Image and meaning of mandalas. “The circle of the sun - the sky around” - or what is a mandala

From the article you will learn:

If the meaning of the word “mandala” is still a mystery to you, be sure to read on! You will discover amazing world pictures and colors of ancient Sanskrit teachings, and also learn how to restore mental balance with the help of drawing!

I myself learned about this method quite recently. I finally got to the long-awaited training on holotropic breathing (this was also just super!!! But more on that another time), and this training ended with drawing mandalas.

Powerful, exciting, completely revealing action that reveals your essence! I simply fell out of the outside world for a while and woke up with a drawing already lying in front of me: unusual, a little mysterious, similar to a magic diagram. My drawing. Mandala created by me!

Mandala: the meaning of the picture and the essence

From Sanskrit the word “mandala” is translated as “circle, wheel.” It looks like a schematic drawing in black and white, graphic design. The attitude of ancient civilizations towards it was deeply sacred, sacred - after all, it was believed that these drawings express the essence of the human soul.

The concept came to the West thanks to Carl Jung: while studying the subconscious, he came close to the study of mandalas. Drawing them himself and offering them to his patients, he noticed that the drawings were not repeated from time to time and changed each time, reflecting internal state for now!

This seemed interesting to him, and then to many of his colleagues. Mandalas began to be used in psychotherapy.

What does a typical mandala look like? Of course, they are all individual and unique, but at the same time they obey the general rhythm. In the center is the essence, the pupil. It is surrounded by two layers: the outer (running along the edge) and the inner (close to the center). The mission of the outer layer is protection. Lotus flowers are often used in drawing this circle as a symbol of pure mind.

The inner circle is bodhi, the state of nirvana, enlightenment. This is a belt of diamonds encircling the Essence. And finally, the pupil - which can also be a drawing or simply some kind of symbol - is the “salt” of the entire image.

The meaning of the symbols in the mandala

I have already mentioned lotus flowers. In addition to them, the following are used:

• Triangles (symbol of movement)
• Squares (symbolizes home, temple)
• Lines of varying thickness and direction, forming a pattern or applied randomly
• Star (male symbol)
• Cross (symbolizes a person’s choice of path)
• Flower (mostly used by women)
• Circles: intersecting, inscribed within each other, decreasing in size, etc.

An experienced specialist, having asked you to draw a mandala, will then be able to interpret the meaning of the drawings and symbols that make up it, and draw conclusions about your state of mind. For example, line thickness. If you draw a thick line on the outer circle, it’s as if you want to isolate yourself from the outside world, from the aggressiveness of people.

If the outer line is thin and intermittent, and the space inside the drawing has a lot of “air” (not densely filled with drawings), then you are a sociable person, easy to make contact.

Are there many twisting, complex lines inside? Most likely, you are a woman, and an emotional, sensual woman. If you are a man, perhaps you are under stress and do not understand what to do next.

If a woman draws a mandala and places a flower in its center, she is 100% feminine. In any case, a flower in a woman's mandala is good.

Triangles, symbols of movement, are directed with their vertices in different sides? You are at a crossroads, and you cannot yet set a vector of movement for yourself.

Not only are the symbols with which you fill the drawing important, but also the colors you use.

The meaning of flowers in a mandala

Red– strength, energy, passion. This color indicates the beating of the heart, the burning of fire inside a person. You have life potential, goals and aspirations.

Complete absence of red in the drawing? Alarm signal. Passivity, fatigue, depression or a banal lack of vitamins in the body.

Yellow– optimism, joy of life, good spirits. People are often attracted to yellow creative people, cultural workers.

Green– the color of life itself. It speaks about the naturalness of a person, his sincerity. If there is a lot of green in the drawing, then most likely the author is in emotional balance and skillfully combines the feminine and masculine principles: after all, green combines yellow (in Sanskrit - masculinity) and blue (feminine).

Blue- calmness, seriousness. Blue in the mandala means strong intuition in the person drawing, wisdom, and the ability to see more than others.

