Day 26~ Big Wheel

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As the demands of the days have left me to complete and contemplate most of these late into the wee hours of the morning, it occurs to me that I should have named this series, "Midnight Mandalas."

Upon completion the first thing I realized is that the magenta/purple/pink areas look like a cross of sorts that is buried under the other forms. Fincher suggests, "The cross is associated with the human challenge to know one's dark hidden side....Crosses rotated to form an X may also represent the end of a cycle....When a cross appears in your Mandala you might want to consider that you are balancing the duality of human nature."

12:52 a.m. of Day 27...I am exhausted. I must complete this post after I have had some sleep.

Sleep is good.   Awake now, I can see that this drawing is a layering of previous concepts into a new whole idea. 
"The clash of opposites is resolved with the Squaring of the Circle  (day 21). There is no longer the tug-of-war that was experienced in stage six...We have incorporated within ourselves the qualities of each that are necessary for a fully functioning adult identity... One is ready for a mate."

A single Mandorla (day 22) is in front of or on top of the cross and at the center of an unintentional tree. Full and robust, it differs from the leafless one in September Satellite, the Circle Game  post (day 19). The first tree has far reaching roots but a small barren top.

September Satellite

Fincher counsels that, "When the roots of your tree are exposed you may be feeling insecure, uprooted, or vulnerable.You might even be experiencing problems with your feet. The trees you draw portray your whole self: the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of who you are."
A bountiful tree can indicate connectedness to the outer world, active motherhood- even increased involvement with your adult children, and a balance between the dualities of human existence.

How I saw the drawing when
I first picked it up this morning.

There is an extensive vocabulary of symbolism associated with trees.  In and of themselves they can become a window into our perception of ourselves and our place in the world.
Jung enumerates some of these associations:
"...growth, life, unfolding of form in a physical and spiritual sense, development, growth from below upwards and from above downwards, the maternal aspect (protection, shade, shelter, nourishing fruits, source of life, solidity, permanence, firm-rootedness, but also being 'rooted to the spot'), old age, personality, and finally death and rebirth. (1983:272)" ~Fincher

In retrospective consideration of the mood and events of the day when these drawings were made, I can see which concepts are represented here. As I move through these drawings and learn more about the symbolism inherent in mandalas, I am developing a deeper understanding of what it means to look inward while still functioning in an outward direction. No single symbol or shape or color can tell everything. They are simply parts of a whole which must be considered in the context in which they are given and in relationship to the others around them. In a series of drawings, such as this thirty day project, the focus elements seem to overlap and repeat over the course of the time in question. For me, this demonstrates a period of transition between phases of what art therapist, Joan Kellogg, calls the Great Round.
Mandala Associates
MARI Connections
MARI Reasearch
The Great Round