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In the Jungian therapy, which includes the recognition and the conscious integration of the contents of the collective unconscious, the spontaneous drawing of the mandala is required.
There are a lot of illustrations in The Red Book that testify this technique was practised by Jung himself.Â
My mandalas were cryptograms concerning the state of the self which were presented to me anew each day. In them I saw the self – that is, my whole being…
Carl Gustav Jung Tweet
Meanings of the Mandala
While a finished mandala bears importance as a focus for meditative practice, the creative process remains equally important. There are three basic layers to a mandala’s meaning.
The outer meaning represents the divine form of the universe.
The inner meaning creates a map to guide the mind to enlightenment.Â
The secret meaning, however, remains between the artist and the creation regarding specific details.Â
Overall, it represents a balance of body and mind infused with clarity.
You can analyze your finished mandala using the below map that shows the areas corresponding to important symbols of the psyche and Jungian Archetypes, such as the Persona, Animus & Anima and Shadow:
Make your own Mandala
When you create your own mandala, think of it as an echo of your soul. Drawing and colouring a mandala can be a highly enriching personal experience in which you look inside yourself and find the shapes, colours and patterns to represent anything from your current state of mind to your most deeply-desired wish for yourself, for a loved one or for humanity.
You can design a mandala to symbolize a state of mind that you would like to achieve. Mandalas are great tools for meditation and increasing self-awareness. Many different cultures around the world use mandalas in their spiritual practices.
Mandala book recommendations
The best thing about designing your own mandala is that you can choose whatever shapes and colours you feel express your sense of self and your view of reality. Your mandala is yours, and you have the freedom to use your creativity to create a mandala drawing that is uniquely yours.
Once you know the basic steps of drawing a mandala, you can try new designs and colours each time you draw a new one.
The self, I thought, was like the monad which I am, and which is my world. The mandala represents this monad, and corresponds to the microcosmic nature of the psyche.
Carl Gustav Jung Tweet
The first step in drawing a mandala is to measure your paper into a square shape.
Next, use your ruler and a pencil to draw a dot in the very centre of the square.
The next step in how to draw a mandala is to draw a series of circles around this dot. Once you’ve drawn the dot in the centre of your square, one easy way to draw circles is to use a compass.
Measure out another distance from the centre dot.
You can continue making as many rows of these dots as you like. The important thing is to make sure that the dots you make are all equidistant from the centre dot.Â
Now that you’ve drawn your dots, it’s time to connect them. Draw a straight vertical line connecting the dots that go up and down and a straight horizontal line connecting the dots that go on either side.
Draw another series of dots at the same distances from the centre as your first series of dots.
Use your ruler to connect the dots you just made for the next step.
Now that you’ve drawn the basic outline for your mandala, you can begin drawing designs in your mandala!
You can use a pencil, coloured pencils, ink, crayons, or whatever you choose.
The important this is to repeat your pattern. For example, if you draw a circle on one of the lines, be sure to draw it in the same spot on the other lines.
This creates repetition, which is a key element in creating a mandala.