Make a Mandala

Mandalas are used in many spiritual traditions, most notably within Tibetan Buddhism but also within Native American traditions. Modern Jungian psychology also uses the mandala as a way of exploring the hidden recesses of self.

The mandala has been described as:

"The Sacred sphere: The Union of the Self and the Universe"

"A Perfect Sacred Sphere"

"A Source of Cosmic Power "

"A Permanent Abode of Enlightened Beings"

"A Place where Microcosm and Macrocosm Unite "

You can create your own mandala, expressive of your own life and values. In creating your personal mandala you can get some ideas from browsing the Web. 

Here are a few select sites I would recommend:

• Patrick A. George at the University of Pennsylvania presents some basic background information on Tibentan Mandalas and provides a diagram you can follow for designing your own mandala

• Jytte Hansen offers a detailed description of the symbolism in Tibetan mandalas

• Michael H. Brown introduces the mandala as a psychological tool for exploring the self and offers some basic guidelines for creating a mandala

• Carl Jung and the Mandala presents a psychological (ala Carl Jung) perspective on the mandala

• At Clair Godwin's Mandala Page you can learn all about Mandalas and how to make them (including a computer graphics application you can order to make your own mandalas). Clair also provides lots of web links to other mandala sites.

• The Mandala Project offers a complete lesson on mandalas. Of special interest are the pages "What is a Mandala?" and "Links and Resources". "The Mandalas" page gives you access to a gallery where you can see many examples of mandalas created by others.

• Zodiac Arts gallery of mandala images done by others

• June Moon provides a number of mandala and other images you can download and color

• Explore mandalas of the world (view slide show, click on link at page)

There are also many books available about mandalas:

• Other books on mandalas can be found through Amazon.com

Begin by building the basic geometric framework of your mandala. 

If you are not much of an artist, don’t fret. The geometric framework can be done with tools (ruler and compass) or you can download, use, and modify this mandala framework. Another way to make the framework is to fold a square of paper in half one way, open it and fold it in half the other way. Open it again and you will have found the center. Fold it in half again along each diagonal and you will now have eight sections. Most mandalas are built on multiples of eight (the eight fold path) as they expand outward. You can then use a compass or trace variously sized circles (lids, plates, etc.) overlapping the circles as you desire. Note the diagram in the middle of Patrick George's site.

Once you've got the basic framework done, you can fill it in with various symbolic images and colors uniquely important to you.

Feel free to be as creative as you care to. Don't feel obligated to stick with the kind of mandalas you find in your websearch. These are just intended to give you a background on mandalas and some ideas and inspiration to get started. The most basic framework you should work with is something within a circle and/or other such basic geometric pattern (or combination of patterns). This framework represents you. Most mandalas are built on a pattern that expands in all directions from the center with no clear top and bottom. Whatever you choose to put within this framework might represent various aspects of your life past, present and future. It can be as complex or as simple as you like. Many mandalas combine symbols within the symbol of the mandala itself (as you see on the Tibetan mandala). The very center of your mandala may represent the core of your being - an image that represents what has been most important to you over the longest span of your life. This is the axis around which your life and your being revolves. From there, you can build outward to include symbols of other persons, places, things, ideas and events that are or have been a part of your life.

The symbols you can use might be abstract or iconic representations of things in the world (animals are always popular). I was looking for a website which might list the meanings of different animals, plants and colors you might choose to incorporate in your mandala. The Wiccans have an abundance of "correspondences" and Native Americans identify various animals with different personality traits. If you find a good site, let me know. The symbols you use can also be related to your own religion.

Feel free to use cut out pictures or stickers. You can even do the entire mandala with a computer graphics application (such as the one noted above). Your mandala may not be finished within one week. You may just get the basic concept down and spend months or years fine tuning it.

Most of all have fun and learn something about yourself in the process! So get out your paper, rulers, compasses (or plates and lids to trace), pencils, crayons, markers, colored pencils, paints, etc., etc. and let your spirit speak to you!

Here are some specific directions for making your mandala with colored sand (pdf file, page 2).

Here is some more guidance and alternative ideas.

The Buddhist use of mandala does not end with its creation. Part of the process it to learn to "let go" (the practice of detachment). After creating the mandala, one is to destroy it! The destruction of the mandala is done as a ritual. 

So, once you have finished your mandala, develop a ritual by which you destroy it. 

• For instance, if you have done this on paper, you might tear it to pieces and scatter them to the winds, or burn them in fire or float the pieces down a river or even bury it in the earth (earth, water, fire, air elements). It is as a catharsis - letting go of something ("if you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it is yours; if it doesn't, it never was").

• Or, if you create your mandala electronically, just close the file without saving it (of course, if you do this, you would not be able to send me a copy of it)

(don't use my ideas, be original and develop your own process for letting go)

When you are finished, on a separate piece of paper explain the symbolism in your mandala, the decision making and creative process by which you designed and created it, and the ritual you would use to destroy it. 

Here are some examples of what other students have done: (click image to see full size picture)

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