Many First Nations refer to the Medicine Wheel as the Circle of Life, the Sacred Circle or the Cycle of Life. The Medicine Wheel is not to be considered a sacred icon; it is simply a symbol used as a teaching tool.
The Medicine Wheel is a circular symbol equally divided into four parts, east, south, west and north. The number four is a sacred number used in Indigenous culture. Many aspects are seen in terms of four. The sacred mystery, the source of all creation reveals itself as the powers of the four directions and these four powers provide the organizing principles for everything that exists in the world:
- Four Seasons
- Four races
- Four elements of the Universe
- Four stages of life
- Four aspects of human behaviour
- Four medicines
The cultural concept or teachings of the Medicine Wheel are based on the Anishnaabe way of life, their value systems and interrelationships and connectedness to the universe/cosmos. We believe the Creator gave us borrowed time on earth therefore we must respect mother earth and all her elements, i.e.: respect for the preservation of water, trees, animals and our fellow human beings. We do this by following or living the teachings of the Seven Grandfathers and passing these teachings on to our children.
Figure 1. Medicine Wheel (adapted) – Loretta McDonald
Tobacco is the first plant that the Creator gave to the Anishnaabe people. It is said to be the activator of all the plant spirits. The three other plants, sage, sweet grass and cedar follow tobacco and together they are referred to as the “four sacred medicines”. The four sacred medicines are used in everyday life and in ceremonies. All of them can be used to smudge with, although sage, cedar and sweet grass also have many other uses.
Tobacco sits in the eastern doorway, sweet grass sits in the southern doorway, sage sits in the western doorway and cedar sits in the northern doorway.
The Seven Grandfather teachings have been passed on to each Anishnaabe Nation for generations. They tell us to take care of mother earth, respect her and not destroy her. They tell us we all share in this responsibility. We need to make sure that the earth and everything the Creator put on the earth will always be here for future generations.
To take care of the mother earth and the communities of life we need to follow the teachings of the Seven Grandfathers which are: Bravery, Honesty, Humility, Love, Respect, Truth and Wisdom (refer to Emotional aspect for full description). Each of these teachings must be used together, for example, you cannot have wisdom without love, respect, humility, honesty, bravery and truth.
