One Circle, Many Mirrors: Finding the Universal Thread in the World's Medicine Wheels
There is a profound and grounding comfort in discovering that no matter where humans have stood on this Earth—whether looking out over the Scottish Highlands, the forests of North America, or the jungles of Mesoamerica—we all looked up at the same sun and felt the same winds.
The term Medicine Wheel was originally coined by early American settlers to describe the mysterious stone circles scattered across the North American continent. Today, its meaning has expanded into a rich, living framework drawn from Indigenous cultures worldwide—including First Nations, Mayan, Celtic, and Native American traditions. To these cultures, "medicine" has never been limited to physical remedies. It encompasses emotional, mental, and spiritual healing.
In physics, energy is a constant force: it cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed. Our well-being relies on maintaining a harmonious flow with this source energy—much like a river fed by rain that flows to the ocean, evaporates into clouds, and falls as rain once again. The Medicine Wheel serves as a map and compass for this flow, offering an Eagle’s perspective on where our energy moves with ease, where obstacles sit, and how to course-correct without judgment as we ripen into our fullest, most abundant selves.
Over my quarter-century of practice as a Medical Herbalist and Shamanic Practitioner, I have worked intimately with multiple directional systems. While they use different symbols, colours, and elemental assignments to describe their landscapes, they are all pointing toward the exact same truth: we are all seeking harmony within ourselves, our surroundings, and the divine.
Understanding the Differences: A Mapping of Elements & Directions
One of the first things people notice when studying different Earth traditions is that the elements do not always sit in the same cardinal directions.
For example, in the Native American and Celtic Wheels I have worked with, the layout follows:
East: Air (Spring, Dawn, Inspiration, Eagle)
South: Fire (Summer, Midday, Passion, Horse)
West: Water (Autumn, Sunset, Emotion, Bear)
North: Earth (Winter, Midnight, Physicality & Wisdom, Wolf)
However, in the Mayan Wheel as I was taught, the energies shift:
East: Fire (Spring, Dawn, Yellow, Condor)
South: Water (Summer, Midday, Red, Snake)
West: Earth (Autumn, Dusk, Black, Jaguar)
North: Air (Winter, Night, White, Hummingbird)
While this can feel confusing at first, it simply reflects the local geography, spirit, and environment of the culture mapping it. Furthermore, this dynamic isn't unique to Indigenous American or Celtic traditions. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the Five Element system (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) maps energetic organ networks and emotional seasons across a similar circular cycle.
The Hidden History of the Fifth Element: Ether
Having taught the history of Western medicine for several years, I educated students on our own European medical heritage: Galenic Medicine. Originally, this ancient Western framework recognised 5 elements—including Ether (the element of Spirit) alongside Fire, Air, Water, and Earth.
However, during the rise of Church authority, physicians were forbidden from working with Ether. The Church claimed Spirit as its exclusive domain, decreeing that medical doctors were only permitted to work with the four physical elements. In doing so, Western medicine was systematically stripped of its spiritual compass—laying the very groundwork for the artificial split between mind, body, and spirit that still haunts modern healthcare today. Reclaiming the full wheel, and the element of Spirit, is essential to restoring true wholeness to our medicine systems.
The 7 Directions: Navigation vs. Spiritual Connection
While we use the four cardinal directions (East, South, West, North) to navigate our human lives on Earth, a complete Medicine Wheel honours seven directions:
East: Inspiration, birth, spirit, and new beginnings.
South: Passion, emotion, transformation, and youth.
West: Introspection, maturity, physical manifestation, and gratitude.
North: Wisdom, mind, clarity, and the Ancestors.
Below: Mother Earth and all our earthly relations.
Above: Father Sky, Grandmother Moon, Grandfather Sun, and the Star Nations.
Within: Our direct connection to Great Spirit.
We stand at the absolute center of our own wheel. We do not use Below, Above, and Within to navigate where we are going on the physical plane, but rather as spiritual anchors—just as a plant needs the Earth to anchor its roots, the Sky to draw in light, and its internal spark of life force to grow.
Plant Allies Around the Wheel
In my shamanic training course ‘The Shaman’s Way’, we work with specific plant allies for each of the 13 moons, pairing herbal medicine directly with directional wisdom. Plant allies on the wheel are deeply personal, but here is a glimpse into how plant essence mirrors directional energy
East — Calendula: Symbolising the bright light of a rising sun, new birth, and fresh beginnings.
South — Nettle: Cleansing our internal waters and refining our boundaries as we grow—reminding us not to give all our energy away in the fiery passion of youth.
West — Red Clover: Supporting the West's journey of maturity and introspection, offering deep nourishment while helping us release what no longer serves.
