The Crux Ansata: The Ankh Wand, the Crook of Mercy and the Scourge of Severity.
The Crux Ansata, the Ankh Wand
The Ankh is representative of Eternal Life. The shape was supposedly based upon teh form of a sandal-strap. The contour of the ankh also resembles a device used in Ancient Egypt to measure the depth of the river Nile. Since the Egyptians depended heavily upon the river for food and agriculture, the Ankh-shape came to symbolize Life itself.
The Ankh-cross is a sacred symbol which alludes to the manifestation of the Divine 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 expressed a profound idea; that of the circle o 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.
Of primary importance here 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 Adept (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 Hexad and Tetrad. The oval embraces the first six Sephiroth, and the Tau Cross contains the lower four, answering to the four elements.
The three main Adepts in the 5=6 Ceremony, the 3rd, 2nd, and Chief Adept, (also the Officers in the Portal Degree) use their Crux Ansatas to infuse the candidate with Light of LVX, causing the Higher Self to descend into his/her Ruach by awakening the Sephiroth of the Middle Pillar in the candidate's Aura. The Crux Ansata can also be used by a Magician to charge his/her own Sphere of Sensation with the forces of the Middle Pillar. The "Key of Life" is a potent tool for unlocking centers of energy within the Adept: creating a pathway for the natural influx of Divine Light.
The Crook and Scourge
The Crook and the Scourge symbolize the opposing concepts of Mercy and Severity. They are additional implements of the Chief Adept when he/she is in the Godform of Osiris within the tomb. (there is a slight discrepancy here-with the information from the Portal Ritual in Self Initiation-pgs 608-609 "SERAPIS: The godform of the Hiereus and the deity associated with the Elemental Earth. Serapis has a man's body and the head of a bull. The skin of the god is black and he wears the Solar disk and a uraeus between his cresent horns. His tunic is white bordered with black and his pectoral collar is banded red, yellow, and blue. His nemyss is striped black and white and his wristbands are banded black and white. He bears either the Crook of Mercy and the Scourge of Severity or the Sword of the Hierus. Serapis is seated upon a throne of black ornamented with white, and stands upon a pavement of black and white squares...OSIRIS: The godform of the Chief Adept and the deity associated with teh Elemental Spirit. Osiris has a human head, and wears a nemyss striped white and yellow, surmounted by the white Stenu crown of the Upper Regions. He is mummy-wrapped in white except for his head and hands. His pectoral collar is banded white, red, blue, yellow, and black. His wristbands are banded yellow and white. Osiris bears a white Djed Wand or a white pentagram-headed scepter of the Chief Adept. The god sits upon the Throne of white ornamented in yellow, which stands upon a white pavement)...In ancient texts, the Phoenix staff, the sceptor (crook) and the flail or whip were the three symbols of authority held by Osiris. The Crook or hooked staff is symbolic of the Mercy of Chesed and the White Pillar. In Christian symbolism, it is a pastoral attribute-the implement of a shepherd-and a symbol of faith. The hook stands for divine power, communication, and connection. Its suggestive spiral shape also implies creative power. In the symbolical of the R.R. et A.C. the Crook is painted the colors of the Minutum Mundum. It is divided into the colors symbolic of Kether, Aleph, Chokman, Taurus, Chesed, Leo, Aries, Tiphareth, Capricorn and Hod. (That would be quite the Incense!!!) The implement thus starts in the Supernal realm leading from Kether to Chokmah via the 11th Path (The Fool) and down to Chesed, the seat of Mercy from the 16th Path (The Hierophant) ending at length in the watery sphere of Hod.
The Scourge or Flail is symbolic of Severity and of the Black Pillar. It too is painted in accordance with the Munutum Mundum. It is separated into the colors of Netzach, Scorpio, Tiphareth, Gemini, Binah, Cancer, Geburah and Mem. The Implement symbolically starts in the Fire of Netzach, and crosses the Crook of Mercy. The tip of the Scourge reaches the sphere of Binah before the flailed ends descends to Geburah and the 23rd Path of the Hanged Man.
The Crook of Mercy must be held in the right hand and the Scourge of Severity in the left hand. The arms should then be crossed upon the chest and the two implements will be in the proper position to represent the Pillars of Mercy and Severity in the Adept's Sphere of Sensation. According to the Adeptus Minor Ceremony, these tools are emblems of Eternal Opposing Forces between which the entire equilibrium of the Universe depends. The reconciliation of these Forces is the Key of Life (The Rose and Cross, as well as the Crux Ansata) and whose separation is evil and death. The Crook and Scourge may be employed by an Adept in a ceremony to balance and equilibrate the Forces of Mercy and Severity within him/her inner self. They may also be used in a ritual/meditation invoking the godform of Osiris.
