Up: [[Symbols]] Related: [[The Self]] , [[Temenos]] Created: 2025-11-25 The word ‘mandala’ means sacred circle in Sanskrit. It symbolizes the universe. The most famous mandala is the Tibetan Buddhist Kalachakra, also known as the Wheel of Time, which shows the entire structure of the universe. ![[Famous Tibetan mandala.webp|500]] [[C. G. Jung]] started drawing daily mandalas in the midst of his [[Red Book]] process. He had no idea of their significance, just found them calming and centering. Here’s Jung’s first mandala: ![[Jung's First Mandala.webp|500]] Over time, Jung started noticing mandala images in his own and his patients’ dreams. Mandala images take a wide variety of forms. They might be circular such as sun or moon, a fountain or UFO. They might be square such as a market place or a [[Temenos]]. Or they might be an experience such as being chased around a central object. Images are as varied as the individual, but what all of the dreamers have in common is that when mandala images appeared they were always healing and life giving. They always signified renewal of a calmer and more structured personality. Between his own experiences and those of his patients, Jung developed his foundational concepts during the time of his Red Book. The mandala symbol was a representation of those concepts. > [!Orbit] [[C. G. Jung]] > Their (a mandala’s) basic motif is the premonition of a centre of personality, a kind of central point within the psyche, to which everything is related, by which everything is arranged, and which is itself a source of energy. The energy of the central point is manifested in the almost irresistible compulsion and urge to become what one is….This centre is not felt or thought of as the ego but… as [[The Self]]. Although the centre is represented by an innermost point, it is surrounded by a periphery containing everything that belongs to the self— the paired opposites that make up the total personality. This totality comprises consciousness first of all, the personal unconscious, and finally an indefinitely large segment of the collective unconscious whose archetypes are common to all mankind. Given my fascination with all things Jungian, you’d think I would [[Keep a Mandala Journal]] as Jung did, but I have been resistant because mandalas have become a bit of a social media and art teacher’s bandwagon. There are mandala colouring books and online courses where you make the instructor’s preplanned mandalas. As I understand them, mandalas show up spontaneously in our dreams when we are going through something new, a big change, or a difficult situation. I don’t see the point to them if they are preplanned. Or perhaps I should say they have less impact. It can be meditative to make and reflect on any mandala, plus constructing a mandala satisfies our need for order. Mandalas don’t have to be drawn. Apparently they can be danced, or they can be experienced through action in the world, although I have no idea what either of those options might look like. For drawn mandalas, I’ve searched to find what matters in their creation and written about it in [[How to Make a Mandala]].