The mandalas, origin and meaning

Mandalas have undoubtedly become a phenomenon that captures the attention of all types of public, from children to adults. Its colors and geometric shapes have come to stay, although it can be said that its origins are older than it may seem..

The origin of mandalas

Mandalas have their origin in India. In fact, its name comes from Sanskrit and means wheel or circle, hence the well-known circular shape it has, although it should be noted that currently we can find them with geometric shapes of all kinds.

For Buddhists, mandalas have also served over the years as an aid in the meditation process. According to this philosophy, concentrating the mind on the realization of mandalas promotes the connection between the creator or draftsman and the divinity, a unique and special connection that aims at personal development, even if it is simply to build an ornament, by the way more and more fashionable in many places.

Meaning of the shapes of the mandalas

But mandalas are more than circles and geometric figures, they seem to have a meaning depending on their shape and color, which seem to be powerful allies in both meditation and healing..

In this sense, the spiritual content is an aspect that is found in the mandalas and that is based on the search for an energy balance and a personal transformation through meditation, practiced as it is known by millions of people in the world..

Yes, for this reason we can say that painting or drawing mandalas can serve us as therapy, in fact there are centers, workshops and courses where they are used for this purpose.

But to better understand this point, we will see below the meaning that is given to some of the different forms that can be found in a mandala, although there are many more:

• Circle: It means the absolute, the true I, we speak here of our own security. It is perfection, the cosmos, movement and change.
• Triangle: Fullness, passion and unconscious. It is vitality and transformation, it is related to water.
• Square: It means balance, energy, enthusiasm and stability.
• Cross: Decision making, is related to the cardinal points and the union of two opposite aspects (heaven and earth, life and death, the conscious and the unconscious), the different directions.
• Star: Spirituality par excellence. Freedom, salvation and imagination.
• Pentagon: They mean the elements earth, water, fire, metal and wood. Symbolizes intelligence, power, human body silhouette.
• Spiral: Energies with a healing character. Vitality, energy flow and healing.
• Heart: Happiness, togetherness, love, joy and friendship.
• Labyrinth: Inner search, need to find one's own center.
• Butterfly: Transformation, evolution, death and the self-renewal of the soul.

Meaning of the colors of the mandalas

As for the colors, we also offer you a small list of the main ones and their meaning:

• White: Purification, innocence, simplicity, optimism and longevity.
• Black: Mystery, depth, power, silence, sobriety and independence, but also sadness and discouragement.
• Blue: Sincerity, peace, tranquility, serenity, fidelity, truth, harmony, contemplation, progress and freedom.
• Green: Hope, balance, stability, rejuvenation and love of nature.
• Yellow: Sympathy, optimism, joy, fun, energy, happiness, intelligence and innovation.
• Pink: Sweetness, delicacy, friendship, gratitude, sensitivity and calm.
• Red: Strength, passion, energy, courage, impulsiveness, desire and sensuality, but also anger, rage, anger and symbolizes everything forbidden.
• Purple: Sensuality, mysticism and power. Spirituality is the color of contemplation par excellence. Also authority and manipulation.
• Gray: Patience, seriousness, order, ultimately calm.
• Orange: Energy, optimism, enthusiasm, warmth, brotherhood, vitality, creativity and success.
• Gold: Wisdom, lucidity, clarity, vitality and the highest degree of spiritual perfection.
• Silver: Capacities with a psychic character, stabilizer of fluctuating emotions, well-being and extrasensory capacities.

There are many more factors about mandalas, as well as more attributions and interpretations than those presented here, this is only a brief summary. In fact, it is a world as interesting as it is wide, however, in case you were curious, here is a small introduction to this exciting world of drawings and colors.

David alvarez