Medicine Wheel Descriptions

NOTE: I’ve compiled this list from many sources and I didn’t keep track of where. It needs to beedited, but I’m including it in the Resources because there’s good info in here. I encourage you toreceive the parts you resonate with and leave the rest. ~ Love, Sharanagati

The medicine wheel is the basis for the Native American healing journey. When we engage theNative American medicine wheel as healing journey we are engaging more than a set of practicaltools that we bring to the western table of perception. What we are really engaging is a wholeworldview that is rooted in a different mythology than that of the West, and that is of criticalimportance at this time. There is a depth and a richness, both explicit and implicit, in this pathand it speaks volumes about our connectedness, interdependence, co­creation, andco­evolution/expansion with all that is.

We traverse the medicine wheel as a spiral with no beginning and end, in an expansion of everincreasing levels of awareness and joy. It is through the medicine wheel that we heal not only ourown wounds, traumas, limiting beliefs, fears, and personal mythology, but that we heal thefundamental underlying myths of our culture and the nature of our relationship with the Earth andall of our relations.

The Medicine Wheel is representative of indigenous cultures’ spirituality. The Medicine Wheelsymbolizes the individual journey we each must take to find our own path. Within the MedicineWheel are The Four Cardinal Directions and the Four Sacred Colors. The Circle represents theCircle of Life and the Center of the Circle, the Eternal Fire. The Eagle, flying toward the East, is asymbol of strength, endurance and vision. East signifies rebirth and the renewal of life.

East = Red = success; triumphNorth = Blue = defeat; troubleWest = Black = deathSouth = White = peace; happinessThere are three additional sacred directions:Up Above = YellowDown Below = BrownHere in the Center = Green

The color for North is Blue which represents sadness, defeat. It is a season of survival andwaiting.The color for East is Red which represents victory, power.Spring is the re­awakening after a long sleep, victory over winter; the power of new life.The color for South is White for peace, happiness & serenity.Summer is a time of plenty.The color for West is Black which represents death.Autumn is the final harvest; the end of Life's Cycle.

RED was symbolic of success. It was the color of the war club used to strike an enemy in battleas well as the other club used by the warrior to shield himself. Red beads were used to conjurethe red spirit to insure long life, recovery from sickness, success in love and ball play or anyother undertaking where the benefit of the magic spell was wrought.

BLACK was always typical of death. The soul of the enemy was continually beaten about byblack war clubs and enveloped in a black fog. In conjuring to destroy an enemy, the priest usedblack beads and invoked the black spirits­which always lived in the West,­bidding them to tearout the man's soul and carry it to the West, and put it into the black coffin deep in the black mud,with a black serpent coiled above it.

BLUE symbolized failure, disappointment, or unsatisfied desire. To say "they shall never becomeblue" expressed the belief that they would never fail in anything they undertook. In love charms,the lover figuratively covered himself with red and prayed that his rival would become entirelyblue and walk in a blue path. "He is entirely blue, " approximates meaning of the common Englishphrase, "He feels blue. "The blue spirits lived in the North.

WHITE denoted peace and happiness. In ceremonial addresses, as the Green Corn Dance andball play, the people symbolically partook of white food and, after the dance or game, returnedalong the white trail to their white houses. In love charms, the man, to induce the woman to casther lost with his, boasted, "I am a white man," implying that all was happiness where he was.White beads had the same meaning in bead conjuring, and white was the color of the stone pipeanciently used in ratifying peace treaties. The White spirits lived in the South.

Two numbers are sacred to the Cherokee. Four is one number, it represented the four primarydirections. At the center of their paths lays the sacred fire. Seven is the other and most sacrednumber. Seven is represented in the seven directions: north, south, east, west, above, below,and "here in the center" the place of the sacred fire. Seven also represented the seven ancientceremonies that formed the yearly Cherokee religious cycle.

The medicine wheel is a symbol for the wheel of life which is forever evolving and bringing newlessons and truths to the walking of the path. The Earthwalk is based on the understanding thateach one of us must stand on every spoke, on the great wheel of life many times, and that everydirection is to be honored. Until you have walked in others' moccasins, or stood on their spokesof the wheel, you will never truly know their hearts.

The medicine wheel teaches us that all lessons are equal, as are all talents and abilities. Everyliving creature will one day see and experience each spoke of the wheel, and know those truths.It is a pathway to truth, peace and harmony. The circle is never ending, life without end.

In experiencing the Good Red Road, one learns the lessons of physical life, or of being human.This road runs South to North in the circle of the medicine wheel. After the graduation experienceof death, one enters the Blue or Black Road, that is the world of the grandfathers andgrandmothers. In spirit, one will continue to learn by counseling those remaining on the GoodRed Road. The Blue Road of the spirit runs East to West. The medicine wheel is life, afterlife,

rebirth and the honoring of each step along the way.

