The symbolism of the INCA CROSS.

The INCA CROSS represented the energy forces of Mother Earth. It was conceived as a three-steeped cross, representing the three realms of the cosmic world. Each realm was subdivided into three levels, making all together nine levels of realities in which ours was in the middle.
The Inca represented the  highest realm in the earth reality and the shaman, considered the mediator, journeyed through the central axis of energies in a trance first to the lower plane, the realm of the Underworld, and from there to the higher levels, inhabited by superior entities or as they thought, those who were choose to the serve the gods and the superior souls of the gods themselves, to find out the reason for misfortunes on the Earth level.
The Incas believed in the after life and symbols of these beliefs are found in Inca architecture and artwork.
The snake, puma and condor are symbolic representatives of the three realms. The snake represented the Underworld (Uqu Pacha), the middle world of humans (Kay Pacha) was represented by the puma, and the upper world of the Gods (Hanan Pacha) was represented by the condor. All of these three spirited animals were thought to have an active role in the every day life of the Inca world.
According to them, when a person died, the soul went with the spirit of the snake to the underworld. This was a place of cleansing. For an individual amount of time, the soul of the deceased stayed there. Even the souls of the upper class and the Inca itself went there. The souls were judged after completion of the cleansing time. The ones who were abandoned by their guardian spirits (thieves, breakers of the nature laws or other similar crooks) were sent to a different place to get their punishment. The other souls who completed their cleansing were permitted to return to the middle level and reincarnate or continue to the highest levels to serve the gods. The spirit of the Puma descended into the Underworld to collect the souls who were allowed to leave the premises, the souls of the ones expecting reincarnation were delivered by the puma in one of the realms of the middle world, then the spirit of the condor took the ones who qualified to serve the gods and delivered them  to the upper world of the gods.
The corners of the Inca Cross (Chakana) represented  the values of the Inca Culture, such as the love of the laws of nature (munay), the love of knowledge through the nature (yachay), and the love of work to maintain it (llankay). Also the cross represented the respect and obligation to their ancestors, to the inca ruler, and to the Creator of everything.