Significance of The Circle

"The Gathering of Nations Dance Circle"


The foundational significance of the circle in Native American culture can be evidenced in Native concepts of time. Unlike their European-oriented counterparts, who respect a linear, or sequential, approach to the time continuum; Native Americans conceive time in a circular context. Non-Natives perceive the past, present, and future as being part of one long and continuous path punctuated, and marked, by important events or ideas that characterize the era. The past is remote and somewhat alien; the present is ephemeral; and the future is distant and unknown. In effect, the perspective has the capability to separate people from the past experiences, ancestors, traditions, and occurrences that greatly influences both the present and the future. Not all Native Americans share a collective consciousness about all issues, and their supportive belief systems may differ, certain aspects of their symbols are profound and overarching in their cultural applications. Hill observes that the Native way of thinking can be seen in such things as “the use of the circle as a symbol of unity, in the use of animal totems to represent the sharing of power between the people and the animal world, and in a different attitude about the land – one that sees the earth as alive and sacred, to be shared by all. [1] Developing an understanding of these shared values is central to gaining any insight into the inner workings and hidden mechanisms that ground the perspectives



[1] Richard Hill, Pathways of Tradition: Indian Insights into Indian Worlds. An exhibition at the George
Gustav Heye Center of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, New York City.

Native American Concepts of "The Circle"

“Since the drum is often the only instrument used in our sacred rites. I should perhaps tell you here why it is especially sacred and important to us. It is because the round form of the drum represents the whole universe, and its steady strong bet is the pulse, the heart, throbbing at the center of the universe. It is as the voice of Wakan Tanka, and this sound stirs us and helps us to understand the mystery and power of all things”


Michael Oren Fitzgerald, Indian Spirit (Bloomington, IA: World Wisdom, 1949), 69.

“All of our essays and artwork found here contribute to a large and ever-expanding circle that we call the Native Universe. Yet, numerous circles exist within the overarching circle: cultures, tribes, clans, families, and individuals. Our circles today are based on ancient teachings, values, and beliefs handed down through the oral tradition. Stories, songs, languages, medicines, music, paintings, pottery, basketry, beadwork, clothing, and a host of other arts and teachings convey these circles. Some have changed dramatically over time, but others have remained the same for centuries. Each is part of living Native cultures that continue to pass on their knowledge, beliefs, and feelings to subsequent generation.

N. Scott Momaday, House Made of Dawn (New York: Harper and Row, 1986), 88.

“We sing our songs, perform our dances, and pray. In many ways, we remember the old traditions, and by telling our stories of being, we reenter and renew our sacred circles. With each song, story or ceremony, the Native world is re-created, linking the present with the past. In so doing, we bring ourselves into the larger circle of Indian people, nurtured by sweet medicine that lives today. Native Americans stand in the center of a sacred circle, in the middle of four directions. At this time and for all time, American Indians are in the presence of, and part of, many vast, living, and diverse Native universes.

From Our Universes. An exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the
American Indian, Washington, D.C., opened on September 21, 2004.

“New circles are bringing American Indians together in ways unforeseen by our ancestors. Satellites are orbiting Earth beaming information from one end of Turtle Island (The United States) to the next; telephone lines and fiber optics connect Indian people from the most distant regions of the Arctic, Amazon, Pampas, Caribbean, and Great Plains; and modern transportation systems allow us to gather together and celebrate more often and in greater numbers. Through books, magazines, newspapers, and the Internet, we are getting our messages across about our diverse worlds. Radio and television networks now offer programs that bring American Indian history and cultures into the homes of millions of non-Indian people. And in Canada, the new Native-run Aboriginal Peoples Television Network broadcasts throughout the country twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, with the catchphrase, “Sharing our stories with all Canadians.” Like a great swirling hurricane, the circle of Native America has been enlarged and broadened – in many ways enriching us to see and speak with newfound authority.”

Gerald McMaster & Clifford E. Trafzer, Native Universe: Voices of Indian America
(Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2003).

“Powwow,” as described by George P. Horse Capture: “Led by two veterans, one carrying the Stars and Stripes and the other holding the Indian flag – a buffalo fur-wrapped curved staff, decorated with feathers from the golden eagle – we form a large circle in the entry procession. Like tipis, drums, Sun Dance lodges, and the Earth itself, the dance arena shares in the ancient and sacred Native symbolism of the circle.”

Tom Dunkel, “Powwow on the Potomac,” (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian, November
2002), 44.

