh were placed, was interpreted as a symbol of the fact that life is given to plants, animals and people by the sun.
Also, the Ankh cross was associated with Osiris, the god of the productive forces of nature and the king of the underworld.
Sometimes the goddess of truth Maat was depicted with the Ankh cross in her hand.
Ankh cross in Egyptian magic
The ancient Egyptians depicted the Ankh cross on amulets in order to prolong life on earth. With such an amulet, the Ankh was buried in order to be sure that the dead were waiting for life in another world. And this is no coincidence, since they were convinced that the key with which you can open the gates of death looks exactly like the Ankh cross. For this reason, the Ankh cross was an obligatory accessory of the gods and pharaohs. God, the guardian of the body, put the Ankh cross into the pharaoh's mouth - this means that the key must be inside the person, since it is associated with breathing.
The Ankh cross, even in its form, resembles a key, and at the level of symbolism it is such. It means a "tool" that allows one to penetrate beyond the limits of ordinary human perception, therefore mystics considered it the key to the gates of paradise.
Also, the ancient mystics believed that the Ankh cross enhances human strength to the superhuman, to the divine.
The Initiates of the Egyptian Mysteries used the Ankh cross during initiation - the test subject went through all the trials, holding such a cross over his head, which drove away the forces of evil.
Ankh cross in other cultures
The Ankh cross was used by the Copts, who also associated it with the afterlife, and was a symbol of eternal life in Christ. Some researchers even suggest that it was the Ankh cross that became the prototype of the concept of the golden key from heaven or Paradise by the holy Apostle Peter.
In Babylon, the Ankh cross was a symbol of heaven and immortality.
The Ankh cross was also known as a mystical symbol to the Indians of Central America. They associated it with water.
Among the Scandinavians, the Ankh cross was a symbol of rejuvenation.
Ankh and the occult tradition
In esoteric traditions, the Ankh cross acted as a key to divine, secret knowledge, to hidden wisdom, to strength and power. It is formed from a combination of the male and female symbols of Osiris (Osiris) and Isis (Isis), as the union of Heaven and Earth, Life and Death.
Ankh cross - a symbol of life
The traditional interpretation of the symbolism of the Ankh cross is life and rebirth. Moreover, it is interesting to note that the symbol of “life” also has a very specific connotation. So, according to some interpretations, the upper part of the Ankh cross (circle) symbolizes the Nile River Delta, and everything else - the river itself, which for arid Egypt is really what feeds its life. Thus, the Ankh cross literally personifies the “key of life”.
Cross Ankh - a symbol of rebirth and dawn
Another interpretation of the Ankh cross is a symbol of dawn. The cross itself personifies being, life, the movement of time, and the circle above it is the sun, which rises above the earth every day and initiates the beginning of a new day. We find confirmation of this in the sacred test of Ancient Egypt - the "Book of the Dead", where there are many images of the Ankh cross in the context of rebirth and dawn, both literally and figuratively.
Moreover, the Ankh cross was placed in the tomb of the pharaohs so that the soul could use its magical power and continue life in the afterlife.
It is interesting to note that the early Christians of Egypt also associated it with the world of the dead, using it to denote the afterlife side of life.
Cross Ankh - a symbol of harmony
Many esotericists argue that the Ankh cross also symbolically denotes a harmonious combination of the male and female principles of nature, personified by the gods Osiris (Osiris) and Isis (Isis). So, the cross itself is associated with the masculine principle and Osiris, as an image of the phallus, and the circle, the symbol of the womb, is associated with the feminine principle and Isis. Therefore, the Ankh cross itself is nothing but the sexual intercourse of two creative forces of the universe, the harmonious combination of which gives rise to life. Thus, the Ankh cross is a graphic designation of a constantly reborn life, due to the endless dynamic balance between female and male energies, between passivity and activity, between yin and yang, Earth and Sky.
To summarize the above, we can say that the Ankh cross is a symbol of fertility, as the apotheosis of the fusion of the sexual energies of the masculine and feminine principles of nature. As a result, no matter what we talk about, we, anyway, one way or another, constantly point to the symbolism of life and rebirth, with which the Ankh cross is personified.
