The ankh, or in Latin the crux ansata (cross with a handle), was originally the Egyptian hieroglyph which meant "life". Many ancient Egyptian artworks, especially funerary art, depict gods and pharaohs bearing this symbol. The ankh was also associated with Osiris, the god of death and rebirth, and ankhs were often placed with mummies in order to symbolically convey the gift of immortality. Over time the ankh came to symbolize immortality and can even be seen as a key to unlock the gates of death. The Rosicrucians and members of Hermetic orders often use this symbol in their rituals. The Coptic Christians, as well, employed it as a symbol of life after death. Ankhs incorporating mirrors into their design have sometimes been used to symbolize perception of the subtle reality.

The bladed ankh first surfaced in popular culture in the 1983 film The Hunger, directed by Tony Scott and based on the novel by Whitley Strieber, who also, significantly, wrote the novel Communion. With its historical symbolism, cultural significance, and esoteric nature, the ankh was the obvious symbol for the Strigoi Vii. In 1996, Master Metal Manipulator Drennan was commissioned by Father Sebastiaan to make an exclusive version of a bladed ankh to represent the Mysteries and The Family.

Thus was born the Legacy Ankh, the most recognized international symbol of the Vampyre movement and The Family. Since there are so many imitators, the Legacy Ankh is legally copyrighted and trademarked by the Ordo Strigoi Vii in order to protect it and to avoid any misuse of the symbol. We wish to make it clear that this particular scimitar-bladed ankh is the exclusive symbol of Strigoi Vii as defined by the Sanguinomicon, and should be recognized and respected as such."

For more information on the Sanguinomicon, Living Vampyrism and Strigoi Vii please visit www.sanguinarium.net.

Pre-Launch preview: Here are just a few of the new products from Alchemy Gothic, released in the 2009 catalogue.

Much of Alchemy’s 'steampunk' collection revolves around Ezekiel Empire Rosenstein's, (a.k.a. EER, Victorian 'descendant' to the original, 18th century Dr von Rosenstein), incredible ‘Galvanic Matter Transposition System’ for 'pronto mass remotion', (the earliest known 'teleporter', a kind of three-dimensional fax machine). Known as the 'GMT', this sensational invention was, sadly, completely lost to science, however, from a combination of surviving fragments in our archives, anecdotal evidence and recently-found early drawings, Alchemy Gothic 1977 have been able to reconstruct several of the Rosenstein’s GMT principle elements.