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The Medicine Wheel circle symbolizes all of life and the lives of individual beings as they
express the power of the world through harmonious movements, and, as they are nourished by the spiral of constant circular motion of the wheel of Spirit.
Medicine Wheel traditions vary from tribe to tribe. An example of a
Medicine Wheel is one where the center of the wheel is bisected by two paths.
The path from North to South is the road everyone travells in life; while, the path
from East to West is the road individuals travel as they learn lessons, growing in Spirit.
Native Americans believe in Four Directions (Four
Powers, Four Quarters, Four Winds). They are four equally important ways of perceiving things in life and of
pursuing knowledge.
The Four Directions are the four cardinal points of the circle, each of
which represent different power essences of nature, seasonal rhythms, and stages of life.
These Four Directions are North (Wisdom, White, Buffalo,
Maturity, Strength and Stamina); East (Peace, Gold, Eagle, Elder, Clarity
and Illumination; South (Expansion, Green, Mouse, Infancy, Wholesomeness
and Expectation); and West (Nourishment, Black, Bear, Youth, Introspection and Authenticity).
Rattles are used by Elders during ceremonies to call the
Four Powers to help those who seek healing, cleansing, and guidance. Rattles are also shaken to
summon the Spirit of Life for those who are sick. During smudging, a ritual burning of sacred herbs such as Sage (for purity of spirit), Sweetgrass (for healing ceremonies), and Cedar (for dispelling negativity), the smoke is first offered to the Four Powers, then to Mother Earth and Father Sky, and then a smudging prayer is recited...Continue on  Explore Native American ArticlesAll are Kin Clans and Making Relatives, Clans Giveaways and the Keeping of Souls, Cosmology of Sacred Hoop Great Spirit, Drumming Smudging and Sweat Lodges, Glossary Terminology, Goddesses Gods and Star Teachers, Medicine Wheels and Four Directions, Native American Indian Spiritual Beliefs, Sacred Pipe Ceremony and Powwows, Visionquests and Power Animal Totems, Wakan Tanka and White Buffalo Woman
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