3927 – Golden Dawn Crux Ansata

Physical description:
Handle-shaped cross, painted in multiple colours.
Museum classification:
Ritual Magic
Size:
14 x 7 x .75 in
Information:

Crux Ansata is Latin for “handle-shaped cross,” referring to the ankh. The ankh cross is a sacred symbol which alludes to the manifestation of the divine life force. It also signifies the divine union of opposites; active and passive, male and female. The ankh combines the masculine Tau shape with the feminine oval, alluding to the powers of generation. The shape of the ankh expresses a profound idea—that of the circle of life spreading outwards from its origin and manifesting into the four elements. From another point of view, the circle of the ankh alludes to the sun, the horizontal line to the sky, and the vertical line to the Earth. As a microcosmic sign, the circle would represent the human head or reasoning powers (or the sun, which gives man life), the horizontal line his arms, and the upright line his body.

Of primary importance is the fact that the ankh is a form of the symbol of Venus, the planet whose wall is the door into the Vault of the Adepti (i.e. the Second Order). It is thus the symbolic “key” into the temple of the Inner Order, the “Key of Life,” and another form of the Rose and Cross. Venus is the only planet whose sigil embraces all of the Sephiroth on the Tree of Life. Therefore the wand is painted to represent the force of the ten Sephiroth in nature, divided into a hexad and a tetrad. The oval embraces the first six Sephiroth, and the Tau Cross contains the lower four, answering to the four elements. This “Key of Life” is a potent tool for unlocking centres of energy within the Adept: creating a pathway for the natural influx of divine Light. (source)

The Magical Revival by Kenneth Grant has another view on the shape of this cross: "At the moment of an Adept's death or at the onset of a profound trance, consciousness quits the body at this centre (cranial suture). It does so to the accompaniment of indescribable bliss. This bliss is the true nature of Consciousness, which manifests as Light. It is the ultimate orgasm of which all lesser manifestations are but shadows, for this orgasm is the Great Going, the goer being the special designation of the highest gods, both in Egyptian and Indian Lore. The ankh - or the sandal strap - is its symbol, the secret seed, the goer from life to life, the goer who transcends life altogether. The sandal strap, the symbol of going, and therefore of orgasm, is the glyph of Venus, goddess of love; she is the instrument, in the sexual sense, of ultimate transcendence of individual consciousness."

The ankh, as mentioned above, is an ancient Egyptian symbol of life. The Egyptian Gods are often portrayed holding it by its hoop.

 

The Tree of Life is a symbol that represents the cosmos in its entirety, and the human soul that relates to it. "Ten circles arranged in a specific pattern and connected by a series of ten lines most often represent this glyph. The ten circles represent the Ten Divine Emanations, called the sephiroth (plural of the word sephira), and the lines symbolise Paths that connect the individual sephira to one another. The word sephira, literally means counting and is distinguished from the Hebrew word mispar, which means numbers. Even though the sephiroth are said to represent the ten basic digits, they are not numbers. In a more modern manner, the Tree of Life can be defined as:

The ten spheres or Sephiroth connected by the 22 paths of the Hebrew alphabet, form the Tree of Life, the central glyph of the Qabalah. The Tree of Life describes the steps between mundane consciousness (represented by Malkuth - the last sphere, meaning 'Kingdom') and the divine (represented by Kether - the first sphere).
The basic form of the Tree of Life that is shown the most is as follows and depicts the ten spheres or circles (sephiroth) connected by the 22 paths of the Hebrew alphabet." (source

 

The kabbalistic colouring of this Crux Ansata is symbolic of the Rose Cross, which is explained in Israel Regardie's The Golden Daw, as pictured below.

 

The structure of the Golden Dawn:

First Order
Introduction—Neophyte 0=0
Zelator 1=10
Theoricus 2=9
Practicus 3=8
Philosophus 4=7
Intermediate—Portal Grade

Second Order
Adeptus Minor 5=6
Adeptus Major 6=5
Adeptus Exemptus 7=4

Third Order
Magister Templi 8=3
Magus 9=2
Ipsissimus 10=1

 

See the Alpha Omega collection tag for more related objects.

