The Medicince Wheel you see is on top of Medicine Mountain in the Big Horn National Forest...northeast corner of Wyoming..I believe it overlaps into Montana even. At any rate, when you get up there you can see the ends of the Earth. Quite a view!!
At nearly 10,000 miles above sea level, sits the Medicine Wheel... a place of worship, a National Historic Site and an archeological mystery.
It is believed that somewhere between A.D. 1200 and A.D. 17oo, hundreds of limestone rocks were placed in the shape of a wheel. It is roughly 80 feet in diameter , has 28 spokes and 6 cairns on the rim with a center cairn. Who built it and why? No one knows for sure, but Native American beliefs and archeological evidence point to its use as a spiritual site. One that rivals the Stonehenge. Many people still go to the Medicine Wheel and Medicine Mountain for spiritual healing, vision quests, solitude inspiration and meditation. I believe it was as many as 80 tribes that still use the Wheel for a spiritual site.
"Eventually one goes to the Medicine Wheel to fulfill one's life" Old Mouse--Arikara
I went a couple summers ago. It was a beautiful scenic drive up the mountain and I was awed at the view from on top of the world! And the hike up the trail to the actual wheel was a long one.. if I remember right was something like 12 miles.. I think.. but as I neared the Wheel and made my way around the 80 foot ring I felt a tugging at my heart and soul.. I can not explain it. At one point half way around I could not bear it any longer and cried... why? I felt the ancient ones there is all I can say. I left with a peace in my heart tho. All around the Wheel there were trinkets. Pieces of cloth, beads, rocks, feathers... items left in prayer and in meditation or as an offering to the spirits. It is a place to do some soul searching and deep thinking. pictures cannot capture the sheer magnitude of the area, the awesome expanse of land, the feeling of being on TOP of the world! My advice.. if you can.. GO!!!! ...it is well worth the drive and hike!
Shalom my friends
