Talk:Medicine wheel

A fact from Medicine wheel appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 10 November 2004. The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that Medicine wheels are stone structures built by the natives of America and Canada for various spiritual and ritual purposes?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2004/November.

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Africa[edit]

In the opening section, the article mentions that sun wheels were "originally" created by "indigenous peoples of Africa". Africa, and African peoples, are not mentioned anywhere else on the page. It seems that the "medicine wheel" is a feature of North American indigenous cultures rather than African, and that this may by an accidental substitution of "African" for "American". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.2.120.11 (talk) 14:34, 2 July 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Untitled[edit]

The first line,where is says "the natives of America", seems to suggest North America instead of the United States of America, therefore rendering the "and Canada" useless. I suggest changing the line to "the natives of North America" instead of "the natives of America and Canada".

Also (and more importantly), this topic is discussing the stone structures called Medicine Wheels and does not venture very far into the symbol itself which is still used in modern Native Spiritualy.

I don't see why it's stated that the article reads like a "personal reflection" as it sounds objective and neutral enough to me. The author of the article already honestly stated that Native Americans rarely share the spiritual meaning behind it, but for further reading I'd suggest "The Medicine Wheel" by Sun Bear and Wabun, Prentice Hall Press, New York, ISBN 0-13-572982-3.

Sacred Hoop[edit]

Medicine Wheel: cultural attribution and rendering by colonists; Sacred Hoop: preferable as an indigenous rendering of the concept into English?^{[citation needed]} Wyrd wending... B9 hummingbird hovering^{(talk • contribs)}

Cultural value, attribution and meaning[edit]

Ideals of white, Yellow, Red, and Blue (later Black) did not indicate color of peoples until modern times (following the introduction of European arrival in North America). I cannot speak for Plains and Western Native Cultures, but in Eastern Native beliefs, white indicated Infancy (and the typical pure innocence of a baby) and yellow indicated Childhood, not Adolescence...The concept of "adolescence" did not exist until modern times. The circle and it's colors also represented the darkening of one's spirit with wisdom. As for cardinal direction, the colors themselves did not indicate the directions, as the circle is depicted/displayed in art and handicrafts in many different positions (comonnly with the colors at NW, NE, SE, and SW quadrantsm placing North, East, South, and West at points where the colors meet each other), and the placement of the colors is often different, although it is almost always arranged white, yellow, red and blue/black, in keeping with the light to dark theme that the circle represents (the cycle of all things). It is a clock (dawn, noon, dusk and night) a calendar (spring, summer, autumn and winter) and many other simple cycles. I have also seen it's use to indicate the stages in illness, with white indicating healthy/cured, yellow sickness, red fevered, and blue/black as death/near death...and then sometimes in reverse for the stages of mourning.

What can be said with absolute certainty, is that the wheel represents the cycles that all Native American cultures observed, celebrated and revered. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.235.198.91 (talk) 01:39, 20 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Sources[edit]

Eddy, John A; 1974 Astronomical Alignments of the Bighorn Medicine Wheel. Science 184(4141):1035-1043.
"Medicine Wheels and Plains Astronomy," in Native American Astronomy," Anthony F. Aveni (Ed.), pp. 147-169. University of Texas Press, Austin, 1979.
Williamson, Ray A., Living the Sky: The Cosmos of the American Indian. University of Oklahoma Press, 1987; ISBN 0-8061-2034-7.
Kehoe, Alice B. and Thomas F.; 1979; "Solstice-Aligned Boulder Configurations in Saskatchewan." Canadian Ethnology Service Paper No. 48. National Museum of Man, Ottawa.
Haack, Steven C.; 1987; "A Critical Evaluation of Medicine Wheel Astronomy." Plains Anthropologist 32 (115): 77-82.
Kehoe, Thomas F and Alice B.; 1987; Reply to Haack. Plains Anthropologist 32 (117): 323.
Haack, Steven C.; 1987; Haack Responds. Plains Anthropologist 32 (117): 324.
Brumley, John H.; 1988; "Medicine Wheels on the Northern Plains: A Summary and Appraisal." Archaeological Survey of Alberta Manuscript Series No. 12, Edmonton.

B9 hummingbird hovering^{(talk • contribs)} 12:03, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Image Description[edit]

Hello, The Medicine Wheel in Moose Mountain Provincial Park, Saskatchewan, Canada under second image seems to be wrong, because photo is showing Bighorn Medicine Wheel in Wyoming.--Sinuhe20 (talk) 10:33, 6 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

New Age Views???[edit]

I propose we take out the "New Age" section of the article. This has to do with spirituality and (Native) astronomy that come from the Natives. Not pseudoscience. Take out the pseudoscience.--75.118.113.248 (talk) 08:48, 21 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Connection to the Sun Cross?[edit]

The sun Cross looks extremely similar to that of the Cree Sacred Hoop, not mentioned in this article but the first thing that always shows up in images when you search Medicine Wheel. I was wondering if anyone knew of a citable connection. Endercase (talk) 22:12, 5 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

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Incomplete/un-understandable phrase in "New age views"[edit]

I don't understand the last phrase /paragraph in the section "New age views". There is no verb and although one might have several guesses (insert "are considered" or "did consider" ?) it remains quite obscure. — MFH:Talk 00:39, 14 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]