In Native North American philosophy, the roundness of a drum symbolizes the inseparable unity of the past, present and future. This unit is a circle that binds all people. The beating of the drum represents the eternal rhythms of nature. For Native North Americans, these rhythms are echoed in the speech of the traditional storyteller and the stories of the modern Indian writer . . . According to many Native North Americans, the rhythms of the universe are like those of a steady drumbeat, renewed and repeated only for as long as the drummer performs. In order to be renewed, the rhythms and cycles of nature also require human participation, in the form of rituals that mark important points in the cosmic circle.

Most Native peoples respect the earth as the source of an endless cycle of generation, destruction and regeneration, through which all things are believed to pass.

Scattered across the plains and prairies of North America are large stone circles known as “medicine wheels.” They were built out of the small boulders left on the surface of the earth by retreating glaciers. The “hub” of each medicine wheel is a pile of stones, or cairns; other cairns may be positioned around the circumference. Lines of stones sometimes radiate like spokes from the central cairn to the outer ring.
The best-known of these structures is the Big Horn medicine wheel in Wyoming, which is nearly all feet (30 km) in diameter with 28 spokes and six small cairns around the rim. The identity of its builders, and when and why it was made, are unknown. A widely-held theory is that the “spokes” of a medicine wheel are (or were originally) aligned with astronomical events, such as the position of the sun at dawn on Midsummer’s Day.
Another theory is that medicine wheels are more purely symbolic, perhaps intended as visual representations of sacred cyclical principles that bind the universe. They resemble forms found in Native dance and the shape of some lodges. Many are on high ground, so their form may symbolize the dome of the heavens.

Larry J. Zimmerman & Brian Leigh Molyneaux, Native North America (Norman, OK:
University of Oklahoma Press, 1996.

The Aztec View of the World

The Aztecs visualized the earth as a flat disk surrounded by water (sometimes it was also seen as a giant crocodilian monster swimming in a sea covered by water lilies) and was divided into four cardinal directions:
EAST- the east of the rising sun signified birth, life, and masculinity
WEST- the west of the setting sun signified death, destruction, and
femininity.
NORTH AND SOUTH-
ABOVE- above the earth rose the thirteen layers of the heavens, the
place of the clouds, the sun, the moon, and the planets and
stars. The topmost heaven was the home of the Lord and
Lady Duality. The upper world of the sun was also the
paradise of warriors killed in battle, sacrificial victims, and
women who died in childbirth.
BELOW- the underworld was divided into nine layers and was
governed by the nine lords of the night. The entrance to
the earth was through the gaping jaws of a saurian earth
monster. The underworld was the destination of those who
died an ordinary death. Their souls had to travel through
the many dangers and could be accompanied by a small
dog. This was not a place of punishment- unpleasant but
morally indifferent. Underworld related to night and
starry sky, while the upper world related to the daytime
and the sunny sky.

Human Sacrifice

Earth Goddess

An Aztec Legend

Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca represent the bright and dark aspects of the Creator. The earth herself is the nourisher of life; but she is also the burial ground of the dead. One purpose of this myth is to validate the Aztec custom of sacrificing live human hearts.

The gods Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca brought the earth goddess Tlalteuctli down from on high. All of the joints of her body were filled with eyes and mouths biting like wild beasts. Before they got down, there was water already below, upon which the goddess then moved back and forth. They did not know who created it.

They said to each other, "We must make the earth." So saying, they changed themselves into two great serpents, one of whom seized the goddess from the right hand down to the left foot, the other from the left hand down to the right foot. As they tightened their grip, she broke in the middle. The half with the shoulders became the earth. The remaining half they brought to the sky--which greatly displeased the other gods.

Afterward, to compensate the earth goddess for the damage those two had inflicted upon her, all the gods came down to console her, ordaining that all the produce required for human life would issue from her. From her hair they made trees, flowers and grasses; from her skin, very fine grasses and tiny flowers; from her eyes, wells and fountains, and small caves; from her mouth, rivers and large caves; from her nose, valleys and mountains; from her shoulders, mountains.

Sometimes at night this goddess wails, thirsting for human hearts. She will not be silent until she receives them. Nor will she bear fruit unless she is watered with human blood.

- from the webpage: (http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/Earth_Goddess-Aztec.html)

Human Sacrifice was an important part of Aztec ritual. It was a renewal process for the gods, so that they could continue to provide sustenance for the humans "Human beings counted in the cosmic order only insofar as their offerings nourshed their gods," (Fagan,228). It was also a test of manhood for the victims. In certian rituals women and children were sacrificed, but a warriors heart was credited as the highest sacrifice to give.

There were many types of sacrifice, from self mutilation to the most commonly known method of removing the heart while the person was still alive. After the still beating heart was removed, the body was thrown down the long alley of stairs to the crowd below. Sometimes the bodies were eaten, and their heads saved on poles. Some believe that this particular method of sacrifice was symbolic. "The climbing prisoner was the young sun rising to his zenith at the moment of sacrifice. The tumbling body was the setting sun, returning to the earth," (230).

