Tupuaanuku
Tupuuanuku is the whetuu connected to kai grown in the soil. Seeing her bright and clear in the sky holds great promise for the time of harvesting. She represents our ancestral connection to the soil, a living entity that bestows us with many gifts in exchange for our love and protection.
Tupuaarangi
Tupuuarangi is the whetuu connected to kai grown above the earth or from the sky. Seeing her bright and clear in the sky holds great promise for both harvesting and hunting. She oversees many domains like the forest, harakeke, ponga, birds and uncultivated food and insects.
Waiti is the whetuu associated with freshwater bodies, rivers and streams and the living creatures residing in them like eel and tuna. She is the twin of Waita, who oversees kai moana.
Ka ora te wai, ka ora te whenua, ka ora ngā tāngata.
If the water is healthy, the land is healthy, the people are healthy.
Waita, the whetuu associated with the ocean, food gathered from the sea (kaimoana) and all lifeforms that call it home. Waita is the twin of Waiti.
Ka whakahotu ngaa tai, ka nui te ika.
Regular tides, lots of fish.
Ururangi, the whetuu associated with the winds, guiding their movements for the coming year and Tawhirimatea (god of wind and weather). Hau (wind) has mauri (life force) that brings vitality to nature and people.
Hokia ki o maunga kia purea e koe I nga hau o Tawhirimatea
Return to your ancestral mountains to be cleansed by the winds of Tawhirimatea
Waipunarangi is the whetuu associated with rain or ua and translates to ‘water that pools in the sky’, balancing the flow of mauri (life force) to Papatuuaanuku and the other stars.
'Matariki Taapuapua' refers to water pooling on the ground due to heavy and continuous winter rain. It's also a time of cleansing and renewing the earth, refilling the soil for the upcoming Kooanga (Spring) season.
Ko te wai te toto o te whenua, ko te whenua te toto o te tangata
Water is the blood of the land, the land is the blood of the people.
A Tarot-style Matariki card featuring Matariki, the mother of all the whetuu in the Matariki cluster.
She is associated with health and wellbeing, reflection, hope and
connection to people and the environment. Seeing her bright in the
sky is a sign of good fortune for the coming year.
Matariki, huarahi ki te oranga tangata
Matariki, pathway to the wellbeing of man
She is associated with health and wellbeing, reflection, hope and
connection to people and the environment. Seeing her bright in the
sky is a sign of good fortune for the coming year.
Matariki, huarahi ki te oranga tangata
Matariki, pathway to the wellbeing of man