Resource:
Object
Materials:
Wood, paint.
Copyright ownership:
Golden Dawn Shop

Crux Ansata is Latin for “handle-shaped cross,” referring to the ankh. The ankh cross is a sacred symbol which alludes to the manifestation of the divine life force. It also signifies the divine union of opposites; active and passive, male and female. The ankh combines the masculine Tau shape with the feminine oval, alluding to the powers of generation. The shape of the ankh expresses a profound idea—that of the circle of life spreading outwards from its origin and manifesting into the four elements. From another point of view, the circle of the ankh alludes to the sun, the horizontal line to the sky, and the vertical line to the Earth. As a microcosmic sign, the circle would represent the human head or reasoning powers (or the sun, which gives man life), the horizontal line his arms, and the upright line his body.

Of primary importance is the fact that the ankh is a form of the symbol of Venus, the planet whose wall is the door into the Vault of the Adepti (i.e. the Second Order). It is thus the symbolic “key” into the temple of the Inner Order, the “Key of Life,” and another form of the Rose and Cross. Venus is the only planet whose sigil embraces all of the Sephiroth on the Tree of Life. Therefore the wand is painted to represent the force of the ten Sephiroth in nature, divided into a hexad and a tetrad. The oval embraces the first six Sephiroth, and the Tau Cross contains the lower four, answering to the four elements. This “Key of Life” is a potent tool for unlocking centres of energy within the Adept: creating a pathway for the natural influx of divine Light. (source)

The Magical Revival by Kenneth Grant has another view on the shape of this cross: "At the moment of an Adept's death or at the onset of a profound trance, consciousness quits the body at this centre (cranial suture). It does so to the accompaniment of indescribable bliss. This bliss is the true nature of Consciousness, which manifests as Light. It is the ultimate orgasm of which all lesser manifestations are but shadows, for this orgasm is the Great Going, the goer being the special designation of the highest gods, both in Egyptian and Indian Lore. The ankh - or the sandal strap - is its symbol, the secret seed, the goer from life to life, the goer who transcends life altogether. The sandal strap, the symbol of going, and therefore of orgasm, is the glyph of Venus, goddess of love; she is the instrument, in the sexual sense, of ultimate transcendence of individual consciousness."

The ankh, as mentioned above, is an ancient Egyptian symbol of life. The Egyptian Gods are often portrayed holding it by its hoop.

 

The Tree of Life is a symbol that represents the cosmos in its entirety, and the human soul that relates to it. "Ten circles arranged in a specific pattern and connected by a series of ten lines most often represent this glyph. The ten circles represent the Ten Divine Emanations, called the sephiroth (plural of the word sephira), and the lines symbolise Paths that connect the individual sephira to one another. The word sephira, literally means counting and is distinguished from the Hebrew word mispar, which means numbers. Even though the sephiroth are said to represent the ten basic digits, they are not numbers. In a more modern manner, the Tree of Life can be defined as:

The ten spheres or Sephiroth connected by the 22 paths of the Hebrew alphabet, form the Tree of Life, the central glyph of the Qabalah. The Tree of Life describes the steps between mundane consciousness (represented by Malkuth - the last sphere, meaning 'Kingdom') and the divine (represented by Kether - the first sphere).
The basic form of the Tree of Life that is shown the most is as follows and depicts the ten spheres or circles (sephiroth) connected by the 22 paths of the Hebrew alphabet." (source

 

The kabbalistic colouring of this Crux Ansata is symbolic of the Rose Cross, which is explained in Israel Regardie's The Golden Daw, as pictured below.

 

The structure of the Golden Dawn:

First Order
Introduction—Neophyte 0=0
Zelator 1=10
Theoricus 2=9
Practicus 3=8
Philosophus 4=7
Intermediate—Portal Grade

Second Order
Adeptus Minor 5=6
Adeptus Major 6=5
Adeptus Exemptus 7=4

Third Order
Magister Templi 8=3
Magus 9=2
Ipsissimus 10=1

 

See the Alpha Omega collection tag for more related objects.