Happy New Year !

The last day of the year...........
A happy and healthy 2008!
May all your dreams come true......

1001 Symbols

One of my Christmas gifts this year was a book of symbols,1001 Symbols by Jack Tresidder, a present from Myrthe(thanks again!) In my mandalas I always use symbols, some are known to me some are new. I always look up the meaning afterwards to give my intuïtion a change first. There is a lot to be found on symbols on the internet and at home I have several books as well. What you can't see on the picture is that there are all kinds of gold symbols on the cover; very lovely. Which brings me to the first symbol I want to show you : Gold
GOLD - most common alchemical and astrological symbol - background features astrological and alchemical charts Gold is one of the seven metals of alchemy (gold, silver, mercury, copper, lead, iron & tin). For the alchemist, it represented the perfection of all matter on any level, including that of the mind, spirit, and soul. The symbol for gold could also be used to represent the sun in astrology.

I use a lot of gold paint and sometimes gold leaf in my mandalas as well and I have used the alchemical symbol in on of my mandalas, Chris.

Gold
Chris
1001 symbols

Orange

The colour is named after the orange fruit, introduced to Europe via the Indo-European word nāranja. Before this was introduced to the English-speaking world, the colour was referred to (in Old English) as geoluhread, which translates into Modern English as yellow-red. The orange is an old symbol for love, sometimes used by artists as an alternative for the forbidden fruit. The orange above is a nice example of an orange mandala from nature.
The colour orange occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum at a wavelength of about 585 – 620 nm. The complementary colour of orange is azure, a slightly greenish blue. The image below shows you the transition from red to yellow, if you mix the 2 colours you will get orange (as a secundairy colour).

Orange, a very positive colour,not frightening as red can be. Orange is also the colour of healing, vitality, cheerfulness, celebration, heat movement and wealth. Orange is used to symbolically represent the second (Swadhisthana) chakra: Water, Emotional identity, oriented to self-gratification. The second chakra, located in the abdomen, lower back, and sexual organs, is related to the element water, and to emotions and sexuality. It connects us to others through feeling, desire, sensation, and movement. Ideally this chakra brings us fluidity and grace, depth of feeling, sexual fulfillment, and the ability to accept change. The colour is associated with the number 2.
The mandala below I made for someone I hardly know. My friend asked me to paint it for a friend of hers, but she didn´t know the date of birth , her wish was that a Ganesha had to be in the mandala. Normally I don´t work this way, but the request and the lack of guidance from the date of birth created a new sense of freedom, in which I was very inspired and I made the mandala with a lot of pleasure.
Afterwards Orange was the perfect colour chosen for this person.

Colors

Ain´t it beautiful all these colors, ! What is color? Color is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, yellow, blue, black, etc. Color derives from the spectrum of light (distribution of light energy versus wavelength) interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors. Color categories and physical specifications of color are also associated with objects, materials, light sources, etc., based on their physical properties such as light absorption, reflection, or emission spectra. Colors play an important part in our lives (for sure in mine). Sometimes you feel attracted to certain colors, sometimes you just need them. A wonderful site to visit is Color in Motion, from Claudia Cortés. In "the Lab" you can create your own color mandalas by using the eye-droppers in the kaleidoscope project.Have fun!
The links: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Colouring_pencils.jpg
Color in Motion

Catmandala

Here´s Lotus, my sweet cat, nearly 17 years old. She found a good spot in my Christmas-card basket. What a beautiful mandala! Merry Christmas everyone! Love Marianne

talking cats

Sometimes little things in life can make you very happy, like this video, which was sent to me by my dear sister in law Axelle (she knows exactly what I like!) I saw it at least 10 times and every time it conjures a smile on my face. It has not much to do with mandalas, but that is really the fun of a weblog; that´s the "More-part".

a stack of mandalas

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Just click on the stack...............

red

Red, color of power and passion, love, blood, energy and life force. But also the color of aggression, death and danger. A color that says: watch out! Research shows that if you look at the color red brains become more active, and it provides an adrenaline rush. One thing about the color red: It's never wishy-washy. The color portrays dominance, power, and attention. Red is said to stimulate faster heartbeat and breathing. Because of red's visibility, stop signs, stoplights, brake lights, and fire engines are traditionally red. Use the color to grab attention and get people to take action. Indeed, a little bit of red can go a long way. We also need the color red to ground in everyday life and for a sense of security. Red is associated with the root-chakra, the Muladhara and with the number 1. The red mandala above I painted for myself, because all the numbers of my date of birth added together makes 10=1, that´s my birth number birth number, according to numerology Because I think that I can always use some extra energy , I thought a red mandala was just fine for me. Except that the mandala gives me energy, it brings me peace as well. Actually it gives me a feeling of balance.

Here are the links: Red ,Muladhara, numerology, wikipedia,

Mirrors

I have separated the music and slides, otherwise the music keeps playing also with the other blogs, which can turn you crazy after a while, the music-video is now separate below.So it´s up to you. Music from way back..... Sally Oldfield. But still this song gives me a happy feeling, the feeling I want to share with you! Unfortunately Sally´s website is down at the moment, but maybe for later www.sallyoldfield.com

the 5th of December

December 5! Sint Nicolaas. This year, for the first time we don't celebrate this tipical Dutch feast, for my children are no longer "believers" and I am will be in New York the 5th of December, where they have never heard of this Holy man. All will be in Christmas spirit there (and so will I). To remain a little in mandala-spirit ,here a Sinterklaas-mandala-coloring page for the believers among us, or just for the fun of it. The page is from kleurplatenwereld.nl , they have pages you can easily print out. More Sinterklaas-mandala coloring pages can be found on the site of my dear friend Anne-Mieke, her site is also worth a visit. Everyone enjoy the 5th of december!

A New Life

I have a niece! Estelle. Of course I immediately went to work and this is the result. In all my birth mandalas there is an animal and for Estelle I chose a butterfly. The butterfly is an Universal symbol of change and metamorfose, freedom, liberation of the soul and immortality. Estelle I hope you´ll have a wonderful life ahead of you!

Mandala Meditation

Enjoy this mandala- meditation. The beautiful luminous mandalas are from Barry Stevens. The music is by Richard Maddux . Both sites are a must!

my latest first

My latest mandala, painted for Arja , a friend of mine, who reached the magical age of 40.

We both love cats. In this mandala I painted Pommy, Arja´s first cat.