medicine wheel
Native American symbol
A medicine wheel is a stone arrangement laid out in a circular pattern with spokes radiating from the center, found across the northern Great Plains and dating back thousands of years.
These sites hold spiritual significance for many Indigenous peoples of North America, used for ceremonies, teaching, and marking astronomical events.
The term also refers to symbolic circular diagrams representing interconnected aspects of existence—the four directions, seasons, stages of life, or elements—used in contemporary Indigenous spirituality and healing practices.
Original inhabitants of America
- First NationsCanada's non-Inuit indigenous peoples
- Plains tribesIndigenous groups of grasslands
- LakotaWestern Sioux people
- CheyennePlains tribe or state capital
Ojibwe · Blackfoot · ceremony · elder · sweat lodge · vision quest · smudging · sage
Main compass orientations
- circle of lifeContinuous birth-death-renewal cycle
- seven generationsTime span to distant descendants
- sun pathSun's daily sky course
- moon cyclesRecurring patterns of illumination
seasonal cycles · solstice · equinox · cardinal directions · above · below · within · interconnectedness
Absence of pigment
- yellowHue between green and orange
- redPrimary color, warm
- blackDarkest possible hue
- four elementsClassical natural categories
eagle · bear · buffalo · wolf · turtle · four winds · quadrants · mandala
Addressing interconnected wholes
- wellnessOverall state of health
- balanceSteadiness or amount owed
- harmonyAgreement or musical blend
- mental healthEmotional and cognitive well-being
emotional health · physical health · spiritual health · wholeness · integration · healer · purification · renewal
Native American
Original inhabitants of America
- First NationsCanada's non-Inuit indigenous peoples
- Plains tribesIndigenous groups of grasslands
- LakotaWestern Sioux people
Cheyenne · Ojibwe · Blackfoot · ceremony · elder · sweat lodge · vision quest · smudging · sage · sweetgrass
four directions
Main compass orientations
- circle of lifeContinuous birth-death-renewal cycle
- seven generationsTime span to distant descendants
- sun pathSun's daily sky course
moon cycles · seasonal cycles · solstice · equinox · cardinal directions · above · below · within · interconnectedness · wholeness
white
Absence of pigment
four elements · eagle · bear · buffalo · wolf · turtle · four winds · quadrants · mandala · sacred geometry
holistic
Addressing interconnected wholes
mental health · emotional health · physical health · spiritual health · wholeness · integration · healer · purification · renewal · restoration
stone circle
Megalithic monument in circular arrangement
diameter · quadrant · spoke · rim · outdoor · earthwork · monument · effigy · Big Horn · sacred site
- American folklorePaul Bunyan, tall tales, folk heroes, John Henry, folk narratives
- Indigenous cultureancestors, ancestry, ancestral lands, ancestral lineage, animal totems
- Ethnic Symbolstribal patterns, tribal masks, clan symbols, totem poles, ceremonial masks
- folk medicineherbalism, herbal remedies, folk healer, herbalist, healer
- Indigenous Craftstotem poles, quillwork, dreamcatchers, moccasins, birch bark
- indigenous traditionselder council, powwows, totem poles, healing rituals, sweat lodges
medicine wheelcalendar
Date-tracking system
clock · pie chart · compass · periodic table · flowchart
medicine wheelscientific method
Structured process for investigation
medicine wheeltimeline
Ordered display of events
linear progression · arrow of time · Gregorian calendar · developmental stages · before-and-after
wheel, medicine, medical, medication, medic, medicinal, wheeled, wheeling, medicate