Crystals, Esotericism, Information and Personal Jewelry Stories
The Extraordinary World of Mandalas
The Extraordinary World of Mandalas
The different forms and variations of Mandalas appear in every aspect of life. Harmonious, beautifully shaped mandalas can be found in the forms of the earth, the sun, the moon, flowers and nature, in communication, in family and friendship relationships, and throughout the spheres of life…
The word “Mandala” comes from Sanskrit (मण्डल – literally meaning a magical circle, a magical disc, and sometimes the word can also mean light). The term first appears in the Rig Veda and later in various Indian religions, especially Buddhism. Since ancient times, the mandala in India has been a symbol depicting fragments of the complex Universe and its essence. Today, the term mandala refers to certain types of schemes, diagrams, or geometric symmetrical or asymmetrical patterns. Although mandalas are considered typically Buddhist, variants of them are present in almost all religions. They are widespread in Christianity, among Native American tribes, among Jews, and are especially revered in China. One of the founders of modern psychology, Carl Jung, placed great importance on mandalas and their role in psychotherapy. According to him, “the mandala is a psychological expression of the totality of the self” (1973: 20).
The ability to visualise a mantra in the form of a mandala is one of the key practices in the Tantra tradition (despite his attempts and caution not to impose rigid definitions on tantra, David Gordon White offers the following definition: “Tantra is that Asian body of beliefs and practices which, working from the principle that the universe we experience is nothing other than the concrete manifestation of the divine energy of the godhead that creates and maintains that universe, seeks to ritually appropriate and channel that energy within the human microcosm in creative and emancipatory ways.”). In the tantric tradition, mandalas themselves differ depending on the aims and practices.
In Vajrayana (also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayana, Mantrayana, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle. Vajrayana is a complex and diverse system of Buddhist teachings and practices transmitted in continuity over many centuries and, according to each school’s tradition, from the historical Buddha Shakyamuni himself.) the concept of Mandala has several meanings:
- a pictorial representation of the energy field of the Buddhas, arising from the limitless possibilities of space. It may be a thangka, while complex sand mandalas – even made from powdered precious and semi-precious stones – are created to depict energy fields as part of tantric practices and rituals.
- the energy field of a mental image of a universe filled with jewels, offered to the Buddhas as part of certain practices.
- a metal disc used for Mandala offerings
Whether we speak of Eastern religions or modern Western thought, the mandala is associated with spirituality. In different spiritual traditions, mandalas are used as a means of focusing attention by healers and practitioners, as a spiritual tool offering guidance, as a visual means of creating sacred spaces, as an aid to meditation and self-analysis, and as a method of psychological diagnosis. Creating or observing a mandala is a path toward self-awareness and introspective self-therapy. Drawing mandalas requires no prior skill or talent, but under suitable conditions creating them can be a way to touch one’s own mystery and deepest beliefs. It is believed that both hemispheres of the brain are engaged when creating a mandala; in this sense, mandala-making is at once mathematics and art, philosophy and knowledge.
Contemplating a mandala may help the meditator reach ultimate liberation.
Every mandala is a unique image that can tell different stories, whisper about the path a person is currently following, reveal the relationship between people, and show the essence of the connection between the human being and the Universe. The harmony of the mandala teaches beauty, imagination, a striving for freedom, a sense of happiness and love, and the attraction of successes toward which the soul aspires. By meditating on a completed mandala or while creating one, answers may be found to hidden, deeply personal wishes and questions. Contemplation of these magical symbols is regarded as a path toward a deeper understanding of everything.
By recognising a favourite mandala or drawing one’s own, a person can convey emotion, attempt to visualise what is unsatisfying and what they aspire to, ask a question and seek an answer. Through mandalas, our desires can be visualised – naturally, in the form of a puzzle.
An ancient practice says that when a person feels afraid or when something – a situation, a person or a problem – gives them no peace, they should choose colours not because they are favourites, but because those colours attract them while reflecting on the issue, and then draw their problem. The final result is often surprising.
A mandala can also be created during pleasant, positive emotions and then, in difficult days, that happy mandala can be brought out to help overcome troubles.
Above all, analysing mandalas requires an ability to connect with our intuition and our own associations. When choosing or drawing mandalas, colour or form need not have a fixed meaning, but the presence of a particular colour accent or pronounced shape may suggest certain emotions, feelings, states, aspirations, or their absence. Of course, mandalas may include every colour, which makes interpretation more difficult but also more comprehensive.
The presence of pronounced geometric forms also carries meaning. Below is a brief summary, but here too interpretation is strictly individual.
- Many dots: everything is one, a symbol of the unmanifest;
- Circle – wholeness, integrity, unity;
- Horizontal line – separation of the earthly and heavenly; maternal energy;
- Vertical line: connection between worlds, energy. Division into left and right.
- Cross: two lines meet and form a centre. Recognition.
- Triangle pointing upward: aspiration, energy directed upward toward the spiritual sphere.
