The ancient Maya also saw the Milky Way as the World Tree, which holds up the sky. The dark gap in the Milky Way is not due to a lack of stars, but to interstellar dust blocking the light from stars. Just below the dark gap, between Sagittarius and Scorpius, is the direction of the center of our galaxy. The galactic center is certainly a place of dread, filled with deadly radiation, and perhaps a black hole. The brightest star in Scorpius is red Antares.
Red stars are less hot than white or blue stars.
Antares, like most bright red stars, is a red giant. It has progressed to an age in its life cycle when the original nuclear fuel, hydrogen is used up, and the nuclear fires burn helium. The two stars which form the stinger of our Scorpius were called Swimming Ducks by the Skidi Pawnee of Nebraska. They used the pre-dawn appearance of these stars as a sign of the return of spring. The rest of our Scorpius they called the Snake.