At each of the four directions on the Wheel, there are animals whose characteristics are appropriate to these places. Except for the dragon in the North, these are traditional to the Native American culture in this country. They are useful to us in working with the Medicine Wheel because once we are able to connect them to the different directions, we can reconnect ourselves to these places by simply remembering the animals. They become the symbols that connect us to the images we have acquired through our understanding of the four directions.
The animals in the South are the coyote and the mouse. The mouse is here because he characterizes the way we behave when we are in the South. He is a small animal that lives very close to the ground and therefore can see only what is directly in front of him. He is constantly moving in an attempt to satisfy his great hunger and to keep from becoming a meal for one of the many other animals that would eat him. Like the mouse, our vision is also limited in that we tend to see only that which is connected to the desires that we are currently trying to satisfy. And we are also constantly moving in an attempt to satisfy our great hunger to make things the way we think they need to be so that we can experience the desirelessness we crave. And we also keep moving because when we stop, we become still and risk the possibility of noticing things around us and within us that we would rather not notice.
The coyote is called the trickster by Native Americans because of his great intelligence and his ability to confuse his pursuers by tricking them into thinking that he is going in a direction that he is not actually going. In the South, he represents the illusion that we have called the worldly model. This illusion is our trickster. In the South, we believe that life is about fulfilling desire and so we spend our time and energy trying to control and manipulate our circumstances in order to create situations in which these desires might be fulfilled. But while we believe that this is all that is happening, we are actually being taken to that place of despair that will ultimately lead us into the West. The illusion is our way out of the illusion.
In the West, we find the bear and the black panther. The bear is here because he represents great strength and endurance. These are qualities that we need in the West because it is here that we must turn our backs on the world and begin to follow a very different path. And we need endurance because it takes time for these changes to come about. The panther is a black cat who hunts at night and is rarely seen during the day. For us, the black represents the darkness we must pass through when we leave the worldly model behind and begin the search for a new model. And the ability to hide ourselves is also important. Without this ability, we will find ourselves having to constantly defend our chosen path from those around us who will feel threatened by our choice and that is not where we need to put our energy.
In the North, we find the dragon. Not a real animal but we are dealing with what is taking place in our own minds which is where these creatures live. He is fearsome to behold and is the guardian of the gate. He is there to keep those out who are not yet ready to make the ultimate sacrifice because that is what is required if we are to cross the great water. All the letting go and surrendering we have had to do to get to this place was just preparation for a time when we would have to actually be ready to give up everything if need be to find the answer to the question who am I. A moment in time when you know that if your own death is what may be required then so be it because the pain of not knowing can no longer be tolerated. Of course, if we knew that this surrender is a gateway to the greatest experience it is possible to have in a body then there would be no resistance. But the ego that is our sense of separateness will fight to the very end because it knows that its own survival is at stake.
In the East we have the eagle for obvious reasons. Because of its remarkable eyesight and its ability to soar high above the landscape, it symbolizes the view from the top of the mountain. It sees everything from the mouse running along the ground to how connected everything is to everything else. And it soares through the skies by simple being one with the winds under its wings. There is no resistance, there is just being one with it all and allowing the energies around you to take you wherever it is they need you to be.