Cross Ankh and being
If we look at the Ankh cross from the point of view of universal symbolism, then we can distinguish two main elements in the image of the sign - a circle and a cross.
The cross in many cultures symbolizes life as such, a combination of male and female principles (the vertical line is male, active, yang energies, and the horizontal line is female, passive, yin energies). In other words, the cross is a symbol of human existence, which has very specific boundaries. The points of intersection of the crossbeams are the “core”, the essence of the human spirit, the “point” of being.
As for the circle, it symbolizes eternity, something unknown, infinitely knowable.
If we combine these two symbols into one sign, we see that it is a symbol of the combination of the divine and the human, the eternal and the perishable. At the same time, which is characteristic, above the cross (man) is the sphere of eternity, divinity - that is, where the human spirit goes - the area of \u200b\u200bhis infinite knowledge, improvement, love.
Thus, the Ankh cross is a deep metaphysical cipher, indicating the true meaning of human life as a kind of “point”, comprehending its eternal nature, knowing the true essence of its being.
Cross Ankh - the world tree
It is interesting to note that some researchers believe that the Ankh cross was also a symbol of the Tree of Life, mentioned in the Old Testament, which, as you know, relies heavily on ancient Chaldean writings. And in almost all traditions, the Tree of Life, the World Tree, the World Mountain is a vertical connecting all the worlds, therefore, traveling along the “trunk” of such a tree, the mystic can penetrate into any spheres of being. All this fits very organically into the symbolic concept of the Ankh cross.
Cross Ankh: the magic of life and death
The Ankh cross symbolizes life and death, so the ancient mystics perceived it as a "key" from the gates of paradise and a pass to the afterlife. Therefore, in magical practice, it is necessary to work with it very carefully, since, on the one hand, it can bestow vitality, and on the other hand, it can open a portal to the afterlife, from which negative entities and energies can come to a person. Simply put, the Ankh cross is capable of both giving life and taking it away.
Other uses of the Ankh cross in magic
In magical practices, the Ankh cross was also used to attract positive energies, achieve immortality, protection, healing from infertility, prevent natural disasters (the Ankh cross was placed on the walls of water channels in the hope that it would protect against floods), divination, sexual magic, and some types of healing and divination.
Cross Ankh in modern occultism
In modern magic and occultism, which has been strongly influenced by the New Age tradition, the Ankh cross is regarded as the vertical of life, in relation to a person it is his spine, since the cross itself symbolizes a person who has spread his arms to the side. Thus, a straight line going from bottom to top is the spine on which the chakras are located, and the circle above the cross is a symbol of the Sahasrara Chakra - the highest energy center of a person.
Based on such a representation and interpretation of the Ankh cross, modern magicians and occultists use it to work with human energy centers - opening the chakras, modifying the vibrational circuit of a person, treating the aura, and so on.
The question of whether the Ankh cross was used in ancient Egypt for such cases remains open, since there is no direct refutation of this, no evidence.
© Alexey Korneev
The ankh symbol, the meaning of which is currently causing a lot of controversy (and not only among Egyptologists), is often associated with ancient Egyptian culture, which is not entirely true. The fact is that the so-called cruxansata (original Latin name) is found not only in the territory of modern Egypt, it was used by many peoples of the ancient world, in particular, we can find the ankh sign even on the megaliths of Easter Island, which is really surprising.
Today, the Egyptian ankh has many names, including the ankh of Isis, the key of the ankh (meaning “the key of life” or “the key of immortality”), the key of the Nile, and so on. In fact, with regard to semantics (after all, it is logical to look for the meaning of the ankh in its original definition), then only the initial hieroglyph, which looks like a “cross with a buttonhole”, matters here. The name ankh is a transliteration (roughly speaking, it is read as it is written), in the Coptic language the “cross of immortality” is called onkh, and the most common reading option is ankh (here the reading of the first vowel is very conditional, because we do not know how the vowels sounded in ancient Egyptian).