Brown- earthy color. An abundance of brown may indicate a lack of a sense of security, a desire to land.

Orange- clean energy. This is red in a slightly softened version. An artist who uses orange craves self-affirmation and self-realization.

Black- the opposite of color, or the absence of color. Traditionally it means emptiness, death, non-existence. The abundance of black in the drawing literally screams of a person’s burnout, his inner emptiness, and depression.

As you can see, everything in this drawing is deeply symbolic and metaphysical. Therefore, the gurus of the question advise choosing a mandala carefully, listening to your inner voice. Sold in theme stores ready-made drawings any colors, sizes and contents: you just have to choose. It is possible, on extreme case, download a picture from the Internet.

And even better - draw it yourself, such a drawing will definitely be created just for you!

How to draw a mandala

Place it in front of you Blank sheet paper and a set of paints (colored pencils). Draw a circle (just trace around a large plate). Choose one color and draw something in the center of the circle with it. Draw with concentration - listen to yourself. Inner voice will tell you what to draw in the center and how to decorate this drawing.

Then start filling in the rest of the space. Whatever you want: human figures, animals, lines, geometric shapes...

Use the colors that your intuition tells you. And then try to decipher your mandala, interpreting the meaning of pictures, colors and symbols.

Draw every day or every other day, for a week, and observe your progress: is anything changing, including your condition?

Mandalas for coloring

For beginners, you can purchase mandalas for coloring, such diagrams with circles, to make it easier to determine the boundaries of the sketch. There are many esoteric-themed stores where you can buy such coloring mandalas.

Mandala of love

I would like to specifically focus on this point. It's no secret that for most people, the most important thing in this world is Love. Even if a person denies this, deep down he still dreams of finding “his person” or, if he has already found him, never losing him. Love is a source of inspiration, life, joy, and therefore it is very important to preserve and increase it.

A special mandala of Love will help with this, which you can also draw yourself. Download and print one of the drawings suitable for this purpose. Turn on some nice music, get in a romantic mood, think about your loved one - and create! Choose the colors that are most pleasant to you at this moment, color your Love as you want.

Then you can hang this drawing in the bedroom, or you can store it in a secluded place (linen closet, jewelry box).

There are also mandalas for attracting money, success, health, anti-stress mandalas, and I would be glad to tell you about all of them, but I’m afraid that one day will not be enough for this. Drawing mandalas is only a kind of it, there are also mandalas made from threads, which needlewomen usually create These ones are especially beautiful when crocheted. Weaving mandalas for me personally seems difficult, but I recently visited a site where women are happy to create masterpieces from threads.

So, dear readers, I hope you understand what a mandala is. If you have any questions, friends, ask in the comments! I will be happy to help you!

In Buddhism and Hinduism, there are symbols that personify the universe - mandalas, the meaning of the images in these complex ones is multifaceted and mysterious. The mandala design is always symmetrical. It is a circle in which the center is expressed. Its most common form is a basic circle in which a square is inscribed. Inside the square is another circle, divided into segments (often in the shape of a lotus flower). The mandala is decorated with various symmetrically arranged ornaments.

What are mandalas: the meaning of images

In translation from Sanskrit the word mandala translated as "circle". Hindus and Buddhists paint her accompanied by certain sacred rituals. The walls of many eastern temples are covered with similar drawings and are objects of worship. It is believed that sacred symbols contain positive energy, help to reveal the subconscious and inner “I”. That's why mandala in the East - This is a kind of frozen prayer.

The one who draws mandalas depicts the essence of his soul at the moment:

• the center of the mandala is the eye or pupil;
• inner circle – enlightenment, nirvana;
• outer circle – protection;
• lotus is the flower of the mind.

Mandala images are used for meditation . Focusing on the ornaments of a drawing contributes to the restructuring of consciousness, as a result of which certain abilities are revealed in a person. A mandala is, first of all, a holistic model of life, reminiscent of the connection between man and the cosmos. Sacred drawings help you look at yourself from the outside, accept and resolve a protracted internal conflict.

