About the Mandala Project

I decided to start this project firstly because it came to me in a dream (you Jungian/Freudian analysts can have fun with that!). However, it seemed to be a good idea, and this project combines my faith with my relatively newfound interest in the interpretation of mandalas that I learned from training with Joan Kellogg's theory of the common themes in mandala drawings. Mandalas are considered archetypal, but usually have a connotation that associates them with Eastern religions and cultures.

So I thought I would embark on looking at the mandala through the eyes of Christianity, which is more Middle Eastern in culture but has moved more to the West in belief and practice. As I researched this further, the idea of the mandala, or circle, is not foreign to the Bible or Christianity. I found an interesting website/forum that exclusively discusses the presence of the mandala as a Bible Wheel deduced from Scripture. It also discusses the idea of a quarternity, which Jung also discovered, which is based on a nature of four, or 3 + 1 in a four-fold pattern. Churches have also used the Stage 3 Mandala pattern of the labyrinth, which is well known from the Chartres Cathedral, and in the rose window design, which is seen in Stage 9 Mandalas.

Taking an idea from the phenomenon which is PostSecret, I thought (as shown in my dream), that I would solicit mandala drawings in response to various excerpts from the Bible (that I include here on this blog in separate posts) from the general populace. However, rather than mailing the mandala drawings in to me like the postcards are for PostSecret, they could be scanned or photographed and emailed back to me. As I receive them, I would include them on the respective posts regarding that Scripture that they were drawn in response to.

[deep breath]....So here we go! I will post one Scripture a week (and it will be cumulative, so any entries from pasts posts will still be entertained), and allow people to respond to it in a mandala drawing. After the drawing is complete, just email me the photograph or scan of your mandala, and I will upload it in the post that it is referring to. I can leave them anonymous, or include any name, title, media used, or any other information you wish to be shared. I am really looking forward to this and excitedly await your entries!!

Download a mandala template here.

Click here to submit your mandala!
(please indicate which post it should be included under)