Chakana; The Incan Cross
“Imperios” by Fredy Roa, Museo de Arte Contemporario, Cuzco
If the three animal symbols represent the three worlds, the Chakana or Incan Cross symbolizes the dynamic between the universe and the life it contains. A complex symbol, people have different perspectives on the stories the cross tells, and I will do my best to recount the ones I learned.
The Chakana is a sort of multifaceted map. Astrologically, The three-tiered cross represents the star constellation known as the Southern Cross (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crux). The twelve corners point to the twelve months of the calendar year. The four prongs represent the directions on earth (the Inca did not refer to the cardinal directions we are accustomed to them).
Tesoros Del Inca, by Wilber Roa C., Museo de Arte Contemporary, Cusco.
More importantly however, the Chakana represents the animal worlds of the Condor (Hanan Pacha), Jaguar or Puma (Kay Pacha), and Serpent. When you draw a horizon in the center, the upper half is the spirit world of the Condor (also of the sun and planets), the centerline is feline; the surface of earth and the present world, and the lower half of the cross is the serpent world of the dead.
Chakana at Seminario Pottery Guild, Urubamba.
The circle, however, is an important part of the tale. It speaks to the Andean concept of Ayu, or life community. The circular Ayu illustrates that all living things are connected in an ensemble with no end point. Furthermore, it expresses the reincarnation souls are believed to experience in this tradition. Just as earth’s organisms continually die and birth, a soul is believed to circularly live, die and be reborn. To represent this concept, the circle passes through the three worlds. As you trace the circle you trace the soul’s path – moving from the present world of the living, to the upper world of the spirits, and then into the land of the dead where it will regenerate for the next life. The upper and lower worlds have nothing to do with the Western concept of heaven or hell; all worlds are viewed positively.The hole also denotes Cusco, which is considered the center of the Incan Empire.
Fountain at Seminario Pottery Guild, Urubamba
Chakana is the paramount symbol of the Andean culture, to be seen on almost anyone or anything. The architecture of buildings, temples, and religious santuaries scattered throughout the Andes incorporates this symbol. One example is Sacsayhuamán, the Incan Temple of the Sun located in Cusco. As you arrive, an entrance shaped as the upper half of the Chakana greets you. Many Peruvians and others wear jewelry of the Incan Cross as a charm for protection, for they consider it a means to ward off evil energy (right). In this way the symbol has transcended to a design tool, critical to shaping the energetic result of the physical objects that portray it.
Magic in Design? An exploration. 
July 22, 2009 at 10:57 pm
Nice information…..I just returned from Peru and could not find any reference , in writing, about the cross….Very helpful,,,,,,
July 26, 2010 at 10:13 pm
very intresting
January 25, 2011 at 3:48 pm
I’ve wondered much about the chakana, I am Bolivian-American and have known about it since childhood. Yesterday I was at the Museum of American Indian, I live near Washington D.C. and I noticed many different symbolics overlapping between groups. What I thought interesting is that they either were represented within the chakana or shared a similar concept. The chakana is a very intricate design that can be drawn using the southern cross constellation as a sort of stencil. When 4 lines are drawn going through the middle of each prong and a 5th going through the star in between two corner stars you are then able to draw the remaining 11 rays that mark the shape of the chakana. At this point it might appear as if the point where all rays meet is a tunnel in motion. The chakana as a 2-dimensional figure can be used to draw a circle, as a three-dimensional object a sphere. When the rays are made to protrude the circle you begin to see a sun. The Mathematics generated by the image are amazing and figure prominently in generation fractals (like a kaleidoscope), mapping projections of growth, electro-magnetism, finding averages in a large number of isolated events (such as flipping a coin), finding the ratio of phi, and number theory in general. It is interesting to note the wiphala is also a common Andean symbol and contains colors of the light spectrum. Also interesting to note is that all languages have a certain algorithm dictating what sounds are heard and what words mean. Ayahuasca is sacred in this part of the world and is known to cause kaleidoscopic hallucinations and what some would term spiritual experiences. Aymara, an Andean language, appears to have an algorithm very close to that generated by phi. It should be duly noted at latest by the time of the Inca Andean peoples were already using a yupana calculator using a base-40 system and exponentials (Fibonacci’s square), similar to our modern day calculators, both of which things can be derived from the chakana, as can the base ten used for counting and binary notation seen in the quipu. 0, 1, 3, 5, 11 can be seen in the image extensively as can the numbers 4, 8, 12, 16, 20. 7 is the number of designs laid atop one another to create the sun image. 40 is a chakana within a chakana, once you finish the 2-dimensional image of the sun you can draw many other chakanas surrounding it using 4 rays from each cardinal point and the 1 ray at an angle plus the three imaginary ones intersecting it at 45 degree angles as guides to create images of repeating shapes. http://www.fincaperuexports.org/productphotos/1TAP005.jpg
Is the chakana a blueprint for creating our conceived reality? It seems almost to be the pixel of an atom much like photographs are composed of square pixels which when small enough and blended can create circular images though the components are inherently not round. It would in this way be similar to the lotus flower of Buddhism except more concrete in its mathematical foundations and, with constant sight of the southern cross in the sky (at least for Andean peoples), a more complete expression.
I am of the opinion that many cultures throughout the Andes as well as the rest of the indigenous Americas overtime developed and shared new mathematics that gave different images and insights by simply manipulating images of the southern cross. Oral tradition is tantamount in Andean and other indigenous communities, it is wise to listen both to their stories and to learn what modern “science” (to me a search for objective truth but not an answer) has to say. Some of the most interesting articles published on the Americas have only come about within the last 50 years most of them within the last decade. The Museum of the American Indian itself only opened in 2004.
January 27, 2011 at 3:03 pm
Thank you for contributing this wonderful information and your ideas to the dialogue! I am now working with Mapuche in Southern Chile and noting that their iconic Kultrun has many of the same elements.
January 25, 2011 at 4:05 pm
two other traditions that have this mathematics is coca leaf divination (averages in large number of events), and asymmetry (this includes the political organization of hurin and hanan) which can be seen in the art of mamani mamani. When one sees an image of a magnetic field it shows two asymmetrical fields that meet at one pole, form a sort of tunnel (the electric charges of each field causes them to never meet). the tunnel is the line in the chakana, correlating to our world and the constant motion of time which is the present and emotions, it is to be alive. The negative field is the lower prong of the chakana, and can be thought of as the past and the world of dreams, it is habit (memory). The positive field is the upper prong of the chakana it is the future, and conscious thought, it is knowledge. positive and negative come together to create our present reality (what we see, the visible strand of the electro-magnetic spectrum) and then they tear it apart in a cycle (a monorail is given motion through this principle much like life is constantly in motion). Perhaps Andean people knew something we didn’t.
January 25, 2011 at 4:08 pm
this is a four dimensional object, a 3 dimensional rendering would be http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/8-cell-simple.gif
January 25, 2011 at 4:09 pm
or (scroll to the bottom) http://www.geom.uiuc.edu/docs/forum/polytope/
January 25, 2011 at 4:15 pm
i know I’ve said alot, but, one last four dimensional object is a child in a mothers womb (think of the umbilical cord)
February 26, 2012 at 4:20 pm
Are these items for sale?
May 23, 2012 at 3:22 pm
Los Angeles Fountains…
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