What is a Mandala?

Mandalas, simply, are circular designs (sometimes within a square or rectangle) that create a focus for the mind. They can be used in many ways, but I suppose the most common is as a tool for meditation (as in tibetan mandalas), and as a creative pursuit that brings healing.

Mandalas can be found in every culture and religion, from Native american medicine wheels, to Christian Rose windows. Carl Jung drew a mandala everyday saying it was the window to his soul.

I had to abandon the idea of the superordinate position of the ego. ... I saw that everything, all paths I had been following, all steps I had taken, were leading back to a single point -- namely, to the mid-point. It became increasingly plain to me that the mandala is the centre.

It is the exponent of all paths. It is the path to the centre, to individuation....  I knew that in finding the mandala as an expression of the self I had attained what was for me the ultimate.

- C. G. Jung. Memories, Dreams, Reflections.

Crop circles, the world, the universe, star charts, flower heads, water down a plug hole, wheels, the london eye… all mandalas. If you look you see them everywhere. Slice an apple in half, or look down on a tree from above and you have more mandalas. Mandala's are very fractal, and the possibilities are endless.

For me, creating mandalas, whether that be in pencil, paint, or stick and stones, helps me to find the centre again.  Focus and balance.  I dont think I will ever be able to stop!

Sand and Chalk Mandalas

Sandpainting (Dry painting) is the art of painting ritual Mandalas for religious or healing ceremonies, out of sand or chalk.

The Native Americans create many mandala sand paintings during their secret healing rituals. These ‘paintings’ remain sacred, and are never photographed. The order and symmetry of the painting symbolize the harmony that the patient wishes to reestablish in his or her life. Sitting on the sandpainting helps the patient absorb some of their power, while in turn the Holy People will absorb the illness and take it away. Afterwards, the sandpainting has done its duty, and is then considered to be toxic, since the illness is absorbed into it. That is the reason they must be disposed of afterwards. Because of the sacred nature of the ceremonies, the sandpaintings are begun, finished, used, and destroyed within a twelve hour period.

The Tibetan Monks create large sand mandalas over a period of time, overlooked by villagers, holy men. The sand is carefully placed on a large, flat table, by pouring the sand from traditional metal funnels called chak-pur.. The mandala sand painting process begins with an opening ceremony, during which Tibetan priests, consecrate the site and call forth the forces of goodness. This is done by means of chanting, music, and mantra recitation.

The destruction of a sand mandala is also highly ceremonial. The sand is collected in a jar which is then wrapped in silk and transported to a river (or any place with moving water), where it is released back into nature. For this reason, the materials in a sand mandala are always biodegradable, and, in keeping with the symbolism are never used twice.

Rangoli

In India, Rangoli is practiced by the women in the home. Rangoli is the art of creating a mandala on the floor outside or inside the home. Traditionally practiced on festival days, or days of special importance, Indian women use an array of different mediums, from coloured flour, spices, grains, or flour paint. Some Rangolis are used to ward off ill luck and invite the forces of prosperity and fortune in to the home. Others proclaimed the favourite form of god of the person making the pattern. What is to be noted is that the Rangoli is a very fragile construct, composed as it is of powders. Rangoli can be wall art as well as floor art. The term rangoli is derived from words rang (colour) and aavalli ('coloured creepers' or 'row of colours').

I believe that Mandalas can act as a tool for bringing all faiths and religions together, and bring peace to all who accept them into their lives.

The sacred destruction of mandalas may be done in many ways. Some sand/chalk mandalas are placed on pavements. The mandala is exposed to the elements in a high traffic public space. In the instance of street mandalas, the making and the destruction is also a sacred process. The destruction is partially completed by people who pass by and unknowingly step on the mandala without seeing it. Some people will help it along by scuffing the mandala. The rain, wind and snow will finish the work till not a trace of sand remains. A natural process. 

I believe all art has a therapeutic use.  Either in the viewing or creating.

The first thing I ever seriously wanted to be, age 11, was an Art Therapist.  It was virtually unheard of, and I could only send off for one leaflet on the subject.  To say I felt as though I'd hit a dead end was putting it mildly.  It seemed that the only use Art Therapy had in its early days was for getting information out of abused or troubled children.  I could not comprehend a career like that at the time, and so opted for Aromatherapy, which was just as obscure at the time.

As a child, I drew.  I drew things I could see, practised light and shade, texture and form.  I studied art at school (GSCE), college(A-Level and BTEC), and now have a Foundation Diploma in Fine Art and Design.  The art I created just for me, held more power than anything I had created for set projects.  The doodles, the endless lines and filling in, the angst and sadness I touched upon, meant more than qualifications.

Working with the Tarot, it's indulgent use of symbols and images, led me into a world of Art revealing Life.  As a witch I learned about correspondances, colours, chakras...

In my early twenties, I began to read into The Mandala.  It was just another area of interest at the time, but it took over me, and I began to draw them all the time.  My first mandala's were more like pictures in circles, but this was good.  With a mandala I always had a starting point, and boundaries, so those initial worries, of tapping pencil to empty page, were immediately gone.  Over the years I have become more interested in sacred geometry and numerology, and my mandala's have become symmetrical, precise and colourful.

Every mandala I draw holds a special place in my heart, unless, however, I have created it for someone else.  I then give over all the energy in the drawing to it's recipient.  It pleases me to draw them, and I am always overwhelmed at the end result.

I have read and researched into Art Therapy and Art as Healing, practising many of the techniques along the way.

My experience at University led me to understand the commercial side of art, and I wasnt entirely happy with having to 'be clever' when all I wanted to do was express what's inside, make sense of the things I learned, and goddess forbid... just draw pretty pictures!  Establishments put all the glory in the finished piece, completely missing the changes that have occured inside the Artist.  The process of creating art is what heals, the freedom to draw, write or mold whatever you wish.  The paper, canvas or clay is a world waiting to be created, and you are the Creator.

Having children has made me focus on the things I really want to do.  My time is so precious, and my art so important to me, it seems silly not to indulge my creative urges, with no restrictions, time limits or pressure.

I am always amazed at my achievements.  Every finished picture is another step along the way.  Each one marking time, like an old photo.