Mandala: meaning of symbols

In addition to the image of the lotus, circle and square, there are other symbols:

• Triangle with its apex up – determination, strength; down - indecision, weakness.
• A spiral rotating clockwise is the beginning; against - devastation, waste of energy.
• Winding lines - experiences.
• Cross – indecision, cross state.
• Five-pointed star - freedom and self-confidence, self-protection.
• Eye, pupil - to be aware of important events.
• Heart – love, sensuality.
• Lightning is a divine power that heals the soul.
• Wood is the basis of the universe.
• Animals are a sign of human behavior in the present period of life.
• Birds - awareness of your soul, lightness.

A mandala drawn in a state of meditation will help you analyze the state of your inner self, concentrate your mind, and realize the freedom of being; the meaning of the symbols that fill the drawing will help you analyze the sacred meaning internal forces person.

The meaning of flowers in a mandala

The same color in a sacred drawing has many meanings, and in combination with other colors the meaning can change.

Red – a sign of energy, passion, life potential. A person drawing a mandala in red has goals and aspirations. The absence of red means anxiety, depression, loss of interest in life.

Yellow – creativity, optimism. The color yellow adorns the drawings of artists.

Blue – the color of serious personalities, calm and reasonable people. People who are hardy and strong in spirit are attracted to the color blue.

Green – renewal not only of oneself, but also of others. Green color predominates in the mandalas of people whose profession is related to helping and treating people.

White – cleanliness, protection, ; a color that protects from negativity and helps thoughts remain bright.

Brown – practicality and stability, the desire for consistency and security.

Black – darkness, mystery, death. The presence of black indicates emptiness and self-denial.

The meaning of flowers in a mandala is deeply symbolic. Experienced psychologists They have long used sacred drawings in their practice to help accurately determine the patient’s internal state. People with mental disorders are invited to choose a mandala from several offered or draw it themselves.

The center of the picture, the most important place of the mandala, the meaning of the images in the central part make up 90% of the meaning of the entire ornament. It is in the middle of the picture that the gravitational movement is strongest, the path to which is slow and difficult.

What you are about to read is very similar to a psychological drawing test. However, more interesting!

First, let's divide the colors that you chose to create your mandala into three main groups. These groups are united based on color intensity.

The first group is intensely dark shades of colors.

This is the psychological content of the unconscious level, which has not yet changed.

The second group is medium-intensity shades of colors.

The psychological content is at the level of consciousness, which also does not change yet.

The third group is light shades.

Light shades carry ambivalent psychological content. That is, light colors can reflect both the content of consciousness and the unconscious. However, in one specific aspect - in the aspect of psychological transformation. That is, this is the content of the psyche in which the “movement of juices” has already begun, which has begun to change. This always indicates the beginning of healing.

Now let's specify the meanings of individual colors.

Let's start with black mandala.

The basic archetypal association with the color black is an association with Darkness, which is fraught with threat and danger to human life. Night is the time of Hostile Nature, it is not the time of people. Night is the time of wild animals, the undead and human scum - robbers, murderers, outcasts, outcasts.

When Night comes, the gates and shutters are locked, the dog is let off the chain, and the lights are turned on in the windows in order to somehow resist the Darkness. Before the invention of electric illumination, black, the color of night and danger, was clearly interpreted by humanity as negative. That is why humanity has always glorified the stars - a starry night is not so dark. In addition, the stars (unlike the moon - the sun of thieves) do not cause any vague anxiety; on the contrary, they inspire hope, acting not only as “lanterns”, but also as an accurate traveler’s map. Despite the fact that we have been living in a world illuminated by electricity 24 hours a day for quite some time now, we have not yet overcome the fear of darkness on an unconscious level.

This is why the color black is interpreted in psychology, which deals only with ancient archetypes, as “ lack of light ", and therefore as a loss of faith and support. The abundance of black in the drawing is regarded as main feature depression.

Let's consider red color mandala.

Red color is necessary for survival, it symbolizes healthy blood, flowing through healthy veins, aggression, pressure and sexuality. However, if the color red is in excess, then this indicates aggression, ready to result in destructive actions.

