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The logo is a Chakana (or Inca
cross), an Inca symbol.
The cross has 12 points and legend has it that these points represent
the following sayings, affirmations and life points. I Live, I
Work, I Love; The Underworld, The Current World, The Upper World; The
Condor, The Puma, The Snake; Don't Lie, Don't Steal, Don't be Lazy.
The four flat sides represent the elements Water Air Earth Fire.
The Chakana symbolizes for Inca mythology what is known in other
mythologies as the World Tree, Tree of Life and so on. The stepped cross
is made up of an equal-armed cross indicating the cardinal points of the
compass and a superimposed square. The square represents the other two
levels of existence. The three levels of existence are Hana Pacha
(the upper world inhabited by the superior gods), Kay Pacha, (the
world of our everyday existence) and Ucu or Urin Pacha
(the underworld inhabited by spirits of the dead, the ancestors, their
overlords and various deities having close contact to the Earth plane).
The hole through the centre of the cross is the Axis by means of which
the shaman transits the cosmic vault to the other levels. It also
represents Cuzco, the center of the Incan empire, and the Southern Cross
constellation.
The shaman was superior to priests, sorcerers and witch-doctors in that
he could modify his states of consciousness and journey at will to the
lower level to enquire into the causes of people's illnesses or
misfortunes. These were generally attributed to breaches of taboo. Such
trances were induced by the ingestion of hallucinogenic substances, most
probably ayahuasca, or chewing the leaves of the sacred coca plant which
are both used widely by the Indian shamans of Peru.
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