If we turn our telescopes South, we are able to see what is call “The Southern Cross Constellation”.

It consists of four bright stars in a cross shape that are clearest from the tops of the Andes Mountains in the heart of Peru.

If you are interested in reading more about them, they are:
Bottom) Acrux (Alpha Crucis)
Left) Becrux (Beta Crucis)
Top) Garux (Gamma Crucis)
Right) Decrux (Delta Crucis)

Standing atop the Apus (Maintains, but also Mountain Spirits I would equate to deities) the Q’ero would look up to see this unique and vivid constellation, and notice how the Apu’s themselves pointed and reached directly to them. These stars were special they marked the entrance to Hanaq Pacha (The upper world). Just like a treasure map that over laid the sky.

The Andean Cross, or the Chakana (Also spelled Chacana) [Cha-con-uh] is the symbol for this gateway to the upper world. But its symbolism is so much deeper, and complex.

The Chakana also symbolizes:

 

• The Apus and lakes which are like reverse Apus. 
• The Four cardinal direction and their Respective Meanings
  • South – Hatun Amaru – Healing of Self
  • West – Otorongo – Healing of Lineage and Ancestors
  • North – Huanacauri and Sewar Q’enti – Healing of Community
  • East – Kuntor – Love.
  • But if we hold the Chakana flat, like a compass, the Cusco (Navel/Center) represents Kay Pacha (mid-world), inferring the Ukhu Pacha (lower-world) is below the Chakana, and above the Chakana is the Hanaq Pacha.
• The four elements: Earth, Fire, Water, Air an then Ether at the Cusco
• The twelve festivals of the Lunar Calendar (I need to write a post about the Solar and Lunar Calendars of the Inca calendar ~ it is awesome)

And once the Spanish came to Peru, the Chakana took on another meaning, it also mapped to the crucifix, The Christian Cross. This was both a change for self-defense of their people, but also quite apt for the Chakana and the people. It talks to the weight of the energy of your soul, traveling between the worlds, and most importantly, the ability for redemption.

I think the most impressive and powerful points to the Chakana is that that one meaning does not take away from another, nor does it displace another. Each meaning is a layer of truth that is added on top of the next. They are all equally try, simultaneously.

That took me quite some time to really grasp.