I'm going to quote directly from the book that had the picture and not from my further interpretation of the cross .... it comes from a book called "Children of the Rainbow" by Leinani Melville (the religion, legend and gods of pre-Christian Hawaii) .... Leinani Melville received his instruction from an elderly Hawaiian woman who was a "tahuna mataura" (seer) .... he writes of the esoteric code of the "tahunas" (priests) and recounts some of the traditional mythology .... the book was published in 1969 ....
here is the description of this particular cross of the gods
"the caste of deities who composed the ancient Hawaiian pantheon was headed by the Supreme Being, Teave (Tay-yah-vay). He is represented by the sun at the top of this cross. He was the Primordial Lord of the Sun, the Primary Cosmic Force of Creation. He was known to the native of primitive Hawaii by several names. (a) Mauriora (Mar-oo-ree-o-ra), the Eternal Spirit of Ra. He was the supreme Sun God. (b) Te Ra, the Ra, the Infinite; the Absolute. (c) Te'Atua Uru Rani, the God who created heaven. (d) I'o, Inner Spirit. He was the Soul of the world. (e) I'ao, Infinite Mind, Infinite Light. He was the Mind and the Light of the World. (f) Te Tumu Nui, the Great Founder who established this world, the Great Teacher. (g) Ta 'I' i mamao, Unsurpassed Spirit in distant space. He was the "highest god."
No. 2 on the Cross of the Gods: Tane. His Hallowed Name was Eri Eri (note this was the old way of saying it, now this would be Eli Eli) but because of its holidness only temple priests were permitted to pronounce it in an invocation lest its sanctity be profaned by people who were not purified. He was more popularly referred to as Eri which means "My God, Dear Spirit, unsurpassed in excellence." He was sometimes called Tane E, te Hatu O Havai'i, O Tane, Lord of Havai'i. He was also known as (a) Te Atua I'Mauroa, the Infinite Everlasting God. (b) Te Atua Uru, the God of Creation. (c) Tane Uru Rani, Tane, Creator of Heaven. (d) Tane, Te Atua ia vaiora mauroa, Tane, from whom the water of everlasting life flows. (e) Tane Nui Atea, Tane of the Great Cross of light. (f) Tarani o Na'Rani, King of the peaceful heavens. (g) Tane, te Atua Mana, Tane, God of Might. (hj) Tane, te Atua Te'a, Tane, God of the Cross (i) Tane, te Atua Tea, Tane, God of the Light. He was the Light of the World.
No. 3 on the Cross of the Gods: Na'Vahine. She ws the Goddess of Serenity which is the inner meaning of that title. She was adored by the female chiefs of Hawaii as Uri Uri and more popularly known as the tanatas, as Uri, her abbreviated name which means blue, the spiritual breast of heaven from whom the milk of life flows. She was sometimes called Ta Vahine Uri, the Blue Goddess. She scintellated in heaven in raiment of blue, bluer than the bluest start. She was sometimes referred to as Ta Hotu Uri, the Blue Start. She was the Blue Star Mother of the natives of primitive Hawaii. She was sometimes referred to as Ta Vahine Te Ra, Lady Ra, Goddess of the Sun, the Infinite Goddess, the Absolute Goddess. She was the supreme female Regent of the celestial spheres. She was popularly known to the female chiefs and the priestesses of pre-Christian Hawaii by the names of (a) Nana, the grandmother of heaven. (b) Nana 'I"-A-E (Nana Ee-yah-eh), Nana, dear Infinite Flame. (c) Nana "I" Malu, Nana, Infinite Comforter. She was sometimes called Na'ri'i Vahine o no'Rani, Queen of the Peaceful Heavens.
Nos. 4, 5, 6 on the Cross of the Gods: The Three Princes of Heaven - the Lords Tanaroa, Tu and Rono.
No. 7 on the Cross of the Gods: The Lord Vatea, the King of Nu'umearani, the Kingdom of the gods and the goddesses of nature.
NO. 8 on the Cross of the Gods: The Goddess Papa, the spouse of Vatea and female regent of the fifth heaven above this earth upon which we mortals dwell. Papa, otherwise known as Haumea and ofttimes referred to as Ta Ruahine (the Lady of the crater) was the Earth Mother, the mother of the nature of this earth.
The disks indicate they were all Solar Deities, the Divinities who help supervision over God's Kingdom on earth as well as His Kingdom in heaven. The earth is designated, in this portrail, as number nine.
The unity of Teave, Tane and Na'Vahine, Tanaroa and Rono and Tu, Vatea and Papa, formed the Sacred Eight. They were created as a harmonious unit, necessary for completeness of the whole, and were together in oneness with the Supreme Being as His Divine Ambassadors. Each was "lamp" who illumined one of the Eight Paths of Righteousness which led through one of the Eight Gates of Heaven to an everlasting ovation of blissful serenity in the Pure Highlight of God. Devotion to any one of the Sacred Eight gave a devotee one way to get to heaven; devotion to all eight opened all the gates."
All of this is related to the inner meaning of the Hawaiian chant of Creation called the Kumulipo (the source, or the deep source). It is through the knowledge of the inner meaning of this chant as well as the symbols that I read the Zohar .... it is connected firmly in my mind and I realize that others may not always see it as I do, but I see connections and they open gates that I cannot explain well .... hope this helps, he hawai'i au, poh
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