Fagan, B. The Aztecs. W.H. Freeman: New York, 1984

Metaphors of Cyclic Living

The Aztecs honored the circle by recognizing that they lived in reoccurring, cyclic patterns. It was easy to see the cyclic patterns in nature: the sun, the phases of the moon, the seasons. These patterns were also identified in the everyday life of the Aztecs most obviously through the cycle of birth and death. The Aztecs saw transformation as a cyclic pattern as well. "The two basic metaphors for transformation in Ancient Mesoamerica were sexuality and death, because both were seen to result in the creation of life," (Pasztory, 57).
The sexual metaphor was used to explain the seasonal renewal of life. This conclusion comes from combining information from hymns and rituals, because similar to so many of the Aztec myths, there is no one source or story behind most of their beliefs. Even the creation myth varies from one sect of the Aztecs to the next. Here is one collaboration of information pertaining to the sexual metaphors of life:

- The sun god was believed to descend into the earth at the end of the dry season to mate with the earth goddess, who then gave birth to the maize and the other plants that growing the rainy season. The sun god died in the sexual encounter, to be reborn in the form of maize. The earth goddess died subsequently in the process of giving birth, (57).
- the sun god and the earth goddess are basically the Lord and Lady of Duality in the creation myth of the Aztecs. They stand for the Union of male and female principles who were responsible for the eternal renewal of nature (57).

An Aztec poem declares:

The giver of life mock of us
only a dream we chase
oh my friends
our hearth trust
But he really mock of us
but with emotion we enjoy
in the green things and in the paintings
The giver of life make us live
he knows, he rules
how we, the men, will die
nobody, nobody, nobody
really lives on earth.

(Manuscript, Cantares Mexicanos/National Library of Mexico)

(from webpage: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ometeotl)

The second metaphor used to explain change was death as a result of armed combat. This notion of war as a metaphor for transformation came from the military aristocracies of the classic period in the Aztec timeline. "It is associated with the development of stratified state societies and the military upper class," (57).

"The disappearance of the sun at night was metaphorically described as a battle between the forces of light and those of the darkness of the earth in which the sun died. The reappearance of the sun in the morning signified its rebirth, after successfully fighting the night,"(57).

Beliefs from older periods of Mesoamerican peoples saw life and death as locked in an endless struggle of alternating victory and defeat. Even the gods were not immune to this cycle, they were not considered immortal.

The cycle of living and dying was also frequently represented by the metaphor of eating. For example, when humans ate maize, it was thought that they were eating the flesh of the actual maize god, and the favor needed to be returned, via human sacrifice. The dead were "eaten" by the earth (which was portrayed as a huge monster). "In the Aztec view, the gods and humans had a contract: they agreed to keep each other alive by providing one another with the appropriate nourishment," (58). The myth that conisides with this contract is as follows:

-"In the fourth destruction of the world, the gods got together at the ruins of Teotihuacan and built a bonfire- the god who would throw himiself in to the fire would become the sun god. One god made many great offerings to the fire but could not throw himself in. Nanahuatizin, who had nothing to offer but himself jumped fearlessly into the fire and became the sun. Ashamed of himself, Tecuciztecatl followed, and became the moon. The sun remained stationary until all of the other gods jumped into the fire," (58).

Visual Breakdown of Aztec Calender Stone

The Great Aztec Calendar

The Days and their Names:
The Aztec year consisted of 18 months divided by 20 days, in addition to five days called Nemontemi. The day symbols were taken from nature. Starting from where number 2 points, and going clockwise around the same ring.

20th day Xochital (flower)

19th day Quiahuitl (rain)

18th day Tecpatl (flint knife)

17th day Ollin (earthquake)

16th day Cozcacuahtli (buzzard)

15th day Cuauhti (eagle)

14th day Ocelotl (jaguar)

13th day Acatl (reed)

12th day Malinalli (grass)

11th day Ozomatli (monkey)

10th day Itzcuintli (dog)

9th day Atl (water)

8th day Tochtli (rabbit)

7th day Mazatl (deer)

6th day Miquiztli (death)

5th day Coatl (snake)

4th day Cuetzpallin (lizard)

3rd day Calli (house)

2nd day Ehecatl (wind)

1st day Cipactli (crocodile)

The Cardinal Points:
3. The symbol of the North: Date 1 Tecpatl (1-obsidian knife).
14. The symbol of the East: The Xiuhuitzolli
15. The symbol of the West: Date 7 Ozomatli (7-monkey)
16. The symbol of the South: Date 1-Quiahuitl (1-rain)

The Suns or Cosmic Eras:
4. The Jaguar Sun - Ocelotonatiuh - symbolizes the first of the earth's four epochs. It was believed that in this era the world was inhabited by giants that were devoured by jaguars. The jaguar is adorned with a "smoking mirror", symbol of the god Tezcatlipoca.