The absence of red in the drawing at all is a decline vitality, passivity, inability to insist on one’s own.

If in a drawing the red color is mixed with black (dirty color), this indicates a disease - primarily a blood disease.

The disease also indicates pink color in the mandala. This is the first sign of physical illness. Exception: " critical days” among women, when they almost always choose pink to fill the space of the mandala.

Pink with black is a sign of obvious self-destructive tendencies in a person, suicidal tendencies, deviant behavior. Black and pink are symbols of the “emo” movement; they always speak of strong psychological distress, unless it is a momentary tribute to fashion.

Yellow mandalas has no negative aspects. His choice is always a sign of complete well-being.

Orange is the same color always means overambitiousness and uncritically inflated self-esteem (in excess), and for women - problematic relationships with men.

Light blue color in mandala. The sky (azure) color, like yellow, has no negative aspects at all. It symbolizes Clean Waters as a source of life. IN Christian symbolism blue color is a symbol of the Virgin Mary.

If this color darkens, turning into dark blue, we have an undeveloped conflict with the mother.

Though, dark blue color sometimes shows the ability to empathize and is very good developed intuition, up to mystical insights.

Therefore, if you interpret someone else’s drawing, always “rule out” such a widespread thing as a conflict with the mother, and only then draw conclusions about intuition.

Green color mandala very complicated.

Thick dark green color- indicates that a person is focused on providing support to other people and the entire world around him (Mother Teresa). If this color predominates, we have a person prone to overprotection, who does not allow his loved ones to take a step and gives his life to solve other people’s everyday affairs and problems.

Light green color or pale green indicates cessation of growth and weakened energy potential.

In general, green is the color of maturity. It shows that a person is ready to become or has become a parent and experiences only positive emotions from this.

Dark purple color, when it is located at the very core of the mandala, it will point us to a very strong connection with the mother, up to the inability to live her own life, pathological emotional dependence.

Gray color mandala. Abundance gray in a mandala drawing - this is the most alarming symptom. In order to make it clear what state a person is in when making a drawing with a predominance of gray - this is how heroin addicts draw. In general, this is a sign of loss of taste for life, fatigue and progressive apathy.

Lilac(lavender) color often appears in drawings of people suffering from suffocation, asthma attacks, asphyxia, suffocation - in general, all breathing problems of a psychosomatic nature.

And finally, a few words about the dynamics of color changes in the series of mandalas.

Let's take such typical cases (usually leading to neurosis) as:

• conflict with mother - in women, and
• conflict with father - in men.

At the beginning of sessions for creating a series of mandalas, such women will choose a dark blue color.

As they work through and bring out their feelings leading to healing, after the conflict with the mother is resolved, women will begin to use sky blue in the mandala drawing. This will mean readiness for positive communication with female persons.

Men with a deeply (or not deeply) hidden conflict with their father will use dirty yellow. As the conflict progresses, the color will change towards bright yellow.

So, you have become acquainted with the interpretation of some basic colors used in diagnostics of both physical and psychological state when creating an art therapeutic mandala.

This half-revealed secret, this knowledge will not hinder you at all create your own mandala- spontaneously, as if you hadn’t read anything right now. For the main condition of art therapy is to disconnect from all acquired knowledge and associations at the moment of creating a therapeutic drawing. And no matter how strange it may seem, all people very easily experience this very “disconnection” from knowledge and experience at the moment when they create a drawing-meditation with paints. At this moment everything is forgotten - only the hand works.

And one last thing for this article. Don't worry about not knowing the meanings of absolutely all the colors and color combinations. This will not interfere with your healing in any way - it will happen on its own - if you create a series of mandalas dated by you. From drawing to drawing it will change and color palette and figures shading the mandala and, most importantly, your state itself.

Here you need to do as it is written in old fable: when they throw you a rope to pull you out of a deep hole, grab it without thinking about what it is made of, what kind of weaving, and what kind of manufacture this “rope is a simple rope” is woven from...

Here's a simple test...