“Be glad of life because it gives you a chance to live and to work and to play and to look up at the stars.”

Henry Van Dyke
1852-1933
American clergyman, educator, author

“The Receptive

accommodates itself to the qualities of the Creative

and makes them its own.

Thus a square develops out of a straight line

and a cube out of a square.

This is compliance with the laws of the Creative;

nothing is taken away, nothing added.

Therefore the Receptive has no need of a special purpose of its own,

nor of any effort;

yet everything turns out as it should.”

— I Ching —

Mandala is the Sanskrit word for circle. Mandalas are symbols of unity and wholeness, and are often used for meditation and healing. They give us access to the Sacred Source from which arises all wisdom, power and love. A mandala may represent a metaphysical concept or truth, an archetype from the personal or collective unconscious, or may simply be an expression of personal feeling or awareness.

In 1996, when I began to draw mandalas, I had had no formal art training. And although I had a longing to draw, I felt baffled and intimidated by a blank sheet of paper. I had, however, a love of geometry, and when I discovered this particular method I found safety and freedom within the structure and support of a geometric form.

Preparation includes creating a ritual space, asking for guidance and inspiration, blessing the materials, focusing the attention, and opening to receive without judgment. Then, beginning with a white circle on black paper, a geometric form takes shape, sometimes something from a book on sacred geometry, other times a form flowing from intuitive inspiration. I continue to layer the pigment — first white, then colors — sometimes seeing in the paper a shadow of the lines I should draw, other times, simply following the flow of a line or inner guidance.

Most mandalas take about 40 hours to complete. Some are swift, like an unimpeded stream, and come to completion within a few days. Others are fierce, requiring courage and perseverance over weeks or months. Sometimes a mandala remains unfinished for a year or more, hanging on a wall where I can see it as I wait for clarity about the next steps to take.

The mandalas presented here were unplanned. They arose from some formless and numinous source of symbols and meaning. Each represents a process or a state I was in touch with during the time in which it was drawn. Each was, and remains, a journey of revelation, discovery and delight. I invite you to view them, open to your subjective perceptions, and experience whatever revelation, discovery or delight may await you.

“What is dark clings to what is light and so enhances the brightness of the latter. A luminous thing giving out light must have within itself something that perseveres; otherwise it will in time burn itself out. Everything that gives light is dependent on something to which it clings, in order that it may continue to shine.”

— I Ching —

Fire Descending to Earth ~ © 2009 Anacaria Myrrha

The vulture, in Egyptian hieroglyphs, represents the mother. The vulture with royal insignia is the hieroglyph for grandmother.

This vulture represents the energy of fire coming to earth to be nourished. The double cup represents physical and spiritual nourishment. The crowned female figure standing in front of the cup holds the Egyptian royal insignia —the crook and the flail — tools needed to manage herds and raise crops, and thereby provide nourishment for the people.

Historically, lilies have been known as Tears of Isis. The name of the lily which appears around this cup is Luxor.

Fire and earth represent summer and late summer, which is when this mandala was completed. It was a time when I was coming to terms — yet again — with living at a pace so swift and energetically hot that it brings me to the point of burnout and exhaustion. This mandala represents the act of coming to earth for rest, nourishment, self-care and balance — of honoring the need to replenish oneself.

To view this and other mandala images, or to order prints, click here.

©  2009 Anacaria Myrrha ~ All Rights Reserved

“All that is visible must grow beyond itself, extend into the realm of the invisible. Thereby it receives its true consecration and clarity and takes firm root in the cosmic order.”

— I Ching —

Gift of the Grail ~ © 2009 Anacaria Myrrha

This is the first mandala that came to me, although it was not completed for over a year. It is about the ecstatic state one enters into during union with the Divine Source. The Grail represents the spiritual container that makes possible this union.

In Tarot, the Ace of Cups represents the root of the power of water.  It is the Chalice that holds the Life-Fluid, the Fountain of Youth, the Elixer of Love.

The lotus is a symbol of the immortality of the soul and its unfolding during the journey into consciousness. The four rings represent earth, air, fire and water, the four elements of manifestation in the realm of matter. The pyramid is a symbol of transformative power. The mirror image represents the metaphysical dictum “as above, so below.”

The Guardian Spirits are standing by to lend protection and energetic power to this transcendental experience as the winged woman enters into an ecstatic state of union with the Divine Source.

To view this and other mandala images, or to order prints, click here.

©  2009 Anacaria Myrrha ~ All Rights Reserved

This mandala is the first that I completed. I began it in late January 1996 on the 42nd anniversary of my father’s death and completed it four days later on the eve of my birthday.

Rebirth ~ © 2009 Anacaria Myrrha

The pillar is a symbol of strength and garlanded with flowers to soften its aspect with beauty and grace. The pyramid is a sanctuary, a place of healing, a place of transformation, a place of access to cosmic law. The comets in the sky call our attention to an event of import taking place. The winged messenger is a fair witness and casts light upon the egg which is in the process of breaking open to reveal new life.