6. Tonatiuh's claws imprison human hearts, symbolizes the need to perform human sacrifices in honor of him.

7. The Water God - Atonatiuh. At the end of the forth era, humanity was exterminated by a flood and the surivors turned into fish. This epoch is represented by a vessel of water, and the goddess Chalchiuhtlicue.

9. The Sun of Movement - Ollin Tonatiuh - who is portrayed in the center of the Aztec Calendar, governed the universe in all its manifestations.

11. The Rain Sun - Quiauhtonatiuh. the god that reigned over this period was Tlaloc, god of rain, since it was believed that humanity was then destroyed by a rain of fire, The men who survived were converted into birds.

12. The Wind God - Ehecatonatiuh - symbolizes the second era. At its end humanity was destroyed by hurricanes and the survivors transformed into monkeys. The god of this era is Quetzalcoatl.

Circle of Blood, Solar Rays, and Exterior Cirle:
The Exterior Circle is formed by the numeral 13 Acatl and 2 fire serpents that are placed face to face.

1. Plate showing the date 13 acatl (13 reed). The day of the sun's birth.

5. Solar Ray.

8. The god Tonatiuh, the sun, faces Xiutecuitli. On each new day the sun appears as an eagle, after having vanquished the moon and the stars.

10. The god Xiuhtecutli, Lord of the Night in this context, shows his obsidian tongue.

13. Amate paper bands

This information comes from the webpage: http://www.brownpride.com/history/history.asp?a=aztecs/sunstonedetails

Calendars

Crocodile 1,8,2	Flower 7,1 Rain 6,13 Flint 5,12	Movement 4,11
Wind 2,9	The Aztecs used two different calenders, one measured time, while the other was used to fix religious festivals. The time-measuring calender was used to fix the best time for planting crops, while the religious calender told when to consult the gods. In the time-measuring calender, one year had 365 days divided into 18 months. Each month had 20 days, and there were 5 extra days at the end of the year, which were thought to be bad-luck days when disasters were most likely to happen. The fundamental Aztec calender, the religious calender, was a 260-day cycle, called the tonalpohualli, or the "count of days." Elizabeth Hill Boone excellently described how the religious calender worked in her book, "The Aztec World." She said, "Twenty day signs ran consecutively, from crocodile through flower, repeating after the 20th day. Beside the day signs ran 13 day numbers, 1 through 13, the numbers advancing with each day up to 13, when they repeated again with 1. Thus, the day count began with 1 Crocodile, 2 Wind, 3 House, 4 Lizard, and continued up to 13 Reed, when the numbers began again with 1: 1 Jaguar, 2 Eagle, 3 Vulture, and so forth. The 20 day signs and the 13 numbers, advancing side by side, yielded 260 uniquely named days. " Both calenders ran together and the same day in each fell at the same time once every 52 years. Thus, Aztec time was divided into 52-year cycles, similar to our current 100-year cycles called centuries. Different days belonged to different gods, so days could be good or bad depending on which god's day it was. A child born on a bad day received its name on a good day, to rule out all harmful effects of the bad day. At the center of the Aztecs' calendar stone is the sun god, Tonatiuh. He is surrounded by symbols of the five world creations. The symbols of the 20 days of the solar month are depicted on the stone. Also, eclipses of the sun were foretold by the calendar stone.	Vulture 3,10
House 3,10		Eagle 2,9
Lizard 4,11		Jaguar 1,8
Serpent 5,12		Reed 13,7
Death 6,13		Grass 12,6
Deer 7,1	Rabbit 8,2 Water 9,3 Dog 10,4	Monkey 11,5

From the webpage: http://library.thinkquest.org/27981/calendar.html

Tonalpohualli - The Ritual Calendar

The tonalpohualli (count of days) was the sacred almanac of the Mexicas. This ritual calendar was registered in the tonalamatl (book of days), a green-fold bark paper or deerskin codex from which a priest (called tonalpouque) cast horoscopes and predicated favorable and unfavorable days of the cycle. The almanac year comprised of 260 days, each of which was assigned a date by intermeshing one of 20 day-signs, represented graphically with a gylph, and a number from 1 to13, represented by dots so that no two days in the cycle could be confused. The almanac year was thus made up of 20 13-day weeks, with the first week beginning on 1-Crocodile and ending on 13-Reed, the second week running from 1-Ocelot to 13-Deaths' Head and so on. A god or godess was believed to preside over each day-sign, as shown in the following chart.

