4. Sacred Metal

Copper Nugget

History of Copper

Whilst numerous examples of Ankhs made from metal, clay and wood have been discovered the Ankh is universally associated with the metal copper - and for very good reasons. Throughout the ancient world the esoteric and exoteric properties of copper were legendary. It was universally known as a great sacred healing metal and was highly prized as a precious commodity.

One of the earliest copper artefacts yet discovered was a pendant in northern Iraq and has been dated to around 8700 BC whilst in Europe the well-preserved body of a man dated to 3200 BC was found with a copper-tipped axe which contained a 99.7% purity. Clearly early man had already established a good working understanding of the process of copper smelting.

Copper also appears in Sumerian metallurgy around 3900 BC and by 3100 BC Sumerian Coppersmiths were highly advanced in the art of large scale copper statuettes. During this Mesopotamian period copper was associated with the Queen of Heaven and to the goddesses Inanna, Ishtar and Astarte. These were all goddesses that were directly associated with the planet Venus.

Copper Ring

Copper Around the World

In Asia, copper was the metal of the Queen of Heaven Astarte whilst astrologers and alchemists assigned it to the Venus - the beautiful, radiant morning and evening star of the heavens.

The metal was also sacred to the Fire God and the Seven Gods of Babylonia and Assyria North Pacific Coast Indians whilst several other groups assigned it to the Sun.

In India it was regarded as a sacred metal whilst on the other side of the world the Indians of the Lake Superior region regarded the lumps of copper they found as divinities.

In the Bible, Ezra 8:27 we read 'Two vessels of fine copper, precious (desirable) as gold.'

In some places there is a custom of placing copper on a corpse. This is because copper was symbolic of life. Pliny mentions that in Arcadia the yew tree is fatal to anyone sleeping under it unless a copper nail is driven into the tree.

Picture of the Bazaar of the Egyptian Coppersmiths

Egyptian Bazaar of the Coppersmiths

Copper in Egypt

Copper was probably the very first precious metal worked in Egypt during the Neolithic Era and evidence of early mine workings were found in the Wadi Maghara and Buhen regions of the country whilst during the Middle Kingdom era ore was discovered in the Eastern Desert. Later on again Copper production shifted into Southern Canaan.

The conditions that the Copper miners had to endure in order to extract the ore for smelting were dreadful and the work was usually undertaken by captives from various Egyptian wars - usually up to the time of their deaths. Evidence of their work was found in the Sinai desert where a slag-heap of some 100,000 tons of waste was found and thought to have been the product of some 5,500 tons of actual metal.

The earliest Egyptian copper artefacts date to the early 4th millennium BC. During excavations Egyptian archaeologists even recovered copper tubing from part of the water plumbing system from the Pyramid of Cheops. It was still in servicable condition.

In addition to tools that were made from copper to fashion the stone used in the creation of the pyramids of Egypt it is also believed that at the time of their creation they had also been covered in a white limestone casing and topped off with copper capstones. In their day they must have been a very impressive sight!

Most interestingly of all the Egyptians also used the Ankh sign to represent copper in their texts. Indeed so important was the metal to them that they prized it above that even of gold.

Energy Conduction Through Copper

Copper and Energy Conduction

A universal belief within the ancient world of the inherent power of copper to emanate and transmit vital energies is well documented. Even today we transmit most of our digital and electrical energy around the planet using cables made essentially from copper because of its great capacity to conduct.

So is there any scientific evidence to backup the claims that metals, and copper in particular, radiate an energy of their own?

Well, actually there is. Ziegler researched a variety of metal discs and found that most radiate a measurable energy of differing types. Whilst some of these were found to be detrimental to health it was discovered that copper discs actually emitted pro-life energy rays.

There is a very strong line of thought that suggests that the Egyptians were highly advanced in an understanding the magickal properties of copper-made Ankhs.

In the book 'Bringers of the Dawn - Teachings From the Pleaidians', author Barbara Marciniak reveals that physical Ankhs were in fact powerful tools in the hands of the initiated. In the book her contacts state that;

'In ancient Egypt, the ankh, or symbol that represented life in actuality was a frequency modulator. It was utilized by individuals who were masters of keeping frequencies and able to do many things with those frequencies.'

This is an extraordinary claim and is one which leads one to suspect that the 'energy' which the Ankh was universally accredited with channelling was more than simply spiritual or metaphysical in nature as is generally supposed. This suspicion is strengthened later on in 'Bringers of the Dawn' for it is stated that the ankh is similar to a tuning fork and can direct sound.

However it seems that not every one is capable of utilising this power for Barbara Marciniaks' contacts then go on to say that;

'Before you will be able to experience using sound in the manner of the ancient Egyptians, you will have to demonstrate your integrity. You will have to pass an initiation or testing to see whether you can be trusted with this kind of power. This planet is not ripe for this kind of energy simply to be thrust into anyone's hands. If you were capable of this kind of work at this time, your life would not be safe because there would be too many who would want to misuse your gift. You will be given opportunities as you can best mature into them.'

Despite extensive research no further information on the powerful, perhaps dangerous, capabilities of the Ankh used as an energy resonator have as yet come to light.

Sound Waves in Motion

The Ankh and Ultrasound

It would be easy to dismiss the idea that the Ankh can be utilised as a focusser of energy if it were not for the fact that another researcher, namely author Nur Ankh Amen, has revealed further details of the possible energy resonant power of the Ankh as used in Egypt and Africa. In her publication 'The Ankh: African Origin of Electromagnetism' she states that;

'One very curious theory suggests the Ankh produced high pitch ultrasound inaudible to our human ear but effective in frightening wild animals like jackals and hyenas. This would have been especially useful in the wilderness at night, protecting travellers from unseen dangers. Not only were the living protected but the dead as well. Ultrasound has the effect of frightening insects, rodents and maggots that would devour the bodies of the deceased.'

Of course, if this is the case then we can now perhaps understand why Ankhs were placed upon the mummified, but decaying, corpses of the Egyptian Pharaohs.

What then of the nature of the energy that was harnessed and focused by those who understood the scientific properties of the Ankh? What exactly did the ancient Egyptians believe it to be and where did they think it came from? Was its source terrestrial or cosmic?