> Arts > Medicine Wheel.
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THE MEDICINE WHEEL
The
medicine wheel is the substance of Lakota and Plains Indian religious
belief.
The circle has no beginning or end. The circle represents
the totality of life and the oneness of all creatures with
Wakan Tanka.
The cross symbolizes the sacred paths which man must walk. The south to
north line is the Red Road, life and harmony - man´s potential for
the good life; the west to east line, the black road, destruction and
warfare - man´s fallibility. The four lines represent the powers
of the four directions and the four quarters of the universe; (west) rain,
(north) strength and endurance, (east) peace and light and (south) warmth.
Implied with the medicine wheel are the color blue, the sky or the dwelling
place of the Great Spirit; and the color green, Mother Earth and that
which grows on it, with mankind being the link between the two.