The Cross Chacana
Sacred Andean Iconography
by Kathy Doore
© labyrinthina.com 1998 - 2007
The chacana (cruz cuadrada or square cross), personifies the Southern Cross constellation believed by the ancient Andeans to be the center of the Universe clearly discernable in the Andean night sky. The Chacana is often seen at important geomantic sites and sacred centers which formulate the mythical foundations of the ancient heavens. Each step within the cross chacana represents a realm of the universe ie. the three stepped cross denotes the upper, middle, and lower worlds of Andean cosmology.
Geomantic Elements of the Landscape
Above photos show two examples of chacana's denoting the sacred elements of the landscape, a "powerpoint" to the left, and right, a chacana surrounding the doorway of a sacred cave chincana, entrance to the labyrinthine underground tunnel system at Sacsayhuaman Temple Complex, Cusco, Peru.
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