Māori Legend: The Stairway to Heaven
And why that story matters now more than ever.
Susan L Hart / June 11, 2025
Imagine my surprise when I heard a shout as I walked down a crowded sidewalk on Queen Street, Auckland one day, and realized it was a Māori woman trying to get my attention. I walked over to see why, and we struck up a conversation that proved to be life pivoting for me. She initially spoke about things she could clearly see in my energy field, some personal to prove to me that she was clairvoyant. (Remarkably so.) Then the bigger picture of it was about my journey and purpose. Sometimes in life the universe delivers our most important mentoring quickly and unexpectedly through the lips of a stranger.
During the too brief time I knew her, she gifted to me a pendant that I hold dear, a piece of pounamu (Māori for greenstone) hand carved into a symbol. In New Zealand greenstone (nephrite, not to be confused with jadeite) is found only on the west coast of the South Island in the alluvial glacial moraines, and for the Māoris, it is not just a stone.
Pounamu is held sacred, with life force they call “mauri”, and it is the keeper of their ancestral stories and energy. It represents a gift from Papatūānuku, the Earth Mother, and when a Māori gifts you with a pounamu, they are acknowledging you as a keeper of the Earth. The Māori have many symbols they carve from the pounamu, often related to their legends. The one my friend gave me is called "poutama" in Māori, or translated to English means "stairway to heaven".
“I choose this one for you,” she said, “because it best represents your journey.”
When I researched the meaning later, I found that my poutama symbolizes the story of Tāne, who brought back the Three Baskets of Knowledge for humankind. Further research led me also to the legend of rainbow warriors told by other Native tribes, particularly North American.
Whether you subscribe to the premise of rainbow warriors or not, it is nonetheless a dream of a coming together of humanity to set things right in these turbulent times. Too idealistic, you say? Perhaps, but ideals are tremendously important. They are seeds out of which big dreams are born. I think the world has deteriorated to a point where they (the ones in society who strive to completely control the show) are trying to make us believe that big dreams aren’t possible any more, and we must “settle”. I refuse to accept that!
So, to the ones who feel the same, I propose that we work together to make yesterday’s prophesy of rainbow warriors into tomorrow’s legend of an extraordinary transformation we have achieved, one that will be told with joy for many generations to come.
This is a short story of the rainbow warriors, as I tell it in my collection of writing about nature called Our Beautiful Earth:
Time of the Rainbow Warriors
The Māori of New Zealand pay homage to many ancient legends and stories that explain their beginnings, their ancestors, their deep connection with Papatūānuku (Mother Earth), and their relationship with Io-Matua-Kore, God-the-Parentless, the supreme spiritual power.
The Three Baskets of Knowledge is the story of Tāne, the god of forests and of birds, and the son of Ranginui and Papatūanuku, the sky father and the earth mother. Tāne was called to make the journey and ascend through the many realms to the uppermost realm, occupied only by Io-Matua-Kore, in order to obtain the Three Baskets of Knowledge (of upper realms, the rainbow, and spiritual powers) and bring them back to Earth for the benefit of all humankind.
On the surface it is simply a story of how humankind gained knowledge of things both earthly and spiritual. However, at a deeper level it is a metaphor for the archetypal inner journey of the mystic as they travel inwards, seeking always to find unity with the universe, and to become one with their particular concept of the Creator of All.
The rainbow as a bridge between realms, and as a sign of hope and inspiration for the world, is found in countless legends and stories of the Indigenous cultures. For example, the Māori legend of Uenuku and the Mist Maiden is a testimony to the power of love, and the rainbow represents love in all its shades. The rainbow is a reminder of the connection and covenant between the earthbound and the celestial.
Many Indigenous cultures believe that under the symbol of the rainbow, humanity will come into balance with one another and the Earth to experience the Golden Age. However, first an alignment with spiritual values, a healing between brothers and sisters, and a renewed reverence and appreciation for the Earth must take place.
There is an ancient theme that runs through many American Native legends that warns of the devastation the European white man would bring to the land. However, the myths also promise that when the devastation was at its worst, spiritually aligned souls among peoples of all colors, peoples of the rainbow, would feel a calling of spirit and come together to bring life back into proper balance.
These souls, who would do no violence and would work to end it, would be called the Rainbow Warriors.
The time of the Rainbow Warriors has come.
I have been writing here on Substack for only a few weeks (it has been 5 years on my author site), but
, and are a few like-minded individuals I have found so far, people who are speaking out on behalf of the future of humanity and our Earth. You know something is right and the time is now when the people you have been searching for (for me, it has been two decades) start bubbling to the surface immediately.I am deeply encouraged by that, and I’m looking forward to meeting many more. If you find me through this article, please reach out. I would love to know about you!
Some interesting related articles:
The What, Why, and How of Pounamu / Greenstone
The Earth Stories: The Legend of the Rainbow Warriors
© Susan L Hart 2025 / Author website: HartInspirations.com
Thank you for reading. If you find value in my words, please take a moment to Like and Share them. I appreciate your help to reach others. :)
@Jan Thank you for the restack. :)
Rainbow warrior always had a 2LGBTQ+ connection for me more than anything. I loved hearing more about the Māori connection. It underlines the rainbow as a connector, and the kindredness of those that connect with the unity it highlight.