The Cherokee Rattlesnake Prophecy, also called the Chickamaugan Prophecy, is part of the Cherokee prophesies of 1811 made by “Charlie” and two women of the Cherokee tribe. They had visions in early February of 1811 near Rocky Mountain in Georgia. These prophesies are all over the internet, and from what I can gather, they were originally documented by missionaries and then finally published in 1993 in the American Indian Quarterly [1].
The Rattlesnake Prophecy contains reference to planets and stars, and shows similarities to Mayan astronomy, with emphasis on Venus and Jupiter, Orion and the Pleiades. Their calenders were similar, both apparently marking 2012 as a major cross over point. I will go through some of the detail and see how it relates to modern astronomy and astrology. You can see the entire Cherokee Prophesies at Crystalinks [2].
The Pleiades
The “Rattlesnake” seems to be one of the 13 major constellations in Cherokee astronomy, and at the tip of it’s tail are the Pleiades. The Pleiades is a cluster of seven stars in constellation Taurus. The brightest of them being Alcyone at 0 degrees Gemini. The Pleiades have been important to all cultures around the world, and first documented in China in  2357 BC [3] , and even getting a mention in the Old Testament of The Bible, “Canst thou bind the sweet influence of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?” [4]. Robson says that “sweet” must be a mistranslation, because the astrological influence of the Pleiades is “distinctly evil” [5], and this is the consensus of all astrological writings on the Pleiades. They give tragedies and sorrow, and their association with the tears of the weeping sisters links them to the “traditions of the Flood found among so many and widely separated nations, and especially in the Deluge-myth of Chaldea” [3].
Jupiter
Rattlesnake Prophecy: “When the Earth sees the fingers of Spearfinger strike Jupiter, when the ages of the Rings and wheels tell it is the ending of the ages of cycles of 5, this will be the sign for the whole earth, for all the earth will see this thing, to wake up from sleep.”
In July 1994, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 struck Jupiter “with dramatic effect” in the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision of solar system objects [6]. Almost exactly 15 years after the Shoemaker-Levy 9 impact, Jupiter took another massive hit in July 2009, leaving a crater the size of Earth.
On 9 May 2010 amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley took a picture of Jupiter and was astonished to discover one of the giant cloud bands had totally disappeared. This happened since June 2009, so it is a fair assumption that one or both of the comet strikes are responsible. The picture above is from The Planetary Society [7].
Transit of Venus
Rattlesnake Prophecy: “In the year 2004 and 2012 an alignment will take place both on the Cherokee Calendar and in the heavens of the Rattlesnake Constellation both. It is the time of the doublehead serpent stick. It is the time of the Red of Orion and Jupiter against White Blue of Pleiades and Venus.”
On 8 June 2004 there was a transit of Venus, when Venus can be seen as a black dot moving across the face of the Sun. This was the first transit of Venus in over 120 years, and was conjunct the Rigel, a bluish white star in constellation Orion.
The next transit of Venus will be on 6 June 2012, and following that not for over another 100 years. The 2012 transit of Venus comes two weeks after a solar eclipse in the Pleiades. The day of the transit of Venus, Jupiter is in the Pleiades. Venus and the Sun are again on Rigel, and Mercury is also in Orion. For both the 2004 and 2012 transits, Venus is retrograde.
Summary
I believe there is solid astronomy behind this prophesy, the predicted comet strikes on Jupiter certainly came true with dramatic effect, and the prophesy was published a year before the Shoemaker-Levy 9 impact. The prediction of the only two transits of Venus over a 220 year period is testament to the astronomical skills of the the early Americans. Though perhaps something was jumbled in the translation, because the prophesy states “the Red of Orion and Jupiter against White Blue of Pleiades and Venus.” The 2012 transit of Venus has Jupiter in the Pleiades against Venus in Orion.
Venus and Jupiter face off again on December 21 2012 as part of a Yod aspect pattern, apparently the same day as the 5,125 year cycle in the Mayan Long Count calendar comes to an end.
Jamie, 26 August 2009, updated 3 October 2010.
References:
1. When the Earth Shakes: the Cherokee Prophecies of 1811-12, Michelene E. Pesanmbbee, American Indian Quarterly, volume 17, issue 3, 1993, p.301.
2. Cherokee Star Constellation – Prophecy of the Rattlesnake, Crystalinks.
3. Star Names, Their Lore and Meaning, Richard Hinckley Allen, 1889, p.392, 398.
4. Book of Job, xxxviii, 31, Holy Bible, King James Version.
5. Fixed Stars and Constellations in Astrology, Vivian E. Robson, 1923, p.182.
6. Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 Collision with Jupiter, NASA, 04 February 2005.
7. Jupiter has lost a belt!, The Planetary Society Blog, 10 May 2010.