Medicine Wheel

The Native Americans have beautiful traditions, the value of which is being honored and acknowledged by many cultures. One of these traditions is the Medicine Wheel, also called the Circle of Life because it is a symbol that contains All of Life, All of the Universe, All that is God. The symbols of the Circle and the Cross have been found in almost all cultures.

The Concept
According to some of the Native American traditions Creation took place in four days. This set the stage for everything in life occurring in fours, with the fifth factor being the Life Power, God. As Creation took place, upon completing the First World, the Life Giver created the Two Worlds, the world of dualities. From there The Four Worlds came into being. If man reflects upon himself, he will see that the human body is created as a duality. Uniting the human dualities of man and woman as one thus creates life. All four worlds have to be active. If one world is inactive this may lead to a loss of balance. The principle of fours is realized in many different ways.

Creation in Four Days
On the First Day the Universe was made: The Heavens, the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, and all elements that have to do with the sky.
The Second Day brought the Earth with all its aspects: The seasons, the earth elements, earth energies.
On Day Three the Animal kingdom was created: the ones with wings, the ones that crawl, the legged animals and the ones that live in the water.
On the Fourth Day the Creator said to His creation: ‘Let us create Man in OUR image’. And so he created the white race, the yellow, the red and the dark race with all their relations. As Man was created last, we evolve from what was created previously. As a result in essence we are related to all of Creation.

How to Create a Medicine Wheel ~ Circle of Life
Creating a Circle of Life is a Sacred Ceremony. The location has to be cleansed and blessed with intention and prayers. The Circle, which represents the Universe is initiated from the East, then follows the course of the sun, which is clockwise. After the Circle is completed the four points are identified and equally spaced in the respective Directions: East, South, West, North.
The points/stones represent:
(1) The Seasons: Spring (new beginnings), summer (full growth), fall (harvesting), winter (the unseen)
(2) The Elements: Air (life force-wind), fire (lightning-volcanic fire), earth (plants-minerals), water (life blood of Mother Earth)
(3) The Animal Kingdom: The ones with wings (eagle-all birds-insects), the slithered ones (snake-associated with the underworld), the legged ones (bear-all animals on four legs), the ones living in the water (turtle-fish)
(4) Man: The White Race, the Yellow Race, the Red Race, the Dark race.
The spaces between the stones can be filled later, signifying additions of the main point.
The center represents the Center of the Universe. The cross is laid from East to West, then from South to North. There are five points between the Center point and the Circle making a total of twelve including the Direction stones, representing the twelve months. Adding the Center point makes the thirteen moons. See additional meanings on the drawing above.

How to Use the Medicine Wheel ~ Circle of Life
The Circle is a place of worship and is wonderful for meditation. Always go clockwise around the Circle. Walking inside the Circle is considered to be disrespectful. Before starting it is respectful to make an offering with prayers or words of gratitude.

We can choose to focus on any specific or on all points of the Circle to meditate on. The idea is to go deeper into all aspects of life that are represented in this Sacred Symbol, in order to increase our appreciation and respect for how it relates to All of Life and from there create a closer connectedness with Creation, with the Life Giver, with God. By our deeper understanding we can ask the powers to support us in our healing and growing process.

The Center Point is the place where all the powers go in and out. It reflects the crossroads in our life. When all dualities are overcome, all is oneness. The Circle of Life can help to answer questions about life and to identify who we are. As you are relating to a symbol, for example the water, you can ask it to do something for you.

The Circle of Life will assist us to not only know, but to experience that everything in the Universe exists in balance and harmony. By meditating on the Circle of Life we will be given direction to help us find our spiritual connection with the Universe.

The Circle of Life at Angel Valley
We built a Circle of Life on the New Moon of June 2003, blessed and guided by a Native American Traditionalist and spiritual Advisor from New Mexico. Even though different tribes may have some differences in minor details, the basics of this Sacred Symbol are found to be similar. The location is in the Angel Valley Native American Tipi Village, surrounded by a 26ft ceremonial tipi, six tipis that offer accommodation and a ceremonial fire-pit. In the sweat lodge purifying ceremonies following the Native American tradition are held.

We wish you an inspirational journey!