Cipactli-Crocodile

Tonacatecuhtli- Lord of our Sustenance; male aspect of dual gods

Ehecatl-Wind

Quetzalcoatyl- Plumbed Serpent; god of knowledge and the preisthood

Calli-House

Tepeyolohtli- Heart of the Mountain; jaguar god of the interior earth

Cuetzpallin-Lizard

Huehuecoyotl- Old Coyote; back-biiter or mischief-maker

Coatl-Serpant

Chalchiuhtlicue- Lady of the jade skirt; godess of ground waters

Miquiztli-Deaths' Head

Tecciztecatl-He from the sea-snail; moon god

Mazatl-Deer

Tlaloc- He who makes things sprout; god of rain and earth fertility

Tochtli-Rabbit

Mayahuel- She of the maguey plant; godess of pulque (maguey wine)

Atl-Water

Xiuhtecuhtli- Lord of the year; fire god, patron of rulers

Itzcuintli-Dog

Miclantecuhtli- Lord of Mictlan (Region of the Dead);god of death

Ozomatli-Monkey

Xochipilli- Flower Prince; god of flowers and plants

Malinalli-Grass

Patecatl- He from the Land of Medicines; god of medicinal plants

Acatl-Reed

Tezcatlipoca- Smoking mirror; major creator of god, god of fate

Ocelotl-Ocelot

Tlazolteotl- Eater of Filth; earth mother

Cuauhtli-Eagle

Xipe- Totec- Our Flayed Lord; god of seeding and planting

Cozcaquauhtli-Vulture

Itzapapalotl- Obsidian Butterfly; stellar and agricultural godess

Ollin-Motion

Xolotl- Double; Monster god, twin of Quetzalcoatl

Tecpatl-Flint Knife

Chalchiuhtotolin- Guise of Tezcatlipoca; god of night and the mysterious

Quiahuitl-Rain

Chantico- In the House; godess of the hearth

Xochitl- Flower

Xochiquetzal- Flower of the Rich Plume; godess of flowers

Pictures from the webpage: http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/travel/dpalfrey/dpaztec.html

The Aztec Calendar Stone and Observations of Time

As is common with many Native American cultures, the Aztecs viewed time as cyclical. However, they also acknowledged and used linear time. Cyclical time represented the year, and formed the basis of a "divinatory almanac". Whereas linear time was used to keep track of the power figures in command. "Linear time was measured in periods of fifty-two years and was strongly influenced by the belief in cyclically recurring events," (Pasztory, 58). "The Aztecs believed the universe to be regulated by a complex calendrical scheme, which consisted of two interlocking cycles- the solar year and the divinatory almanac," (58).
- the 365 day solar year was divided into 18 months of 20 days each (there were five extra days at the end of each year where everyone stayed inside and all work and play was forbidden. These days were thought to be a very unfavorable time because there was the chance the new year would not begin.)
- Each month was represented by its own deity and rituals
(mostly for the agricultural months and to crafts and professions).
- Their was also the divinatory almanac that was more important and
closely followed than the solar year calendar. "It was 260 days long
and it predicted the day to day fate of man. It consisted of 13
numbers and 20 day names ( such as crocodile or wind). The 13
numbers were added to the day signs to form 1-crocodile or 2-wind.
The combination of 1-crocodile would repeat only after 260 days
had passed. Each day name and each number was under the rule of
deity- or in the Aztec view, the days were burdens, carried by a
particular deity. Each day sign and number signified a good, bad, or
indifferent future," (60).
- The Aztecs believed that their fate was foretold from the name and sign combination of their naming day. For example, a woman born on the day 1-Flower would become an embroider, a person born on
1- Rabbit would become a drunkard. Certain amenities could be
made if someone was born on an unfortunate day- the naming
could be postponed to a more prosperous one.
- The calendar of the solar year and the divinatory almanac
overlapped every 52 years. Each year within a 52 year cycle would
begin with a single name such as Reed, Flintknife, Rabbit, or House.
At the point of overlap between one New Fire cycle and the next,
The priests would douse and destroy the previous cycles ritual fires
and begin a new one on the mountaintop near Culhuacan, in the
opened chest cavity of a sacraficed victim.

