D E - MY S T I FY I N G T H E A N K H I N ASTA R A
By Valarie Anderson
The iconic ankh of Astara: so important it graces every cover of the Book of Life Degree Lessons, and has since 1955. We have no known record of how the ankh symbol became the identifying marker for the books that would travel numerous oceans and become a compass for seekers and readers worldwide. We have no notes from the founders or messages from the Masters on why or how the ankh meandered its way into becoming the face of the important Astara teachings. We can only rely on what we do know and what has been written, and illustrated, collectively, by Earlyne and Robert, regarding the ankh. Here, the question of, “Why the ankh?” is examined through the pages of the Degree Lessons and the supplemental books with an attempt to understand the mystic ankh and its role in Astara.
HISTORY The ankh is commonly defined as an Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol meaning “life”. It was used in writing and in art and features a cross shape with a tear drop loop replacing the upper bar. In Latin it is referred to as the Crux Ansata, or handle shaped cross. It was a tool of the gods and Osiris, Anubis, Isis, Ma’at, and Ra are often depicted holding the ankh in tomb paintings of ceremony and afterlife. Pharaohs and kings and important religious figures from Egyptian life (and death) are shown with the ankh as talisman for protection and immortality. In the 4th century the Coptic Christians adopted the symbol, recognizing the loop as a sign of eternal life, (Christ’s resurrection) atop the cross (Christ’s sacrifice).* Beyond the covers, in Astara, the ankh first appears inside the Book of Life First Degree Lesson 2. It is predominantly (and happily) displayed hanging by a chain around Earlyne Chaney’s neck in a photo showing the Padmasana position for meditation. It reappears in the twenty-first Lesson, The First Step Towards Rebirth wherein an illustration depicts a celestial guardian, or guardian angel assisting with the task of the soul’s new incarnation. He holds an ankh, although it is never referred to, in the selection process and creation of the soul’s destiny. The celestial guardian is described as a Being from a place way more advance than our own and an activator of the soul’s energy bodies. The Science of Rebirth is outlined and the quest to continue the search is hailed as the Crux Ansate, Initiatory Symbolism for the Cross of Life that gleams upon the heart of the First Degree graduate.
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