Once upon a time, the ancients used symbols and stories to help understand ourselves and our relationship with those that share Mother Earth with us. In contrast to postmodernism and Western Consumerism which tends to think in a linear fashion and continuously forgets and then tries to reinvent itself, things in ancient times were thought of as existing in circles, cycles and relationships. The thinking that all things are related – the wisdom of the ancients – is today being increasingly supported by science.
Mother Earth is a circle; the sun and moon are circles, and the path that they take each day is also a circle. The seasons are also a circle. Life is a circle, with us being born, becoming an adult, then an elder, and then death with its transformation.
Isivivane is a symbol to help understand how and why things happen in our lives, and to understand ourselves better.
Isivivane or Medicine Wheels are structures generally made from stone by various tribes for spiritual and ritual purposes. In North America, Medicine Wheels were traditionally built by laying out stones in a circular pattern that looks similar to a spoked wheel laid on its side. Isivivane in Africa were often not only laid out in a hub and spoke but also in piles. Whilst there are many different designs, there is disagreement among archaeologists about what each one was used for although it it is thought that they most probably had ceremonial and even astronomical significance. In In this way, these structures bear similarity to monuments such as Stonehenge and the Pyramids.
One way in which Isivivane are extremely useful is as memory devices/tools or reminders of a particular 'state' or understanding.
Isivivane are especially powerful because they require the user to physically and metaphorically 'work' with them. This work has a tendency to be more memorable because when you are 'doing', you hold the understanding as a complete system – in your mind and in your body Learning theorists agree that doing makes for more powerful learning.
Another reason we describe Isivivane as memory devices/tools is that they provide a rich source of metaphor that allows us us work with complex, abstract systems and themes. The ‘bandwidth’ of conscious perception is very small. A human being can only hold about seven (nine if you are really bright) unrelated words, numbers, terms sounds, impressions, symbols or thoughts in their head at once (Miller 1956). The structure of the Isivivane wheel and its easy connection to 'life as system' or 'life as doing' helps us appreciate continuously changing energetic relationship dynamics and how complex energetic systems and energies are engaged through the language and practice of Isivivame.
Isivivane does not in and of itself contain any power. It is a symbol. True power lies in knowing what you want, the understanding of yourself and your relationship to all other things. The goal is not to focus on any one particular component of ourselves, but to find balance and wholeness in all that we do.