Resources: Pasztory, E. Aztec Art. Harry Abrams: New York,1983.
Websites to check out:

-http://www.brownpride.com/history/history.asp?a=aztecs/gods
-http://www.brownpride.com/history/history.asp?a=aztecs/sunstonedetails
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_sun_stone
-http://www.lared-latina.com/sunstone.html
-http://www.crystalinks.com/aztecalendar.html
-http://library.thinkquest.org/27981/calendar.html -***has cool symbols to explain each day and its name

The symbol of the circle is obviously a very important one through out history. It would be hard to find any culture or religion anywhere that has not in someway incorporated it into their belief system. But the Native Americans were especially aware of the cyclic nature of living, represented by the circle. The Aztecs are included in that blanket statement, but as to be expected, the use of the circle differed from the use of the circle in tribal communities found in North America.
It was not an easy task looking for the use of the circle in the Aztec history- for I found no reference to using the medicine wheel, or blatant examples of the circle, save their well-known calendar stone. However, after digging a little deeper I found that the Aztecs did honor the circle, but they didn't seem to use it in their art or their religious symbolism the way other cultures have. The Aztecs acknowledged the powerful circle through ritualistic living, which was represented by a calendar stone. And thus, the beginning of my project...

Native American "Circle of Life"

Additional Native American Thoughts on the "Circle of Life"

"You have given different ways to different people all over the world. As we know, this earth is round like a wagon wheel. In a wagon wheel, all the spokes are set into the center. The circle of the wheel is round and all spokes come from the center and the center is You, Achadadea, the Maker of all Things Above. Each spoke can be considered as a different religion of the world which has been given by You to different people and different races. all of the people of the world are on the rim of the wheel and they must follow one of the spokes to the center."9

9. Michael Fitzgerald, Yellowtail Crow Medicine Man (Bloomington, IA: Indian Spirit), 6.

The Medicine Wheel- circle of life

THE MEDICINE WHEEL - Circle of Life
In researching past my personal believes of how a Medicine Wheel is represented, I found to my amazement that the construction and what the four (or six) directions and sections varied from different tribes. Some thoughts are common, such as the principle that life is a circle and that the four directions stand for North, South, East and West with Mother Earth being down and Father Sky being above; giving six directions. Some include one more - Spirit seen as either us as a human or as the All that Spirit is; giving then seven. A circle is also used in other practices considered pagan with the same four directions, general color schemes, and even most of the same animal totems. For links to more traditional Native American Medicine Wheels and additional great information on the Medicine Wheel - scroll to the bottom of this page.
What is A Medicine Wheel? by Tree-Song, who will be teaching at Montana 2000
A Medicine Wheel is a physical manifestation of Spiritual energy. An outward expression of an internal dialogue. A mirror in which we can better SEE what is going on within us. It is a wheel of protection and enables us, and allows us, to gather surrounding energies into a focal point and to commune with Spirit, Self and Nature (ALL elemental forces)........Creation!
It helps us with our "Vision," to see exactly where we are and in which areas we need to develop in order to realize and become our potentials. That we are all connected to one another, and by showing us the intricacies of the interwoven threads of life, what our part in it all is. It helps us understand that without our part in the tapestry the "Bigger Picture" is not as it should be. We add colour, dimension and life to each other, to all of life. No matter what colour, race or creed we are, we need each of us to create a beautiful existence and expression of the Whole.
It is a model to be used to view self, society, or anything that one could ever think of looking into. The wheel, once learned how to dance within it, offers a picture to you and also helps to add clarity to a foggy view. Like so many other things...it is a tool to be used for the upliftment and betterment of mankind, healing and connecting to infinite. We are all but one realization of "God" trying to realize self...so lets see what part we ourselves are.
Please remember that all that I am to share with you although taken mainly from Native teachings, are also of my own teachings provided from Spirit and my own experiences. It is with an open heart and mind that I ask you receive these teachings. Not all will be for you. Take what is yours and disregard the rest or set it aside for another date. I will do my best to let you know from which teaching the information that you receive comes from, as there are many interpretations and symbologies applied to the Wheel, but the basic principle is the same. Tree-Song
