How to draw Mandalas

How to draw mandalas

1. Draw a circle on a piece of paper using a compass or drawing around a round object such as a small plate or a mug. Find the centre of the mandala and draw a horizontal and vertical line through the center. You can keep slicing the circle into pies depending on how many points you want to add to the mandala.

2. Once you have divided the circle into 8 parts in this case (but you can slice the circle into more parts for more detailed designs) you draw a smaller center circle and more circles outside of it which does not necessarily need to be circular. They can be straight lines joining together with equal distance from the centre. You can add as many inner circles as you like depending on the design you choose to draw. Within each different layer or circle you can also add other shapes such as petals, squares, hearts or whatever shape comes into your mind.

3. Continue drawing motifs in bigger and bigger circles as you work towards the outside circle of the mandala. You can use different shapes such as flowers, geometric shapes, spirals, smaller circles, triangles, birds and so on. The shapes should be repeated though to keep it consistent as you introduces new shapes and lines to each part of the mandala. Introducing more lines and shapes within the mandala becomes more important at the outer circles of the mandala as there is more space to fill. Below to the left is a completed mandala where you can see it was divided into 8 equal parts initially with an inner smaller circle. The design that grew from the center on the left mandala was based on petals and line patterns going through certain parts of the mandala. Notice on the right hand mandala smaller circles have been used as main shapes for the design. The circles and lines that you started off with can later be erased if you choose to add different shapes – but they are useful as a guide when you start drawing the mandala.

Colouring the mandala

Lets first discuss the colours and their meaning. You may use certain colours to attract certain things into your life. Take a look at the table below for some colour meanings. Some people draw the mandalas and do the colouring out of meditative purpose and then the intention and the colours are important. Others draw the mandalas out of creative interest and relaxation and then the colours do not take such big importance apart from personal preference or intuitive flow.  COLOURSMEANINGS RedStrength, more energy and passionPinkLove, femininity and intuitionOrangeCreativity, self-awareness, intuition & transformationYellowWisdom, learning, laughter and happiness GreenPhysical healing , psychic ability, nature and caring BlueEmotional healing, inner peace and meditation PurpleAll things spiritual, for spiritual focusBlackDeep thinking, mystery and individuality