Native American communities across the Americas viewed the Milky Way as the Path of Souls—the road the dead follow to reach the Land of the Dead. Scholar William Romain researched this extensively. At Cahokia, the site's axis and Rattlesnake Causeway align with the Milky Way Path of Souls at nightfall on the summer solstice. Snake motifs wrapping round tablets and shell carvings in Mississippian art may depict this celestial road—a belief documented across North America. 🌌
Milky Way as the path of souls across ancient American civilizations
Key facts
- Native American communities across North America viewed the Milky Way as the road the dead follow to the afterlife in the underworld
- When the Milky Way orients north-south at dawn or dusk, it becomes the road traveled by the spirits of the dead
- Scholar William Roma conducted extensive research on the path-of-souls journey along the Milky Way
- Snake bodies wrapping around round tablets and shell carvings in Mississippian art may represent the Milky Way in the night sky
- A symbol of an open hand with an eye in its center, resembling the Mesopotamian Hamsa, may represent the dark patch within the Milky Way
- The Milky Way as path of souls is documented across cultures from Chile to Alaska and was present in Latin America during and before Mississippian times
Sources
The Milky Way Path of Souls and Adena-Hopewell Earthworksacademia.edu
Milky Way is identified almost universally as the “Path of Souls” – that is the path the soul must travel to reach the Land of the Dead.
(PDF) Following The Milky Way Path of Souls: An Archaeoastronomic ...academia.edu
Cahokia's site axis and Rattlesnake Causeway align with the Milky Way Path of Souls. The alignment occurs at nightfall on the summer solstice around 1050 AD.
[PDF] Visions of the Milky Way in the West: The Greco-Roman and Medieval ...cultureandcosmos.org
Perhaps these guides of the soul, which often accompany the marine processions, are flying upwards along the route of the Milky Way. The clipeus shape ...
The Path of Souls: A Skyward Reading of Mississippian Mysticismcreatrixmag.com
The “Path of Souls”—a journey of the free-soul after death—was ritually enacted through alignment with the Milky Way, Orion, and the lunar ...
The Milky Way - Constellations of Wordsconstellationsofwords.com
The Milky Way. “There is a high track, seen when the sky is clear, called the Milky Way, and known for its brightness. This way the gods pass to the palaces ...
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