A medicine wheel is an ancient symbol respected by Native American people of North and South America to teach the interconnectedness of life. In Native American tradition, it is a circle divided into four sections representing the cardinal directions of east, south, west, and north, and each direction offers a different perspective, philosophy, or teaching about life. A medicine wheel garden physically expresses this symbol through a circle laid out with stones, with a larger stone in the middle representing the creator. This garden reflects the teachings of the Anishinaabe, or first people, of the Great Lakes Bay area, and each section is planted with a sacred medicinal herb that symbolizes its direction: tobacco, or Sema, in the east; cedar, or Giizhik, in the south; sage, or Muskodewisk, in the west; and sweetgrass, or Wiingush, in the north. In many past cultures, medicine meant an interrelated process of physical and spiritual well-being and a way to live in harmony with the energy of nature and the personal power within ourselves. Original peoples also understood life as circular in nature, with cycles such as the seasons, sun and moon phases, and birth and death, giving the circle sacred meaning and medicinal, spiritual significance. Traditionally, when Anishinaabe take something from the Earth, such as sacred medicines, it is done with respect and with the understanding that the Earth is generously sharing itself. Cedar is used in prayer and burned for smudging, acting as a purifier that cleanses an area and gives off a pleasant scent, and many Anishinaabe traditionally carry it to help keep the goodness in. Tobacco is used in thanks and in prayer to the creator as a medium for communication, either offered to the fire so smoke can lift prayers to the Creator or placed on the ground in a clean place, and it is traditionally offered daily, held in the left hand during prayers of thankfulness, and given when seeking knowledge or advice from an Elder or when a Pipe is present. Sage is used much like cedar, traditionally as a smudge to spiritually cleanse an area before an event, helping remove bad feelings and increase a positive frame of mind. Sweetgrass, known for its sweet aromatic scent that is enhanced by rain or burning, is a purifier used to smudge the head and bring positive thoughts to mind so that eyes, ears, and mouth see, hear, and say only good things.