Different tribes interpret the Medicine Wheel differently. Each of the Four Directions (East, South, West, East and North is typically represented by a distinctive color, such as black, red, yellow, and white, which for some stands for the human races. The Directions can also represent:
	
Stages of life: birth, youth, adult (or elder), death
	
Seasons of the year: spring, summer, winter, fall
	
Aspects of life: spiritual, emotional, intellectual, physical
	
Elements of nature: fire (or sun), air, water, and earth
	
Animals: eagle, bear, wolf, buffalo and many others
	
Ceremonial plants: tobacco, sweet grass, sage, cedar