As we grow, we change like the seasons, passing through the sections of the circle, learning from each. The center of the circle is the touching of the Spirit, the pure of heart, the truth as everything extends from the circle and everything comes together in the middle. For this reason the circle is used for ceremony, especially those that involve contacting the spirit world. This is a safe and protected place of love, a centered and grounding area.
The following are some general beliefs but do not represent the whole collection of varied colors, animal totems, and uses of the sections of medicine wheels. Different tribes use different symbols. I personal think we should use the colors and symbols that best represent what we believe. Here is just a small fraction of possible animal totems, plants, growth patterns, and colors. I think there are no 'right' and 'wrong' colors and animal totems.
To see how to make a medicine wheel click hereHow to make a Medicine Wheel - Stone placements
I am Holding Rainbow Warrior Woman of Universal Love, Energy, and Knowledge; of a Rainbow Tribe.
SOUTH - Fire - Passion
Growth in the South it is the time of Summer. From the bloom we transform into the fruit of the labors. It is the time of mid-day, the hottest part of the day, the part when the sun is overhead and no shadows are cast.. Maturing and growing into an adult to be that who was are. It is the time to accept the change and learn, to understand.
Red is for fire, passion, time of fertility. The South is the place of passion in all things, sex, fertility, mating - the fires that burn within. The direction of fire, like the phoenix we can rise from the flames, we take and rise again from childhood into being an adult in the direction of the South.
AnimalsThe animals in the South represent pride, strength and courage. The eagle with keen sight and strong wings. The lion for the strength and courage to speak out and roar. The wolf so proud to be a team member of a pride.
EAST - Air - FlightBeginings starts in the east - from where the sun rises we begin a new dawn. Each day is a good new day with a fresh beginning, a new start. East is the direction of the physical body and newness including children and new borns. It is the time of change for all is a new beginning. New ideas and seeing the light. Change. Spring is the season when all things begin to grow and awaken. Yellow is the path of Life, to begin the walk as a warrior, to shine in all that you do. The sun rising in the east empowers each of us. The energy to do and to begin the action of the mind and heart is there.AnimalsAnimals of wings and flight include hummingbird, the owl, and the hawk. Our words are given to the east that the smoke in the air or the voices in the air may be carried to Spirit.
WEST ( Blue) Water - EmotionsLater adulthood the time of Fall, the time of the setting sun - twilight. The daylight fades and brings a new awareness in this time of gradual change. When the darkness comes we must look inward to find the light and have courage. To understand what we see in the darkness may not be real but only shadows.
This is the emotional part of ourselves, like the flowing water we must learn to go with the flow of life. The time of the West is when we learn that we are responsible to all things and to each other. It is the time to prepare, to finish things for the time of Winter is coming. We gather ourselves and family, working together to prepare for what is to come. As the place of emotions it is the place of family and love - of responsibility from our hearts because of the love. It is hard work and team efforts. Black symbolizes change from this life.
AnimalsThe Beaver shows us of the team work and pre-paredness needed for the winter coming. The snake reminds us to shed our skin to grow and change.
NORTH (Green) Earth - Wisdom
As we get older our hair turn white, as we come to our time of winter. White (and purple) also symbolize spirituality. With experience and age we gain wisdom. Now we have time to rest and contemplate the lessons. North is purity and wisdom, a great place of healing. This is the time after midnight, a dream time. The time to be grounded within yourself and deep within, like a bear in a cave.
North is the place of winter. This reminds us to stop and listen. That we must have prepared for the long time of winter. Having been in action the other seasons we now rest and contemplate to understand the wisdom we have been given.
AnimalsThe white buffalo, Moose and Bear. Each prepared and have a layer of fat to sustain them through the winter. They are also the primary source of meat during the winter time for people. They rest and take things slow, not wasting energy, and with the understanding of what winter brings.