But what does ankh mean? In fact, the ankh of life (ankh of Isis) has a very vague interpretation. For the culture of Ancient Egypt (Upper or Lower Kingdom - it does not matter in the context of the question), this symbol was one of the key, obviously religious symbols. It is clear that there was no such thing as an “ankh amulet”, that is, there are no images or written instructions that a pendant of a similar shape could exist that would have protective (protective) functions. On the other hand, many ancient Egyptian amulets (the meaning of which has been unequivocally determined by archaeologists) have an image of the hieroglyph ankh on them. The ankh symbol can also be found in the paintings of ancient Egyptian temples (pyramids), pharaohs and gods are often depicted with this symbol in their hand (or in their hands, many sculptures (pharaohs, but not gods) hold the ankh in both hands).
Ankh, the "cross of immortality" is often associated with eternal life, the processes of rebirth, the cyclical nature of the universe. Probably the semantics of the ankh cross speaks of the connection between Duat and Tuat (the world of the living and the world of the dead, the other world, in the mythology of Ancient Egypt). Often the ankh is a symbol of wisdom, probably a symbol of power and belonging to the "caste" of the enlightened, people who are aware of the essence of the basic laws of the universe. At least, such an interpretation of the meaning of the ankh of Isis looks meaningful, based on the fact that in ancient images this sign is an integral attribute of many gods (not all, in particular, Osiris does not have ankh). Then why do we see two ankhs in the hands of statues and monuments depicting pharaohs? Again, associations arise with the keys, the key to the world of the living (the pharaoh ruled this world) and the key to the afterlife (the pharaoh is the governor of the gods (their embodied will), their named son, and therefore comes (returns?) to their world, as in my own home).
Why this sign is sometimes called the ankh of Isis also remains incomprehensible, because the ankh symbol is equally applicable to almost any god, in particular, representing the Heliopolis ennead. This is probably due to the strengthening of the cult of Isis in the era of the Upper Kingdom, then the "mother of the gods" became a symbol of esoteric truth, the highest wisdom that unites both worlds (the already mentioned Duat and Tuat).
The ankh, whose image is also found in early Christian manuscripts, was widely used in the culture of the Copts. The Copts, as already noted, called this symbol "onkh", which means "life". That is, the symbolism of life and immortality is still prevailing here. The Vedic interpretation of the ankh symbol is also not unfounded. According to this version, the ankh cross personifies a person (and indeed, in shape it resembles a human figure spreading his arms to the sides), or rather, the position of the main energy centers (chakras) in his body. Actually, if we perceive the ankh symbol as a kind of scheme, then in fact it is not difficult to find all seven chakras on it (or all nine energy centers in accordance with the Slavic system).
How can the "cross of life" be used? The ankh amulet, as noted above, is essentially not a talisman, at least this version is not actually confirmed in any way. The version about the key "to immortality", or rather about the key that allows you to open the door connecting the two worlds, looks more likely. Ankh (a photo of this symbol or interpretation of this image can be found everywhere today) has never been applied to weapons and armor, that is, we are still talking about a specific, let's say, priestly, if simpler - a magical symbol that never had protective functions. The Egyptian ankh cross, whose meaning, as we have seen, is not even relatively defined, is often used in the tattoo industry. Ankh tattoo in this sense is likely to become just a pattern on the skin. In the worst case, it will cause irreparable harm to its owner, simply because no one can say for sure how an ankh tattoo affects a person. It is hardly worth counting on the "opening of the chakras" after applying this sign to the skin. At least, not a single case of the use of ankh as a tattoo in the ancient world is known (although in the same Egypt, a tattoo as such was practiced).
Thus, the cross of immortality, the crux of the ansata, the bow of life, the ankh of Isis (and the list goes on) is an ancient esoteric sign that would be known to many cultures. Its image is found both in Africa and in Asian countries, even in Buddhist treatises one can find symbols that strongly resemble the Egyptian ankh. But what did our ancestors want to convey to us in this symbol? There is no single answer. But perhaps the cross of life is not yet ready to reveal its secrets to us? Or are the answers waiting for us in the Duat? Who knows…
