Reconnect with Your Inner Compass
through the sacred four of the Medicine Wheel
The Medicine Wheel
The Medicine Wheel is a sacred, living teaching held by many Indigenous Nations, each with their own unique traditions. My framework is not meant to replicate, replace or redefine these ancestral practices, but to be inspired by their wisdom in a way that honors their origins.
I use the Medicine Wheel as a guiding metaphor, an acknowledgment of the cyclical, relational and holistic approach to life found in Indigenous worldviews, while respecting that the true teachings belong to the cultures that carry them. My work is offered with deep gratitude and respect.
The Medicine Wheel teaches us that life moves in cycles, each direction offering its own energy, season, element and layer of wisdom. Unlike the Gregorian calendar, which conditions us to begin anew in winter (the North), many Indigenous traditions follow the Thirteen Moons lunar calendar, beginning in spring (the East).
This ancient lunar rhythm is rooted in feminine intuition and nature. In Lakota tradition, the moons flowed with the seasons, including three moons in each of the following seasons — spring, summer and fall — and four moons in winter, reflecting the living cycles of land, animals and celestial bodies.
For Native Tribes, the new year begins in the spring when plant and animal life return, signaling renewal, rebirth and awakening.
In my work, I begin in the North not to follow the Gregorian calendar, but to honor the cyclical intelligence of the menstrual cycle. Just as winter represents stillness, void and deep restoration, the menstrual phase is the energetic beginning of a woman’s monthly cycle — not a time of productivity, but a sacred reset.
Starting in the North reflects this truth: creation begins in the void, in the quiet, in the descent before the rise, just like the egg phase in metamorphosis.
​
Ending in the West reflects this equally sacred truth: every cycle completes itself through release. The luteal phase mirrors this autumnal wisdom, marking the energetic end of the menstrual cycle, just as the butterfly stage marks the final completion of metamorphosis.
Monarchs embody this beautifully through their fall migration each year — a long, instinctual journey toward rest, integration and closure before the cycle begins anew.
​
This reframing supports clients in returning to a cyclical, intuitive rhythm that lives at the center of their being.
The Sacred Four Coordinates & Center Explained
These interpretations of the Medicine Wheel are inspired by the teachings shared in A Guide to the Sacred Circle: The Path of the Medicine Wheel by Kathy L. Callahan, Ph.D, offering an entry point into understanding the symbolic, spiritual and developmental themes of the four directions and the Center. Her work has served as the foundational lens through which I shaped this cyclical approach, honoring its intention while weaving it into the specific context of women’s health and seasonal living.
The North
Season: Winter
Element: Earth
Color: White
Moons: Contemplation,
Deep Snow, Strong Winds
Plant: Cedar
Stone: Clear quartz
​Cycle of the Day: Midnight
Animal Totem/Spirit Guides:
Buffalo
Spiritual Themes: Wisdom, grounding, contemplation, stability
The North is the place of the unseen, where newly planted seeds rest beneath the ground and life stirs quietly in the womb space of Mother Earth. Here, our dreams live in the void before they are ready to be brought into the light.
​
The North teaches us that within the quiet and stillness lies untapped strength and power that has been shaped by the lessons, challenges and even the pain that has grounded us.​ This direction invites us to look deeply within ourselves and to discover who we truly are when everything else falls away.
Like roots growing strong before a plant ever breaks the surface, we form the firm foundation upon which future growth can stand. By knowing and meeting ourselves in the roots, we strengthen the connection with our internal world before we can form a healthy connection with our external world.
The East
Season: Spring
Element: Air
Color: Yellow
Moons: New Buds, Planting, New Flowers
Plant: Tobacco
Stone: Amber
​Cycle of the Day: Sunrise
Animal Totem/Spirit Guides:
Eagle
Spiritual Themes: New beginnings, vision, illumination, inspiration
The East is a time of sunrise, renewal and fresh possibility. It marks the moment the first shoot breaks through the womb of Mother Earth and is born into the light.
After the dormancy of winter’s void, the East brings outward, visible growth, hope, momentum and new life. As you walk in the East, your abilities begin to surface, and you step forward into a world filled with curiosity and wonder.
This direction teaches you to embrace change, to look with anticipation toward what lies ahead and to welcome the future with an open heart. The East is the promise of beginnings and a reminder that every dream once rooted in the dark is destined for the light.
