Medicine Wheel

By Crusader1307

An ancient Native American Religious Practice – with some examples being many thousands of years in age – The ‘’Medicine Wheel’’ was a ground pictograph – constructed normally of stone (rock). These rocks were arranged into a circular shape, often  many hundreds of feet in circumference. A center hub – similar to an Altar was constructed as well. It was from this central point, rocks were arranged outward from this point to the interior perimeters of the circle. These resembled ‘’wheel spokes’’. Hence when early White Settlers came across these pictographic symbols, they were called ‘’Wheels’’. In terms of ‘’Medicine’’, such ground structures were used by many Tribes as a means of focusing ‘’powerful’’ healing energies towards a specific need or goal. Normally, only Shaman (‘’Medicine Man’’) were allowed to enter a Wheel. However, if the healing involved a specific person (perhaps One possessed by Evil Spirits), they would be allowed to enter as well. Some examples of prehistoric Wheels are preserved and can still be found in The American Northwest and portions of The Southwest.