What is an Ankh?

So...in my search for new ideas for tattoo's I came across the Egyptian symbol, Ankh. I remember on an older Erykah Badu live album she was talking about an Ankh but I really don't remember what she was saying. So I decided to a bit of research. I know I might be a little late, but hey...I'm on a path to self-discovery. This is what I have found.

The origin of the symbol remains a mystery to Egyptologists, and no single hypothesis has been widely accepted. One of the earliest suggestions is that of Thomas Inman, first published in 1869

[It] is by Egyptologists called the symbol of life. It is also called the 'handled cross,' or crux ansata. It represents the male triad and the female unit, under a decent form. There are few symbols more commonly met with in Egyptian art. In some remarkable sculptures, where the sun's rays are represented as terminating in hands, the offerings which these bring are many a crux ansata, emblematic of the truth that a fruitful union is a gift from the deity