HOW TO USE THE MEDICINE WHEEL

earth medicine

The Medicine Wheel , sometimes known as the Sacred Hoop, has been used by generations of various Native American tribes for health and healing.

It embodies the Four Directions, as well as Father Sky, Mother Earth, and Spirit Tree—all of which symbolize dimensions of health and the cycles of life. This article by Weaving Willow describes how to use the Medicine Wheel.

Go out into nature and find a place that holds power for you. Collect four stone children to hold the energy of the four directions to create your own personal medicine wheel. Make sure the wheel is large enough for you to sit down and move around freely within the space. As you place each stone, call to mind the energies that live there.

Use the energies from these medicine wheels as a reference.

SOUTH: human heart, element of water, the plant world and the power of trust and innocence.
WEST: human body, element of earth, the mineral world and the power of intuition and introspection.
NORTH: human mind, element of air, the animal world and the power of knowledge and wisdom.
EAST: human spirit, element of fire, the human world and the power of illumination and enlightenment.

Once you are surrounded by this circle of stone children, sit down in the centre and go into a quiet, receptive state. Step into your truth. Drop down into self-honesty. Consider these things:

What do I know / how do I feel about myself?
What do I know / how do I feel about my life?
What do I know / how do I feel about my relationships?
Who am I in the centre of this circle?

You may want to journal, draw, doodle or just reflect. Give yourself space. Take your time. Once you have initiated this exploration and feel ready to move on – address the 4 directions of the medicine wheel. Begin in the South, then address the West, then the North and finally the East. In our western mindset, we have forgotten our connection to all forms of life. Now is the time to remember. You are part of them. They are part of you.

You can do this by facing that direction or moving to sit there. Ask this direction to guide your heart, body, mind and spirit as you uncover what you need to see, feel, understand and sense about what you truly desire in this moment.
Take all the time you need to explore your relationship with this direction, seek to align yourself with its energies, explore where and how you relate to them energies and how they relate to you, how they touch your everyday life.

Do you use these energies in balance or out of balance. Assess how you utilize your personal energy, with who and where you invest it, why you invest it there, do you invest more or less of it than you need to? Where do you hold on too tight, give too much, receive more than you can process, shut down and don’t want to hear, or determine what you’re going to do before you’re even ready.
What part of yourself is reflected in this direction. What do you really want to say to yourself? Be willing to listen to yourself in a way you never have before.

Notice where and how you hide from yourself. Become aware of the spaces inside you where you are ready to allow transformation to happen. There’s no need to do anything at this moment except become aware of what is surfacing.

This is a practice. Each time you do this ceremony, the answers will change. Observe. Be gentle. Be slow.
Let transformation happen through the simple act of awareness.

Once you have dialogued with all four directions, stand up and shake yourself off.
Return to the centre of your wheel and ask yourself the same questions that you began with.

What do you know / how do you feel about yourself?
What do you know / how do you feel about your life?
What do you know / how do you feel about your relationships?
Who are you in the centre of this circle?

Notice. Have the answers changed? Do you feel different? What have you gained?

Once you feel complete, thank the directions, powers and energies who came to dance with you. Thank the stone children for holding you in such a strong and supportive way, return them to where you found them. As an offering of gratitude, you may want to leave behind a pinch of tobacco, a hair or some saliva. Remember to always leave the space more beautiful than you found it. A’Ho!

To find out more about these teachings go to http://sacredjourneys.co.za/