These earrings are based on our Matariki pattern: Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades. It rises in mid-winter and for many Māori, it heralds the start of a new year. This pattern (the niho Taniwha - triangles) represents the nine stars in the Matariki constellation; Matariki, Waitā, Waitī, Tupuānuku, Tupuārangi, Waipunarangi, Ururangi, Pōhutukawa, Hiwa-i-te-rangi. Each cross represents one of the nine stars of matariki.