I originally published this article on my website in 2009 and updated it in 2017.

In the book Return of the Bird Tribes by Ken Carey – White Buffalo Calf Woman reminds us:

…Creation requires a gathering together and focusing of your power within a circle of commitment – like a seed, an egg, a womb or a marriage. If you would create and not destroy, you must remember always the Sacred Hoop. Consider wisely the ways you use your power and then around those ways draw the sacred circle of commitment. In the warm atmosphere of that circle, the power of love builds and builds like a storm above the wet summer prairie until suddenly the circle can hold no more and explodes in the conception of the new…

The Sacred Hoop of stars is a configuration of stars recognized by the Lakota Sioux in an As Above, So Below connection to the Native American concept of the Sacred Hoop. These stars include, Sirius, Rigel, the Pleiades, Capella, Castor, Pollux and Procyon. Astronomers have referred to this area of the sky as the Winter Hexagon, leaving out the Pleiades and putting Aldebaran on the outer rind.

A Personal Experience with The Sacred Hoop

Back in the Spring of 2000…

I was given an opportunity to participate with the 100 Eagle Feather Sacred Hoop of Nations walk across the United States. This Sacred Hoop was imbued with 4 gifts. The gift of forgiving the unforgivable, the gift of healing, the gift of unity and the gift of hope.

This Hoop walk included an intention to reverse the trail of tears. The journey began in Los Angeles and ended in Washington DC with much of the walk taking place on the actual “Trail of Tears”. The intention of this three month Hoop walk across the United States was to further healing, hope, and unity through energizing our ability to forgive the unforgivable. More about this story

I traveled with the Hoop for only part of a day, one night and then the next day (April 10 and 11, 2000) as it moved across Arizona. I got to hold the Hoop as we we walked it into the Phoenix Capitol. The hours I spent with Hoop seemingly reached beyond my ordinary reality, beyond the scope of time and place.

I had the feeling I was walking between many worlds as I witnessed multiple races of people joining together with a powerful intention to mend the Sacred Hoop, also known as the circle of life, by recognizing that we are all ONE people and everyone is equally important and deserves to be treated as such.

It was a powerful experience that gained additional meaning as we were learning more about the Sacred Hoop of Stars in the sky that many Native American tribes recognized as the ‘As Above’ expression of the ‘So Below’ understanding of the Sacred Hoop of Life.

More on the Sacred Hoop of Stars

The Ecliptic (plane of the solar system) and the Milky Way (plane of the galaxy) intersect near the middle of this circle of stars. This forms the cross within the circle. The location of this intersection is between the feet of the Twins and the horns of the Bull where the Summer Solstice (0° Cancer) Sun is located on the Galactic Cross at the edge of our galaxy, a.k.a. the Galactic Edge, looking out into deep space away from our galaxy.

It was considered extremely auspicious by the Lakota and other Plains Indians when the Moon and other planets were moving through the Hoop. There are remnants of mythic stories and oral histories from many cultures including Native American, Egyptian,Northern-European, Babylonian etc. that referred to this intersection as the place where souls enter into this reality. It is known as the ‘silver gate’.

Opposite of this point, between the Scorpion and the Archer near galactic center is the ‘golden gate’ where souls leave this reality. From this perspective the soul travels down the celestial highway or river of stars – entering at the Galactic Edge and exiting at Galactic Center.

Inside the Hoop is the constellation currently known as Orion. The Mayans viewed the sword of Orion as the sacred fire pit of creation. In more recent times, modern astronomers have discovered that this area of the sky is actually birthing lots of new stars! Additionally, there is an Alaskan shamanic tradition that saw the great equilateral triangle astronomers refer to as the Winter Triangle formed by Sirius, Procyon, and Betelgeuse, as heaven’s gate. It is another version of an entry point into this reality.

This tells us the Sacred Hoop is an area of the sky that has been associated with originating points and new beginnings by many cultures over time. This has been true for at least 6500 years when the Spring Equinox was on the Galactic Cross at the Galactic Edge inside the Sacred Hoop. It is when equinox based calendars emerged. Additionally, it is now believed the Egyptian “first time’ mythic perspective came into being when the Winter Solstice was located on this Galactic Cross 13000 years ago.

The Video Below features the June Solstice when the Sun is at the Center of the Sacred Hoop of Stars.