- Triangle pointing downward: aspirations toward the earthly, material sphere
- Hexagon, created by the triangles mentioned above: unity of spiritual and material aspirations
- Square: our existence in the material world
- Circle and square together: bringing spirit into matter
- Octagon: harmony of human existence
- Pentagon: the human being brought to perfection
- Heptagon: spiritual path
- Circle divided into twelve parts: the cycle of nature, wholeness
- Swastika: Sun, energy, movement of the Universe
- Spiral: cyclical movement of nature, dynamics. The two directions of the spiral symbolise constructive and destructive aspects.
As noted above, colours in mandalas can be interpreted in different ways: according to the colours of the chakras; according to the seasons and natural forms; according to the interpretations of various spiritual schools; according to Feng Shui; or according to individual understanding. Below we offer a basis for analysis based on the chakras and their energetic symbolism.
Mandalas – colours and healing power
The mandala consists of three parts. The first, outer circle is associated with the uninitiated, with the knowledge you must acquire and overcome in order to connect with the next level. This is the circle of fire that will burn away material consciousness. The five colours are the human senses associated with our physical world. The second circle is higher knowledge, the state of enlightenment or the so-called diamond belt. Once you reach this state, it remains like an axiom, constant and unchanging in your consciousness. The inner, third circle is the lotus, the highest form of perception, the palace whose doors open only to those who have reached the greatest enlightenment.
The mandala is considered important both for advanced students and for the uninitiated when used for healing mental, physical and emotional problems. It is believed to cleanse space and the water you drink, as well as help harmonise consciousness. It is said to unblock our inner potential and activate our astral DNA. It tunes us to Divine harmonies. Everyone should choose their own mandala by relying on intuition. In reality, everything depends on one’s current psychological state. At first, you may choose darker colours if you are in a depressed state. The brighter the colours become, the more harmonious you are believed to become within yourself.
Red. This is the colour of love, passion, sensuality, strength, endurance, independence and impulsiveness, but also of anger, hatred and excessive aggression. It sets the life force in the body in motion. It increases confidence and independence – provided that a person can control excessive aggression and pointless dissipation of energy. Physical projects with a red emphasis are considered beneficial for improving the energy of the lower body, supporting the reproductive organs and strengthening the drive for survival. Red is the colour of blood, strength, aggression and forward movement. It activates sexual energy and is said to remove passivity. Strange as it may sound, red also symbolises healing power coming to the surface. It is the fire that leads to transformation and clears the way for new experiences. If you choose a mandala dominated by red and black, it may be interpreted as indicating an illness that needs to be overcome. The same applies when pink and black dominate. In such a case, you should be attentive and examine whether you are inclined toward self-destructive behaviour and what you want to achieve. This type of mandala is believed to help overcome emotional problems.
Pink symbolises love – the higher, Divine, karmic kind, the love we deserve to receive. Pink carries passivity and may suggest a need for rest and reorientation. You may need the attention of others as well as soothing for the nervous system. Pink is believed to relieve stress and bring love. It may unlock talents. Faith in miracles and enchantment – that is pink.
Orange. Energy, optimism, ambition, activity, courage, independence – confidence, desire for prestige, light-mindedness. It encourages tolerance, sociability and working as part of a team project. It increases self-esteem and helps us face challenges along the path of personal development. It strengthens energy and the ability to learn, using successes or failures as educational experience. It promotes positive energy for carrying out and especially completing projects or goals. In terms of wellbeing, it is associated with the energy of the small and large intestines, metabolic processes and lymph nodes. Orange… joyfulness, creativity and a smile… It is the boundary of fire, its outer flame. This colour is said to raise self-esteem and help resolve personal problems. It strengthens energy and joy in life. It symbolises the sun and self-expression, forgiveness of oneself and others. It is considered especially suitable for people at a crossroads and for work with depressive states. When strongly present in a mandala, orange is regarded as good protection for children.
Similar to orange is the golden colour. It brings victory, glory and wealth. For this reason it is associated with the queen and king. It radiates wisdom. It is believed to strengthen the flow of energy, although it is not considered beneficial for it to dominate a mandala too intensely.
Yellow. The colour of light, the sun, joy, understanding, liberation, growth, wisdom, imagination and longing for freedom; it is also a colour of envy and superficiality. Yellow is the power of the intellect. It brings wellbeing and the ability to understand the soul. It carries new life, hope and expectation. On the other hand, it may suggest distraction and a tendency to drift from time to time. The colour is believed to help release inner fears. It allows the ego to be managed and balanced and disappointments to be overcome and accepted – everything that affects us emotionally. The colour is considered particularly favourable for directing intelligence and mental abilities. On a physical level it is associated with the digestive tract, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen and kidneys. Yellow is the active masculine principle. It is said to teach quick decision-making and remove hesitation. It strengthens positive qualities and tells you that you should be yourself. If you are excessively critical and caustic, yellow is considered less suitable for you.