The medicine wheel is sacred, the native people believe, because the Great Spirit causedeverything in nature to be round. The Sun, Sky, Earth and Moon are round. Thus, man shouldlook upon the Medicine Wheel (circle of life) as sacred. It is the symbol of the circle that marksthe edge of the world and therefore, the Four Winds that travel there. It is also the symbol of theyear. The Sky, the Night, and the Moon go in a circle above the Sky, therefore, the Circle is asymbol of these divisions of time. It is the symbol of all times throughout creation.

"See, I fill this sacred pipe with the bark of the red willow; but before we smoke it, you must seehow it is made and what it means. These four ribbons hanging here on the stem are the fourquarters of the universe. The black one is for the west where the thunder beings live to send usrain; the white one for the north, whence comes the great white cleansing wind; the red one forthe east, whence springs the light and where the morning star lives to give men wisdom; theyellow for the south, whence come the summer and the power to grow. But these four spirits areonly one Spirit after all, and this eagle feather here is for that One, which is like a father, and alsoit is for the thoughts of men that should rise high as eagles do." ~ Black Elk (1863­1950) Oglala

Sioux holy man

When a Native American prays to the four directions, it is a prayer to the spirits of the world, tolife and the Great Spirit that encompasses the four directions and everything that is. TheMedicine Wheel is a symbol that incorporates the four directions. Its spokes point east, south,west, and north. The four quarters are colored red, yellow, black, and white representing theraces of man, the seasons, and the stages of life from childhood to old age. The circle is theearth, the moon and the planets. It is the circle of life and all creation.

The simplicity of the symbol is profound. It is four directions. One could divide the world into 8points of a compass, 360 degrees, or an infinite number of directions, but four is perfect. Wehumans KNOW four directions. We see forward, but not back, and facing forward we have twosides. Four directions are part of our biology and our psychology. They are archetypes of thehighest order. As such they are powerful carriers of symbolic meaning.

Native American traditions may vary somewhat in the terms they use to describe the meaning ofthe four directions, but the sources of the meaning are the same.

East is where the sun rises. The eastern spirit of sun or fire brings warmth and light. It is theplace of beginnings. Its light brings wisdom. It is the power of knowledge.

South is the sun at its highest point. It is the direction from where warm winds blow. South is thespirit of earth, the power of life. It represents peace and renewal.

West is the spirit of water. It is the direction from which darkness comes. It is the power ofchange, the place of dreams, introspection and the unknown. The west signifies purity andstrength.

North is the spirit of wind. The cold wind blows from the north. It is the power of wisdom. Herewe take time to reflect on what we began in the east, in the morning, in our youth.

Take time to make the world your sacred place. Stand in the middle of the circle of life and givethanks to the four directions. Take your time and attune to the spirit and power of each direction.Look at the gifts each direction gives you. Learn and appreciate the symbols for each direction,but then move out of the abstraction of the symbols and make it personal. Deepen yourrelationship with the four directions and with the whole of life they form together.

Face east and give thanks for the warmth of the sun and the coming new day. Pray forthe power of knowledge.

Face south and give thanks for the gift of life on this moist earth. Pray for the power togrow. Pray for peace in the world.

Face west and give thanks for the water of life. Pray for purity and strength. Pray for selfunderstanding.

Face north and give thanks for the great white cleansing wind. Pray for the wisdom ofexperience.

Aho. Mitakuye Oyasin.The Medicine Wheel is Sacred!The Great Spirit caused everything to beround: Sun, Sky, Moon, Earth.It is the Circle of Life.Inside the Circle are:The Four Directions,The Four Winds,The Four Seasons.This Medicine Wheelis in Honor of theFirst Nation Peopleof the Great Plains.

The Medicine Wheel is dedicated toprotecting the water, the air, the animals,and all life in this sacred Valley, extendingour prayers, we send thanks andblessings out to all life around the world.

Medicine Wheels are universal sacredimages found in many religions andcultures. Native American MedicineWheels have been found on this continentfrom ancient times, the oldest on record is4,500 years. It is said that a MedicineWheel is a physical manifestation ofSpiritual energy, an outward expression ofan internal dialogue.

The Medicine Wheel guides us to ourcenter, helps us to integrate the elemental forces and reminds us to honor our sacredrelationship with all life. In entering the Wheel we honor the Elementals of the Four SacredDirections, Father Sun, Mother Earth, Grandmother Moon, the Morning Star and the Great Spirit.In deep gratitude we bring all this into our center, our heart.