The medicine wheel, or Sacred Hoop, is a true symbol for life among Native American tribes and has many interpretations. It’s comprised of four quadrants, which represent several concepts: seasons of the year, stages of life, cardinal directions, and the four sides of a person–physical, emotional, spiritual, mental.
The East Side
The East direction of the wheel, which also represents Spring, is associated with beginnings. It is yellow, reminiscent of the sun, and represents arrival into the world.
The South Side
The South direction represents Summer and adolescence, with its red color alluding to the heat of the season. Associated with experimentation, it’s the time in our life where we begin to build our identities.
The West Side
The West direction represents Autumn, our adult years. This signifies the phase in our life when we begin to make our own decisions and develop our own values.
The North Side
The North direction is white to represent enlightenment, the time we become elders. It is associated with winter and purity—a time for us to return to the spiritual world.
Although the medicine wheel may seem to consist only of four parts, there are actually seven very essential directions to know.
Mother Earth
This is the fifth direction of the wheel. It is associated with the color green and represents our connection to life.
Father Sky
The sixth direction alludes to the world we are living in presently, as well as the world we are moving toward.
You
The last direction, often forgotten, is you. This refers to your physical and spiritual state at the center of the wheel. This part of the medicine wheel represents the balance we strive to achieve between our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual sides.
The directions of the wheel outlined above are just a few interpretations of many which exist. Other tribes believe that the four directions also refer to the elements of nature, animals, ceremonial plants, and more. Some interpret the directions to include the middle ground between each, ascribing meaning to the Southeast, Southwest, Northwest, and Northeast sides as well. No matter the interpretation, the medicine wheel will always represent wholeness and can help balance the positive and negative aspects in yourself.
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To the North, white on the wheel for sulphur /Salt The Alps is their pillar Keepers of Fire – Europeans – our brother door
To the South, Yellow on the wheel for Gold, the Himalayas is their pillar, Keepers of Air – Asians – our brother door
To the West, as the west brings the night sky, Black on the wheel for carbon, Mt Kenya is their pillar ( the most magnetic, most mineral rich, Keepers of Water – our sister door
and us to the East as the east brings the day sky, Red on the wheel for Copper, our pillar is Three Mesas, Keepers of Earth.
Ileen: Where does this particular lore come from? It’s interesting and we’d like to know more about to whom it belongs. Thanks.