Medicine Wheel

MEDICINE WHEEL

The Medicine Wheel, sometimes known as the ‘Sacred Hoop’, has been used by generations of various Native American tribes for health and healing. It embodies the Four Directions, as well as Father Sky, Mother Earth, and Spirit Tree - all of which symbolize dimensions of health and the cycles of life. The Medicine Wheel can take many different forms. It can be an artifact, painting, or a physical construction on the land. Thousands of Medicine Wheels have been built on Native lands in North America over the last several centuries. Movement in the Medicine Wheel and in Native American ceremonies is circular, typically in a clockwise, or sun-wise direction. This helps to align with the forces of Nature. Meanings of the Four Directions: Different tribes interpret the Medicine Wheel differently. Each of the Four Directions (East, South, West, and North) is typically represented by a distinctive color (black, red, yellow, white) which for some, stands for the human races.

The Directions can also represent:

Stages of life: birth, youth, adult (or elder), death

Seasons of the year: spring, summer, winter, fall

Aspects of life: spiritual, emotional, intellectual, physical

Elements of nature: fire (or sun), air, water, and earth

Animals: Eagle, Bear, Wolf, Buffalo and many others.

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