Ankh

Scholars believe that El, a word translated as Lord, comes from Elah the word for Terebinth or Oak tree. The sap of the Terebinth is the source of incense resin burned in temple worship so perhaps Elah was used first to describe this tree. Tree veneration was extensive throughout Asia, the Mediterranean region and Europe. Ancient peoples viewed trees as gifts from the Great Mother who was the divine source of all life. They reasoned that the life spirit swells up from the earth through the roots of the tree to create new growth. They also believed that this same life spirit provided by the divine Mother was the source of all animal life. The life spirit was thought to enter men and beasts from the Great Mother through the heel of the foot or hind hoof (see posts on Jacob's Ladder and Foot of The Hippo.)

The holy Terebinth and mighty Oak remained firmly rooted in groves surrounding water sources. Chayot, however, were able to move freely by virture of their connecting joints. Chayot is a living being and is derived from the hebrew root word for life and include both men and animals. The skeletal tree enabled chayot to stand upright but the movable joints enabled them to move freely between sources of water. The fibula inserted into the talus of the ankle creates a hinge that moves at the optimum angle for running and jumping. The oldest Indo-European word (that I could find) for joint is galenk which is also the root word for link. Galenk is the word used not only for the joint of the ankle but also the moveable uvula at the base of the soft palate and aids in the function of speech. Galenk is the key to walking and talking.

Both the fibula and uvula have the same basic shape of a stem ending in a bulbous mass. The Ankh symbol could be the ancient representation for both of these anatomical miracles that separate the animal kingdom from the plant kingdom. It may be that galenk is derived from Ankh and could also be the source of words having to do with speech such as gloss and glot. Ankle, angle and angel could also be derived from galenk. Hebrew words such as Gilgal, Galil and Golgotha have a root meaning of "to surround" and could be cognate to galenk. The gal surrounds the ankh as the talus surrounds the tibula and the throat surrounds the uvula. Gal could be the ancient root of chalice, well and grael. Other GL words that describe "shining" words such as glitter and glow have entered the English language from northern European countries where the Yule Log tradition originated. The burning Yule Log was thought to be "licked" by "tongues" of flames. Yule, uvula and fibula could be derived from the same root word; jil (GL).

The purpose of ancient Egyptian tomb paintings was to provide the deceased with the tools necessary for an afterlife. However, as beautiful as they are they remain as silent and stationary as a tree. The key to walking and talking is an Ankh and seldom is there a tomb painting where it does not appear.