The Medicine Wheel
The Medicine Wheel is sometimes called the Sacred Hoop it is a symbol of the cycles of life. Each cycle should be valued and honoured in a sacred way, giving us the ability to appreciate each step of our path and to offer a new understanding of our growth.
When we share our lessons and understanding, the wisdom gained from the actual experience benefits the whole tribe. The understanding that each person will gain from you sharing your experience and lesson will be as different for everyone as each person’s unique experience in life itself. We all see things differently, we all see things through our own view of the world, through our own lenses, after-all, we are all individuals, although all inter-connected.
The Medicine Wheel is the circle of lessons that each person must pass through to complete their journey on the Red Road of physical life. Physical life begins at birth, which is in the south direction on the Sacred Hoop or Medicine Wheel and each of us will travel through the circle on the south-to-north path until we reach the place of the elders, which is in the north, the place where all wisdom is found.
Once our earth walk is complete, we leave at the north of the Medicine Wheel and our spirit travels to the east of the Hoop which is where the Golden Door is situated, the door that allows you to pass through to enter the blue road of Spirit, the blue road goes from east-to-west. It is via the east where knowledge and new levels of awareness and understanding is received.
The Medicine Wheel is used for all situations and can be used in a multitude of ways. To build a physical Medicine Wheel for sacred ceremonial use, twelve Stone People are needed. The first is placed in the south, the beginning of life. The second and third stones are placed in the west and the north. No stone is placed in the east, the door is left open. Following the circle, the fourth stone is placed at the four o’clock position and the fifth at five o’clock position. South is the six o’clock position, and the remainder of the positions are filled with a Stone Person until you reach the east once more.
Before the east stone person is placed to close the circle, the Medicine Wheel is blessed, and the Spirits of the Four Directions are asked to enter the circle through the eastern door. Then the Spirits of the other three sacred directions – Above, Below and Within, are asked to enter and balance the Sacred Hoop. When the energies of these directions have entered, the Medicine Wheel is dedicated to the honouring of sacred ceremonial space. The Stone People are thanked for their guardianship and for holding the energy of the circle. At this time, the east stone is put in place closing the Golden Door.
You can make a large Medicine Wheel outside or you can make a small wheel inside, it can be used for dedications, for honouring Spirits, for cleansing, for seeking guidance and answers. The Medicine Wheel is a sacred gift, a sacred way of re-connecting with the powers around you, with Great Mystery. Honour it always and never be disrespectful of the answers or guidance you receive, of those that come to your assistance, when we ask for help, we need to be ready to receive it.
In seeking answers from the Void, the place where Spirit lives, we begin to experience the true beauty of life, life becomes a place of hope, an exciting place where everyday troubles simply float away as you begin to recognize your true connection with Spirit and as you begin to embrace the winds of change.
All around us, life is filled with life forms that we can connect with, receive messages from and just feel part of, if we just open our eyes to the beauty that surrounds us.
In living the way of the Medicine Wheel or Sacred Hoop, we learn to live our life in a more sincere way, we learn to walk more gently on our earth, the Medicine Wheel becomes a part of us, it becomes a way of living, being, seeing and thinking. It becomes an all-encompassing way of life as each direction and related totem animal offers their gifts and lessons. As we begin to connect with Eagle, Coyote, Bear and Buffalo and begin to embrace their teachings we come to a place of inner knowing. A place where words may fall short of the experience and the true deeper meaning.
It is by living the Medicine Wheel or the Sacred Hoop, and by staying on that path that we begin to live the beauty way, a way that not only supports us, but also supports all other creatures, all other beings.
By returning to a life of ceremony and ritual and using the wisdom of the ancestors to heal our wounds, we prepare ourselves for the Peace of the Fifth World, and as our spirits heal, we will begin to see the Rainbow of Peace where all of earth’s people will become one. Unified in heart and soul, as true children of the earth as our dear Mother Earth intended; where we shall live upon her stomach in harmony, and feed from her breasts in unity and peace.
Always Walk in Peace – Kenzo