Each image came to me carrying meaning in and of itself, yet without a sense of the meaning in the whole. When the mandala was complete, I realized it is a picture of the sky on the day of my birth — the sun just below the horizon, the moon one day past full — with the addition of gifts and influences available through the experience and wisdom gained through aging. It pictures the opportunity each of us has to be reborn — to experience, at any moment, an opening into new consciousness. Over and over again.

To view this and other mandala images, or to order prints, click here.

©  2009 Anacaria Myrrha ~ All Rights Reserved

I drew this mandala during a period in which I was considering how to extricate myself from an alliance whose time had come to an end. To foster contemplation and release, I spent a lot of time walking along the marshes at the Marin County water reclamation district.

Spirits of the Marsh ~ © 2009 Anacaria Myrrha

During that time, a huge flock of white pelicans was wintering there and I got to know them in some small measure. Fishing, they would gather in small groups, swimming in a line sweeping the fish forward. At some point, those on the ends of the line would arc forward, coming together to form a circle. Then all members of the group would simultaneously dive into the water, wings slightly spread, black tips showing, tails up, filling their huge beaks. Rising to the surface, beaks distended, they would swallow what they had caught and once again, sweep out in a line across the lagoon. It was like watching a line of slightly comic yet infinitely graceful ballet dancers in a carefully choreographed burlesque.

Afterwards, they would gather on one of the islands and spread their nine-foot wingspans, like a month’s worth of laundry hung out to dry. Once, I witnessed this flock of almost a hundred take flight, leaving the island in sixes and tens and twelves, gathering up slowly, gradually, in a spiral toward the clouds, finally so high that — as I blinked my eyes — they disappeared from sight. These pelicans became for me a symbol of magic and mystery, humor and grace, and the power and beauty of cooperative living.

This mandala represents the alchemical processes of resurrection, transformation and ascension. The marsh is a place where waste materials are reclaimed, and energy and matter are cleansed and raised to the next vibratory level in order to be brought into use again.

To view this and other mandala images, or to order prints, click here.

© 2009 Anacaria Myrrha ~ All rights reserved

The Ant Queen is the industrious and practical ruler of her tribe who values storing up reserves for the future. She is a rational and clear-eyed planner who works solely for the continuity of her community.

Her keyhole crown calls to us to find within ourselves the key to our own health and well-being: to develop with patience and perseverance our own daily practices to build stamina and strength to carry us through the long term.

The Ant Queen ~ © 2009 Anacaria Myrrha

Carrying and storing up grains and seeds, ants became sacred to the Goddesses of Harvest.

They are considered to be familiar with and skilled at journeying between the underworld and the world of daylight.

This mandala was begun on All Hallow’s Eve in 1998, at the end of the harvest season, and completed one year later on All Hallow’s Eve of 1999.

To view this and other mandala images, or to order prints, click here.

©  2009 Anacaria Myrrha ~ All Rights Reserved

Water, Mother of Earth ~ © 2009 Anacaria Myrrha

In the Chinese Five Element system, water is the mother of wood, feeding and nourishing it. Water contains the wisdom of the ancestors, bringing to us the will to live and the wisdom to live well. It corresponds with the season of winter, and is associated with black or deep blue. As the storehouse of our vital essence, water is the source of great reserves of power and strength.

The hawk is the messenger of the ancestors. It teaches us to be observant, and carries the power to overcome difficult situations.

This mandala was done in the winter. It is about stillness and reserves: about being in retreat during a dark time of year, or during times of difficulty and fatigue. It is about connecting with the Universal Source, with our vital essence, with the ancient wisdom, and replenishing and nourishing our will to live. It is about harboring in safety the seeds of energy, which will quicken and come forth in the wood element in the spring.

To view this and other mandala images, or to order prints, click here.

©  2009 Anacaria Myrrha ~ All Rights Reserved

From time to time, we may get caught up in a cycle of regret, remorse or resentment. These states of being drag us into the mire of negativity and drain our resources.

Here’s a simple affirmation to help free you up. I don’t know where it came from but I thank those who created it and those who made me aware of it, for I find it has fierce healing power.

I forgive myself  for all those things for which I need forgiveness.

I forgive all those who need my forgiveness.

I ask forgiveness from all those whose forgiveness I need.

Repeated in sets of three, it gains power and momentum.

When you are saying it, allow transgressions to arise and be forgiven. Visualize those with whom you are in resentment or remorse and open yourself to mercy, for yourself and for them. Be willing to allow forgiveness to happen. If your heart will not yet open sufficiently to allow it, ask your Source to allow the forgiveness for you until you are able to do it.

Notice what happens. Notice the feelings that arise. Notice where you close, where you are able to open.

Breathe.

Keep making space for it all.

Keep letting go.

Regular practice of forgiveness increases our capacity for happiness.

Excerpted from An Invitation to An Extraordinary Life
©  2009 Anacaria Myrrha ~ All Rights Reserved