North — Hawthorn: Teaching resilience and perseverance. Long eaten by pilgrims to sustain them on arduous journeys, Hawthorn strengthens the physical and energetic heart as we face the winter of our cycle.
A Personal Path of Healing and Ancestral Integration
My personal relationship with these wheels was forged through deep lived experience and healing.
Around 30 years ago, I turned to the First Nations / Native American Medicine Wheel. As a teenager, I had explored European Earth traditions, but stepped back after experiencing deep wounding and sexual abuse by a practitioner who misused Wiccan teachings for dark, manipulative ends. The teachings of the Native American wheel—alongside profound soul retrieval work—provided the safe, grounded sanctuary I needed to heal my trust, repair my boundaries, and reclaim my personal energy.
Simultaneously, my herbal training 28 years ago under a Chinese herbalist opened my eyes to how TCM maps the same balance of elements within the human body.
Reclaiming the Celtic Wheel: Returning to Ancestral Roots
Once healed—about 10 years after my initial steps with the Native American wheel—I was able to safely turn my gaze back home. Knowing my DNA roots are anchored in Celtic and Northern European lineage, I felt a deep calling to embrace my own ancestral culture.
Returning to the Celtic Wheel carried me back into the rhythm of the land under my own feet. It taught me how to live in active reflection with the changing seasons of my heritage. As I stepped into this ancestral alignment, my personal life shifted naturally. As someone who is not Christian, I stepped away from traditional Christmas traditions and began celebrating Yuletide and the Winter Solstice instead, honouring the return of the sun and the deep quiet of the North. Embracing the wheel in this way wasn't just a conceptual practice; it became a lived, seasonal devotion.
Another 10 years on (a decade ago now), my journey expanded again when I met several new teachers and was introduced to the Peruvian, Ecuadorian, and Guatemalan Mayan Wheel and the sacred ceremonial medicine of Cacao. Working directly with Mayan teachers allowed me to integrate their spiritual traditions in the most respectful, culturally honoured way.
A Path of Continuous Expansion and True Empowerment
Each system I have walked with has gifted me a deeper layer of awareness. My journey began with finding my personal footing and internal balance—the microcosm of inner self-healing. Over time, through working with the Mayan traditions, Cacao ceremonies, the Celtic Wheel, and the elemental wisdom of TCM, that inner focus expanded into a macrocosmic awareness of our deep interconnectedness with all that is.
Today, this rich weave of directional wisdom integrates naturally into every therapy session I hold and every training program I offer.
Because I have sat with so many different wheels, I hold no attachment to a single dogma. When students come to me carrying their own prior knowledge, traditions, or beliefs, I have no desire to tell them to see the world my way. I do not ask anyone to adopt my truth.
There are infinite ways to perceive the sacred and navigate this life. The Medicine Wheel you choose is simply a frame for your awareness—a compass to help you chart your own unique course. True empowerment demands this: I am not here to define your path, but to hold a safe, expansive space so you can discover it for yourself.
The wheels themselves are pure mirrors of natural law. When we learn to read them, they don't lock us into rules—they set us free to walk our unique path unconditionally.
Coming Home to Yourself
As Don Miguel Ruiz writes in The Four Agreements:
"You don’t have to search for happiness; you are happiness wherever you are. You don’t have to search for the truth; you are the truth. You don’t have to search for yourself; you never left yourself."
When we learn to read our life through the Medicine Wheel, we strip away the conditioning of the outside world and realise this fundamental truth. We see where our energy is flowing, where we are stuck, and how to bring ourselves back into balance.
Whether you orient through the Mayan Jaguar of the West, the Celtic Air of the East, or the Chinese Wood element of Spring, the destination is identical: coming home to your true self, walking your path unconditionally, and living in deep harmony with all of creation.
Ready to Step onto the Wheel?
If these teachings resonate with you, the Medicine Wheel is not just something to understand intellectually—it is something to experience. There are a few different ways we can walk this path together:
The Shaman’s Way Training: A deep, transformative immersion where we journey around the wheel over 13 moons, meeting plant allies like Calendula, Nettle, Red Clover, and Hawthorn to map and heal your personal energy. Next intake starts this October - book your place now to avoid disappointment, only a couple of places left!
Ceremonial Cacao Gatherings: Step into a sacred, heart-opening space grounded in authentic Guatemalan Mayan traditions to align with the guidance of the wheel and connect deeply with cacao as a sacred medicine. These ceremonies are held once a month on a Sunday afternoon.
1-to-1 Personal Healing Sessions: A dedicated, confidential healing space to look directly at your own journey, identify where your energy is stuck, and map out a gentle path back to balance and empowerment. We can work together in person or online!
