Grandfather Martin Gashweseoma

Traditional Hopi Elder and Guardian of the
Sacred Stone Tablets of the Fire Clan

Eldest Elder Grandfather Martin Gashweseoma
in front of another Prophecy Rock.

The large human figure on the left is the Great Spirit. The bow in his left hand represents his instructions to the Hopi to lay down their weapons. The vertical line to the right of the Great Spirit is a time scale in thousands of years. The point at which the great Spirit touches the line is the time of his return.

The "life path" established by the Great Spirit divides into the lower, narrow path of continuous Life in harmony with nature and the wide upper road of white man's scientific achievements. The bar between the paths, above the cross, is the coming of white men; the Cross is that of Christianity. The circle below the cross represents the continuous Path of Life.

The four small human figures on the upper road represent, on one level, the past three worlds and the present; on another level, the figures indicate that some of the Hopi will travel the white man's path, having been seduced by its glamour.

The two circles on the lower Path of Life are the "great shaking of the earth" (World Wars One and Two). The swastika in the sun and the Celtic cross represent the two helpers of Pahana, the True White Brother.

The short line that returns to the straight Path of Life is the last chance for people to turn back to nature before the upper road disintegrates and dissipates. The small circle above the Path of Life, after the last chance, is the Great Purification, after which corn will grow in abundance again when the Great Spirit returns. And the Path of Life continues forever...

The Hopi shield in the lower right corner symbolizes the Earth and the Four-Corners area where the Hopi have been reserved. The arms of the cross also represent the four directions in which they migrated according to the instructions of the Great Spirit.

The dots represent the four colors of Hopi corn, and the four racial colors of humanity.

The picture above shows the petroglyph in enhanced form, as it appeared to LaVan Martineau on his visit to the Hopi Reservation in the late 1960s. Out of respect for the Hopi, we have not shown to actual stone as it appears today.

Although this petroglyph was unguarded for hundreds of years, it is now carefully protected by Hopi elders. Access to Hopi lands and the recent disputes with neighboring tribes and governmental agencies have restricted these cultural icons to the religious leaders of the Hopi. The stone, also called the "Hopi Prophesy Stone," is now hidden from the view of cameras and non-Hopi visitors. In the late 1960's, a remarkable man visited Hopiland and made an extensive survey of this petroglyph. LaVan Martineau copied and translated the strange marks and revealed a message that has special meaning to Native Americans and all people of our planet-- especially during the impending new cycle.

The "Hopi Plan of Life" is described by the elders of the Hopi Hotevilla faction as follows:

When the Hopi first arrived upon this land the Creator was the only one living here at the time. When the Hopi met the Creator here, they asked him to be their leader. The Creator refused and said that there were many evil intentions in their hearts that they must first fulfill before he could be their leader. Those who managed to survive and live through all their evil intentions would meet the Creator after all was over and he would then be their leader. The Creator is therefore the 'first' and the 'last' because of this meeting arrangement.

One of the many instructions given to the Hopis by the Creator at this time was that they should migrate all over this continent and, while doing so, they should leave their picture writing and clan symbols upon the rocks near their ruins as a sign that the Hopis were the first and were rightfully holding this entire continent in trust for the Creator. In regard to this they were told by the Creator that a time would come when another race would come upon this land and claim it all, but that these Hopi writings upon the rocks would justly retain and hold the ownership of this land by the Hopi in trust for the Creator.

LaVan Martineau was raised by Native Americans as a child and was fluent in the sign language used by many tribes. A stint in the military exposed him to the science of crypanalysis, the study of codes and symbols, and later enabled him to decipher the hidden meanings of American petroglyphs. In his book, The Rocks Begin To Speak, Martineau gives the following interpretation of "The Hopi Life Plan," symbol by symbol. Symbol A represents the Creator pointing down close to the ground from where the Hopi claim to have come. The short vertical lines near the Creator's hand B thus represent the Hopi people. The Creator is holding in his left hand "the life plan" or "trail" C upon which the Hopi are to embark. Near this hand is a circle D which represents "holding" of the entire continent in trust for the Creator, as he had instructed. (Since this photograph was taken, viewers of this panel have added a bow to the right hand of the Creator which was not apparent when Martineau surveyed the carving.)

Point E on the trail or life plan represents a time when it was predicted by the Creator that the Hopi would digress from the true path given to them and pursue another way. The square F is said to represent Oraibi, and the line or path G coming down from the square represents the false path of the wicked Oraibi-- the Hopi who are always trying to outdo and hold themselves above others, without the help of God. (This line is above the true path.)

The figures H standing upon the false path represent the wicked themselves. Older Hopi claim that heads have recently been added to these symbols, for they remember a time when no heads existed on these figures. The absence of heads would represent the punishment or death that the wicked must undergo as a result of following the false path.

The two zigzag lines I stemming from the false path represent the careless and different paths to permanent destruction pursued by the wicked. Each zigzag is the pursuit of a careless and wicked intention that will eventually come to a dead end when all evil intentions have been exhausted. This "dead end" is shown by the symbol turning around or sagging down J. The upper zigzag line has recently been scratched and marred to such an extent that is resembles a fourth figure, which the Hopi say was not there originally. Whether it was or was not does not seriously affect this translation.

Symbol K is the true path of everlasting life, symbol L, which is shown at four points along this true path. The incorporation of the symbol old age (a cane) with life (a branching corn leaf) represents everlasting life.

This true path to everlasting life is bisected at three different points by three half circles M, which might have been complete circles at one time. (This panel has been scratched over so many times that it is often difficult to distinguish the correct form of these symbols). The Hopi say that they are gourds which are shaken, thus representing three great wars or shakings that will transpire before the everlasting life is reached. The last circle represents the "final war" of purification in which all evil will be destroyed.

At point N on this panel the false path connects with an everlasting life symbol, showing that some may return to the true path and to everlasting life. The two zigzag lines which extend beyond this point of possible return to the path of everlasting life thus truly indicate permanent destruction, since the wicked have gone beyond this point of no return. Symbol O, at the end of the path is the great spirit holding an everlasting life symbol in his hand. He is shown waiting here at the end of the trail just as he was shown at the beginning of it. For this reason he is called the first and the last.

Symbol P is difficult to distinguish, again because of the panel having been repeatedly scratched instead of chalked (for photographing). It more closely resembles three dots, but the Hopi claim it is a Catholic cross added to the panel after a bad experience with the Catholics in the seventeenth century. This symbol was placed there by the Creator's instructions, to show that the Hopi way and the Catholic way should not combine.