The Medicine Wheel, also referred to as the Sacred Hoop, is found in many native cultures throughout the world, representing the concept that everything in the universe is interrelated. Human beings and all things which exist in their environment are connected in one continuous process of growth and development. The Medicine Wheel is the foundation of Harmonia – our connection to the Earth and our connection to each other. We create harmony and balance when we attend to the whole.
The wheel has four quadrants, balanced to represent the Four Directions (east, south, west, north); Stages of Life (birth, youth, adult/elder, death); Seasons (spring, summer, winter, fall); Aspects of Life (spiritual, emotional, intellectual, physical); and Elements (fire/sun, air, water, earth). In some traditions, animal totems serve as guardians of the direction and/or elements.