MEDICINE WHEEL LINKS
One of the most detailed explanations of the full Medicine Wheel, what each stone means to animals totems http://users.erols.com/brddwolf/medwheel.html

This is a Medicine Wheel and some links to info http://www.ccm.net/~redturk/SacredCircle.html
Medicine Wheel as a life metaphor http://www.monitor.net/~circle/medicine_wh.htm
http://www.widomaker.com/~hale/medwheel/medwheel.html
Medicine Wheel Meditation http://vortex.is/~rose/the1.htm
Creating a Medicine Wheel Outdoors http://www.sd.com.au/db/medicine.htm

Native Home Page Rainbow Tribe Sacred Earth Sites Medicine WheelChickasaw Seal and Links Tribes and Research Wisdom, Prophecies, ShamansNative Links of Interest Art, Icons, and Graphics Moon Phases LinkTo Main Page of Spiritual Network

Native American "Circle of Life"

It is difficult, if not impossible, to comprehend the uniqueness, complexity, and diversity of the peoples and cultures that have populated the Americas for literally thousands of years. Similarly, the scope of Native beliefs and traditions that has evolved to support and maintain the different cultural heritages is extensive and involved. Of particular note, however, is the folklore/myth that informs Native American culture. The project will focus on developing an understanding of a specific core aspect of the Native American value system that works to ground the realities of the "First Americans." In so doing, the effort will provide invaluable insight into the importance of beliefs and traditions in propagating a culture.
Although not all Native americans share a collective consciousness about all issues, and their supportive belief systems may differ, certain aspects of their folklore/myuths are profound and overarching in their cultural applications. Hill observes that the Native way of thinking can be seen in such things as "the use of the circle as a symbolof unity, in the use of animal totems to represent the sharing of power between the people and the animal world, and in a different attitude about the land - one that sees the earth as alive and sacred, to be shared by all."1 Developing an understanding of these shared values is central to gaining any insight into the inner workings and hidden mechanisms that ground the perspectives of Native peoples.
The project will focus on exploring exemplars of Native American values and traditions that reflect the common realities that ground Native viewpoints of their universe. Different spiritual, secular, and mythical concepts that represent the shared belief systems will be examined to determine how they influence the Native American ways of thinking and living. The effort will contribute to the understanding of how cultural values and traditions, described by Bluestein as "evolve(ing) from rudimentary beginnings,"2 stimulates individuals, groups, and entire peoples to "connect with a sacred manner of knowing . . . (and) experience the unbroken tie of spirit"3 betwen generations. Simplistically, the project will offer an enhanced perspective, of a very specific application, of how culture helps determine who we are, where we have been, and how it supported our getting there.
American Indian belief systems rely extensively on symbol for articulation. Although individual depictions of folkloric values and mythology may differ from tribe to tribe, all Native American cultures express their connections to the universe, or how they conceptualize the world, through symbols and patterns. despite differences in perspectives, however, most Native American cultures share an elaborate belief in the sacredness of the circle. Teachings, values, and beliefs incorporating renditions of "the Circle," as a symbol of unity or wholeness, are particularly prevalent in the Native American concept of the world of Native Americans. Stories, songs, music, art, and regaliz are repeatedly based on, and reflect, the sign. In effect, the symbol represents their concept of life. As Allen points out, "this probably stems from the Indian concept of a circular, dynamic universe in which all things are related and are of one family." In that context, the circlwe reflects a never-ending cycle of being in which there is an inseparable unity between the past, present, and future. As such, all aspects of life may be depicted in circular form.

Notes on particular aspects that emphasize the circle in Native American culture:

A. Native American observations that allude to the "Circle."

"Everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round . . . the Sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in iots greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nests in circles for theirs is the same religion as ours . . . Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves."5

2. "A small circle represents the Moon, the color white, and the forces of change and growth. A perfect large circle symbolizes the spirit in its original form. Therefore, on the one hand, it can represent the Sun, the male, the power of love, and the color yellow; on the other hand, it can also represent the female, the family, and sensitivity. A dot in the center of a circle stands for the seed of the male principle while the circle represents the female principle, which nurtures the seed. This symbol can also indicate a union, pact, or marriage."6

3. "Images of the circle dominate our lives and govern our existence; now, and in the continuing cycles of our lives as we pass from one world into the next. The pattern is irrefutable."7

B. Concepts of Time:

1. Unlike their European-oriented counterparts, who respect a linear, or sequential, approach to the time continuum; Native Americans conceive time in a circular context. Non-Natives perceive the past, present, and future as being part of one long and continuous path punctuated, and marked, by important events or ideas that characterize the era. The past is remote and somewhat alien; the present is ephemeral; and the future is distant and unknown. In effect, the perspective has the capability to separate people from the past experiences, ancestors, traditions, and occurrences that greatly influences both the present and the future.

In contrast, Native Americans conceptualize the passage of time not linearly, but as a circular process; marked by "birth, growth, maturity, death and regeneration of all things that share the earth - plants, animals, people . . . The past is a place where all things reside that have completed the cycle. All things are "out there" now, not distant but imminent."8 From this perspective, contemporary events, past experiences, future outcomes, and the attendant folklore are all part of a great systemic and rhythmic circle of life. Each factor is inexplicably tied to, and affected by, the others; rather than each individual aspect simply following the others in a straight, relatively unrelated, time continuum.

1. Richard Hill, Pathways of Tradition: Indian Insights Into Indian Worlds. An exhibition at
the George Gustav Heye Center of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American
Indian, New York City. November 15, 1992, to January 24, 1993.

2. Gene Bluestein, Poplore: Folk and Pop in American Culture (Amherst, MA: University of
Massachusetts Press, 1994), 15.

3. Gerald McMaster & Clifford E. Trafzer, eds., Native Universe: Voices of Indian America
(Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, 2003), 76.

4. Paula Gunn Allen, The Sacred Hoop: Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions
(Boston: Beacon Press, 1986), 156.

5. Black Elk (Lakota), Black Elk Speaks (New York, Pocketbooks, 1961), 16.

6. Heike Owusu, Symbols of Native America (New York: Sterling Publishing Company, 1997),
217.

7. Macikiiseki, personal interview by author, 13 March 2007.

8. Larry J. Zimmerman & Brian Leigh Molyneauyx, Native North America (Norman, OK:
Oklahoma University Press, 1996), 164.