The South
Season: Summer
Element: Fire
Color: Red
Moons: Hot Sun, Hot Winds, Harvest Moon
Plant: sweetgrass
Stone: Garnet
​Cycle of the Day: Noon
Animal Totem/Spirit Guides:
Moutain Lion
Spiritual Themes: Passion, action, growth, power, transformation
The South is the full expression of life, when what once sprouted now reaches confidently toward the sky. The young plant has grown deep roots, strong branches and vibrant leaves, nourished by the warmth and fire of the summer sun.
This direction represents your outer world, the present moment, your actions and the power you choose to embody now. Here, your life-force awakens, and your purpose comes into focus.
The South teaches you to recognize the power you hold and to manifest your vision in tangible, meaningful ways. It is the season of vitality, creativity and expansion where your inner fire burns bright and you begin to understand your place in the world.
The West
Season: Autumn
Element: Water
Color: Deep blue
Moons: Hunters Moon, First Freeze, Silent Snow
Plant: Sage
Stone: Turquoise
​Cycle of the Day: Sunset
Animal Totem/Spirit Guides:
Bear
Spiritual Themes: Healing, introspection, release, emotional depth
The West is the place of healing, completion and reflection. The plant that began as a seed in the North and was nurtured through the East and South now bears fruit, offering the harvest of your effort and lived experiences.
As daylight softens into darkness, the West teaches you to gather what has served you and release what no longer does. Here, you come to understand that you are not defined by your experiences, but by the way you respond to them.
This is the season of wisdom, the realization that your life is shaped not by circumstance, but by choice. Walking in the West allows you to see your fullness, to honor your journey and to prepare for renewal as you move once again toward the introspective night of the North. It is here that you understand the power you sought outside yourself has always lived within.
The Center
Element: Ether
Color: Green or gold (life force)
Plant: Oak tree
Stone: Petrified wood
Animal Totem/Spirit Guides:
Turtle
Spiritual Themes: Balance, self-identity, wholeness, inner knowing, presence
The Center is the heart of the Medicine Wheel, the point from which all directions arise and to which they all return. While the four directions guide the journey, the Center is what anchors it.
It represents the Creator and the co-Creative spirit within you that is inseparable from the whole. In the Center, you remember that you are never alone, for the divine presence lives within your own being.
This is the place of the Soulful Self. Every journey begins and ends here, for once you have walked through the North, East, South and West, you circle back to the Center to integrate, breathe and begin again.
In this way, the Medicine Wheel becomes a spiral of endless evolving, transforming and becoming through every season, where your last step always becomes the first step of the next cycle and layer of unfolding.
How it Works
We begin at the Center with your FREE Sacred Center Mapping consultation, grounding into presence and clarity to uncover your intentions. We will then step into the North, where we create spaciousness for your intentions to take root.
As we move through each direction, you’ll receive alchemic journal prompts, guided somatic practices and intuitive exercises designed to support your authentic path.
No matter which service you choose — Multi-Dimensional Health, Cycle Syncing or Seasonal Eating — your journey will follow the map of the Medicine Wheel.
Sessions are booked in packages of four, with discounts available for 12+ sessions. Each session is one hour, meeting weekly via Zoom or, if proximity allows, at a local coffee/tea shop or park.
Just as the Medicine Wheel teaches: arriving at the West does not mark completion, but the beginning of a new spiral of growth, evolution and expansion, so there is always the option to extend your journey through additional coaching as needed.
​
Below, you’ll find a visual guide showing how each service lives within the four directions of the Medicine Wheel, giving you a clear map of the path we’ll walk together.
.png)
North
Metamorphosis:
Egg
​
Multi-Dimensional Health:
Physical Realm
​
Cycle Syncing:
Menstrual Phase​
​
Seasonal Eating:
Winter​
East
Metamorphosis:
Caterpillar
​
Multi-Dimensional Health:
Mental Realm
​
Cycle Syncing:
Follicular Phase​
​
Seasonal Eating:
Spring​
South
Metamorphosis:
Cocoon
​
Multi-Dimensional Health:
Emotional Realm
​
Cycle Syncing:
Ovulatory Phase​
​
Seasonal Eating:
Summer​
West
Metamorphosis:
Butterfly
​
Multi-Dimensional Health:
Spiritual Realm
​
Cycle Syncing:
Luteal Phase​
​
Seasonal Eating:
Autumn​
Discover which path on the Medicine Wheel is calling to you ...
.png)
.png)
.png)