NB: The Native American teaching with which I am most familiar comes from the traditions of the Marten Clan of the Red Lake Band of the Anishinabe tribe. In that teaching, the traditional entrance to the Medicine Wheel is in the East.
The First Direction: The East
Qualities, Aspects, and Traditions
The Animal Totems of the East are the far-sighted winged ones: the Eagle, Hawk, and Crow.  Listen to the messages from Spirit they carry.  Soaring so high and with absolute clarity, seeing so far, they encompass within the breadth of their vision the vast field of potential upon which you play out your lives. Imagine that field as an endless sea of grass.  See, etched upon that fertile green field, the lines of the several paths that you have trodden.  See the twists and turns, the dead ends and false starts, the various forks you have encountered, and the path you have finally chosen that has led you to your own Here and Now.  As you see those paths spread out in front of you, acknowledge those people whose own paths have crossed yours; some you have embraced, some of whom have agreed to sacrifice your good opinion of them, and some you have let go, each with Love.
The East is the color Yellow, as the new day’s Sun.
As such, it is the time of Dawn, the new day, and always represents the birth of the ever-present Now.  It is Spring, the season of new life, your callow youth, and the flower’s first bud.
The Element associated with the East is Fire. This is the fire of the first Sun, and the Divine Fire of Transformation into which the Eagle finally dives and through which it is ultimately transformed into the rising Phoenix.
Spirit Guide—Wounded Warrior Woman
Minerals—Hawk’s Eye and Opal for Visualization; Silver for Intuition
Lessons—Illumination, Clarity, New Beginnings, and the True Value of Freedom
Astrologically, the East aligns with the First House, symbolizing the dawn that first illuminates your world. Therefore, it indicates how you will behave in the outer world, as the environment illuminated by that light naturally influences your actions. But it also shows how you act, which affects others’ opinions of you, as they usually judge you based on your behavior.
These attributes represent aspects of the East, and—since YOU ARE the Wheel—they are integral to YOUR spiritual identity.
Embrace those attributes in your heart, feel them within, and say:
AM/We AREÂ The EAST!