Other forms: hierograms
A hierogram is a sacred symbol, an image representing some religious, mystical, or spiritual meaning in a particular culture. In ancient Egypt, an ankh — a cross with a looped top — was a hierogram representing life, including the afterlife.
A hierogram might be a geometric design or an image of a living thing. The tree of life is a hierogram used in many different cultures and religions, often representing the interconnectedness of all living things, past and present. A hierogram is not the same thing as a hieroglyph, a character representing a sound or word in the writing system of ancient Egypt. Instead, a hierogram, from the Greek hieros, "sacred," and gramma, "something drawn," stands on its own as a sacred symbol.