Green. Balance, growth, hope, perseverance, will, healing, wholeness, wellbeing, stubbornness, prestige. Insincerity, ambition, self-indulgence. It supports a sense of calm and emotional balance and encourages freer expression of feelings. It expands inner love toward oneself and others. The colour is believed to help release excessive attachment to possessions or false excuses and to control possessiveness and jealousy. It is said to help balance the entire organism. Physically, it is associated with vital energy, circulation and the cardiovascular system. Green is a complex colour because it may symbolise both energy and boundless calm. In the aura it is considered a bearer of healing power. In a mandala it may suggest that you are a person ready to take on too much responsibility for others and even to sacrifice yourself. Green represents positive emotions and balance, especially in its darker shades. If you are aggressive or tense, this colour is believed to bring harmony and calm, but not if you are depressed, when it may reinforce passivity. Green is renewal and new birth, rebirth, and also readiness to become a parent and create a family.
Blue. Calm, peace, a sense of security, infinity, boredom, naivety, emptiness. It helps externalise our inner sensations and attitudes toward the world (the process of externalisation helps people consider their relationship with problems). This analysis makes it possible to realise changes – inner and outer. Physically, blue is associated with the energetic functioning of the lungs, throat, trachea and lymph nodes, and is believed to help in relation to allergic and skin conditions. Blue in the mandala represents spirituality. Depending on its shades, it may act in different ways. It may represent both self-sacrifice and connection with the Divine. It is associated with intuition, endings and rebirth. In its darker shades it carries strength and will and strengthens endurance. It is considered beneficial for the nervous system. If you are egocentric, dark blue is not considered suitable as a dominant colour in your mandala. In lighter shades it is a symbol of life and purity and strengthens the ability to cope with difficulties independently.
Indigo. It is associated with communication with the inner self, opening intuition and esoteric abilities. A key idea is learning to allow the flow of messages in the brain to connect directly with the intelligence of cosmic consciousness. It increases mental control. Sensitive channels for perceiving truth – including truth about life itself – are believed to expand. It stimulates self-confidence and the ability to follow one’s own inner feeling. Physically, the colour is associated with the vital energy of the brain, nervous system and musculoskeletal system.
Violet… mystery, magic and enchantment… Mysticism, magic, spirituality, transformation, inspiration. Sadness, withdrawal, melancholy. Spiritual projects. Deep awareness of the cosmos and the Universe. It expands creative power – music, painting, poetry, art – allowing a person to express their view of reality and connect with the primal source, the creator of the Universe. This colour is said to cleanse the aura and energy field. It strengthens individuality and may encourage a little more self-centredness, especially if you tend to sacrifice yourself unnecessarily; for this reason, darker shades may be preferable. It is believed to calm the respiratory system. It places you at the boundary between reality and mysticism, greatly strengthens intuition and supports connection with Cosmic energy. If you are a person who tries to control everything around you, this is not considered your colour.
White purity, unity, harmony. White… peace, snow, purity and freedom. In a mandala it is said to help remove obstacles, but also to show that you are self-sufficient. It brings faith in your own abilities. It means you are ready for a new beginning and are starting it. It renews energy and is associated with restoring the body. White clears the mind and prepares it for spiritual development. It transforms the psyche. It is the colour of magic and secret teachings.
Black: mystery, darkness. If the background is black, this represents the absence of light – a period when you feel danger around you, when you have a psychological problem or have lost faith in yourself. Personally, I believe that black, as a non-colour, symbolises protection and the desire to bring out our dark side in order to balance it. It is the night in our life after which we await the bright day.
Grey has many shades. They can be cold or warm, can be almost identical to some pure colours, and may be bright or soft. They can express both boredom and sadness, as well as vitality and joy. Grey in a mandala is not considered suitable for people who are melancholic or have health problems. If you are overly emotional, however, this may be your colour because it is said to teach reason and stability. It reconciles inner contradictions because it symbolises the boundary between black and white. It stabilises your situation and removes unnecessary sensitivity.
Brown… a symbol of the earth and stability. In a mandala this colour is said to bring protection and practicality. It carries safety and domestic comfort. Meditation on brown is believed to improve concentration. It is not considered suitable, however, if you are in a depressed state or feel insecure. Earthly and sensual desires are strengthened by brown. If you have sleep problems, you may choose a mandala in which this colour predominates. It is believed to strengthen bonds between family members and stabilise health.
Mandalas are also used as a means of concentration, but few people know that they are also believed to possess strong healing properties. Observing a mandala against a background of suitable music may help relieve everyday stress and fatigue. Observing the right mandala may help harmonise individual biorhythms. A mandala believed to correspond most closely to individual biorhythms and vibrations is said to correct problems in the information field while quickly optimising, in a positive direction, events in life, aspects of character and the sense of wellbeing.
authors:
Nina K. – Lakshmi
Daniela Todorova – Kabbalah
We would be happy for you to share your personal experience with mandalas.
In addition to ready-made designs, we can also recreate your own unique mandala or a mandala of your choice.
