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Anita Burns
Native American Medicine Wheels is a visible manifestation of the Divine. It is meant to be a reflection of our inner selves. When we experience the Medicine Wheel, we gather our spiritual forces into a foc al point to allow us to lift the veil between this world and the world of nature and spirit. We come into contact with Creation.
A Medicine Wheel is most commonly made of stones. There are about 20,000 of them in North America, some thousands of years old. Each stone has a story to tell and is representative of a direction, color, and an animal. It has a part in the cycles of life, the sun, moon, and seasons. The name Medicine Wheel was first given to the Wyoming Big Horn Medicine Wheel (500-800 years old) by prospectors in 1885.
Before the Europeans came into North America, they were used as places of healing, inner reflection, celebration, and for understanding life. When we build and walk a Medicine Wheel, we enter into our Vision World and see past, present, and future in their play of positive, negative, ups, downs, joys, sorrows, and the potentials of how we can become the best we can possibly be.
We experience the threads that weave our life and begin a path of understanding about our life in relationship with all other life on earth. From the Medicine Wheel, we can gather forces to send out to the world for upliftment and dispelling darkness. As we enter the medicine wheel and experience each direction--South for passion, East for new beginnings, West, for emotions, and North for wisdom, we are connecting with the ages old energies that come to us from the great creator. We recognize the animals, plants, and spiritual forces that play in our lives to bring us to center and freedom.
One of the most wonderful aspects of connecting with this ages old tradition of Medicine Wheel is to discover a totem. Totem is a message brought to us by a vision, or an outward sign that gives us guidance, strength, clarity, resolution, freedom, learning, or whatever it is we most need at that time in our lives. Sometimes, the Totem will appear in our inner vision. Other times it will come into our outer lives. A chance encounter with a butterfly, dragonfly, or bird; a sighting of a coyote, bear, turtle, or squirrel, can carry an important message for our lives.
Totems are many and varied, from an ant to an elephant. We don’t have room to name them all here, but the following is a little information about some more commonly experienced Totems.
South Animals - These bring strength, pride, courage, and power. Eagle, lion, and wolf are often South Totems.
East Animals - These Totems bring fresh starts, new beginnings, and welcome change. It is like springtime. Hummingbird, owl, and hawk are often East Totems.
West Animals - These bring endings, resolution, inward movement, emotional healing. The snake and beaver are common animals of the West.
North Animals - This is the wintertime. It is a time of spirituality, rest, and contemplation. It is a time of planning. These animals help us stop and go within to listen to our wisdom mind. The white buffalo, moose, and bear are often North Totems.
Totems can show us what we need to focus on and give us the resources to do so. The Medicine wheel is our connection to that source of wisdom and strength.
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