Here are 8 simple steps to draw a mandala.

Student mandalas

Drawing and doodling are powerful tools to activate your divine creative self while calming your brain and putting you in a positive state of mindfulness.

According to Marlynn Wei M.D., J.D. in an article written for Psychology Today, research shows mandala drawing promotes positivity.

When doodling or drawing is combined with the power of the mandala, you are accessing deep parts of your creative self, which creates a sense of oneness and power. 

Carl Jung, the famous psychologist, encouraged his patients to doodle and color mandalas.

I explain the power of the mandala in much more detail in my book. Here are the 8 steps to draw a mandala you can use right now.

Take a Mandala Drawing Class

How to draw a mandala, Step 1.

Draw a dot.

Put a dot in the middle of your paper/canvas.  This represents the “seed” of an idea you want to explore and get creative with.  It’s like the big bang.  Everything creative started from a simple seed.

Doodle-Step1

How to draw a mandala, Step 2.

Draw 4 lines

In step 4 of drawing a mandala, you expand on your mandala, just as you would an idea or a project. We are beginning to divide the paper into sections. By doing this you are duplicating the creation process, 1 becomes 2, 2 becomes 4…

Draw four lines out from the dot – North, South, East, and West.

Doodle-Step2

How to draw a mandala, Step 3.

Draw 4 more lines.

In step 3, you begin expanding your mandala.

Draw 4 more lines out from the dot, stretching North East, South East, South West, and North West. By doing this you are continuing the creation process, 4 becomes 8.

8 is the sacred number of creation.

Doodle-Step3

How to draw a mandala, Step 4.

Draw a petal on each of the 8 lines

Draw a petal on each line.  It can be any type of petal will do. Below you just see a slight arc on each side of the line. This step represents your personal, creative growth. This is where you begin to draw organically.

Doodle-Step4

How to draw a mandala, Step 5. 

Draw a heart in between each petal and a circle around the lines. 

Draw a heart in between each petal. Then, draw a circle around the entire thing. This represents further creativity and growth. The circle represents something new.

Doodle-Step5

How to draw a mandala, Step 6.

Draw a dot where each line meets the circle.

Draw 8 dots on the circle where the line would intersect. These dots represent you planting seeds of growth as you continue to expand your mandala.

Doodle-Step6

How to draw a mandala, Step 7.

Draw the universal symbol for the lotus petal, connecting the dots.

Draw a lotus petal that connects each dot. It’s easier than it sounds. This little symbol looks like the “curly bracket { }” we learned to draw in school to combine words. The lotus petal is a sacred symbol. In my book, I go into detail about why the lotus is used as a powerful symbol of reverence and “grace and ease”.

Doodle-Step7

How to draw a mandala, Step 8.

Draw a symbol of your choice inside each lotus petal (the same symbol, 8 times.)

Inside the lotus flower, draw a symbol that represents something meaningful to you.  Like a flower, a musical note, a bird, or even a football:) It doesn’t matter what you doodle. Doodle anything that pops into your mind.

If your mind goes blank, draw a circle. The point is to draw a symbol 8 times. You start with 1 and then draw 7 more in the same place in each section.

Doodle-Step8

That is how you begin to draw a mandala.

If you like what you have and want to consider it done, that’s OK. However, it’s really easy to keep going.

As I stated above, you draw a symbol in 1 spot, then draw the same symbol 7 more times so you have 8 of them, one in each of the 8 sections.

Take a Mandala Drawing Class

Keep expanding out and adding details.

There is no limit to how big or how much you draw. It will not be perfect, but it will be beautiful! Every time you doodle a mandala it will be different. Doodling is powerful and can help you in many ways.

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article:

Doodling Helps People Stay Focused, Grasp New Concepts and Retain Information…

“It’s a thinking tool,” says Sunni Brown, an Austin, Texas, author of a new book, “The Doodle Revolution.” It can affect how we process information and solve problems, she says.

There are so many benefits to drawing. Here is another wonderful article about the benefits of drawing. 10 Incredible Ways Drawing Affects Our Lives & Our Brains.

Have fun. Share this post with others and comment below if you’ve successfully drawn your own mandala.

Take a Mandala Drawing Class
1 Comment
  1. That was an excellent post! I had no clue Mandalas and meditations were so popular. I’ve been researching and reading a lot about mandalas lately. I’m interested if any of you have any other resources to provide. It appears that finding the most up-to-date information on the website is challenging. I stumbled noticed a handful of relevant websites.https://www.pranalink.com/blog/post/meditation-and-mandala/?utm source=referrer&utm medium=organic is one of the websites. The majority of the website does not update regularly enough to assist me in learning more quickly. Is there anyone willing to assist?

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