A Magic Circle
A Mandala can be a painting, drawing or other structure created mostly in a circle with symmetrical shapes often with the centre as a point of focus. The circle symbolises the eternity of cosmic energy that flows within and without, like breathing in and breathing out. It is the symbol of the elements, the four directions, the universal energy and light, stars and planets all dancing on the universal melody.
When we look at a Mandala it resonates these energies and triggers unity consciousness because it is giving us the door into a sacred space with a vibration of wholeness and balance.
The word Mandala originates from Sanskrit and means Sacred or magic Circle. All of creation is a Mandala symbol and when we look around we can see natures Mandalas in flowers, fruit, snow crystals, the eye, cells, Cycle of Moon and planets and many more.
A Mandala can help to visualise inner symbols and become a process of healing wounds or finding answers we often already carry inside us. In many cultures the Mandala believes to bring inner peace and has a therapeutic effect on its creator. If we look at a painting it might inspire us because the magic the artist was trying to express is close to our soul, creating a Mandala makes us the artist and during the process we can become aware of our own inner light.
In a Mandala we create a picture of our feelings and use our sight to contemplate on its symbols to achieve awareness of the patterns we carry inside us. You could say it is an active form of meditation.
I had to abandon the idea of the super ordinate 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).