Frankly Answered Questions - FAQs

Is my student wearing a Satanic symbol?

Q: I am a teacher and have noticed one of my students wearing a cross with an oval type circle at the top of it as a necklace. Do you know if this is a symbol of Satan? I have always heard that it was, but he is quite convinced that it is not. Do you know?

A: I assume that you are referring to an "ankh" -- another way of describing it would be a cross shaped like a "T" with a tear drop or loop at the top. The "ankh" has a long history going back to Egyptian times. It is one of the most familiar of Egyptian hieroglyphs. It was the sign for life and fertility. Many statues of the Pharaoh have him holding an "ankh." It is carried in the hands of many Egyptian deities. It was often produced in solid form and worn as jewelry.

The ankh was popular throughout Egyptian history and due to its cruciform shape remained so into the Coptic period. The Coptic Christian church adopted the ankh as a symbol of the cross (since the cross gives life to believers). In Christian iconography it is called the crux ansata, the handled or "eyed" cross.

In their zeal to adopt all things pagan, modern day followers of Wicca have adopted the ankh as one of their symbols. It is often cast in silver and worn as a necklace or on the left ear. Some Wiccans wear an ankh or they will adopt a nickname containing the word "ankh." You can find a number of Wiccans and some Satanists with "ankh" names by doing a word search on the Internet.

I know of teens who insisted that their ankh necklace didn't mean anything special. They said that it was only an Egyptian hieroglyph and a Christian symbol. But some have later become followers of Wicca.

Of course, I don't know what the ankh means to your particular student. I'm sure that God will give you discernment and wisdom in this.