Leo New Moon Mandala
August 8, 2021
The Garden of the Heart, The Path of the Moon
I have come to Sunny’s final mandala. This is the last mandala she would ever draw… the last she would ever create in this precious lifetime. To my knowledge she never colored it. Perhaps, she left it for us as her gift? While Sunny is no longer here to tell us what she meant when she created this mandala, I offer here my interpretation. This is what it says to me.
The very center of this Leo New Moon Mandala contains a heart – golden for Leo, as was Sunny’s heart… golden – and resting on a silver crescent moon – that beautiful thin grin. The moon herself, with her waxing and waining is a beautiful symbol of the divine feminine and for womanhood in general. In her crescent form, she represents new beginnings… a fresh start… a wonderful time to set a new intention or re-ignite an intention that still has some unfinished business. This crescent could also offer an invitation to see Sunny’s beautiful smile in the thin grin of the New Moon as each lunar cycle begins. This same moon came to me on the day of my maternal grandmother’s funeral. Her’s was a Capricorn crescent following the New Moon… so lovely in the west. I still think of her whenever I see it.
Five is the dominant number in this mandala. Five suggests change… getting out of a rut… a course correction… trying something new… and urges us to something that we’ve never done before.
“Make a new song for a tale that is old –
Blaze a new trail to a land unknown;
Find a new love for your heart to hold,
Open a flower as yet unblown.”
~ Your Days are Numbered
Florence Campbell, M.A.
Five is found in the softly arced pentagon revealing the heart and the moon within. To my eye, it creates a house in which the heart and the moon dwell.
Next an interconnected, electron-type structure surrounds the nucleus of this mandala… no beginning… no end… in constant motion… constant protection… allowing in only what serves… removing that which is no longer of service to the intention… no longer needed for the good of the heart and the path of the moon.
Five interconnected figures – also drawn with no start or stopping point – add plant life. While all around us flowers are in full bloom during the Leo cycle, I see here flowers in bud representing perhaps the starting point for our intention for this new cycle. The red of fire is for Leo. These buds and leaves, with golden roots, are connected to and grow from a heart center guided by the rhythms of the moon.
Five large circles create five mandorlas. And, as I colored I found another 5 smaller mandorlas! Traditionally mandorlas, or almond shaped aureoles of light, surround holy people in both Christian and Buddhist art. Here, perhaps, Sunny suggests that to follow one’s heart and the cycles of the moon… the life that one creates when engaging heart and moon… is holy work.
The three, concentric circles invite the Trinity into this holy endeavor. The outermost circle is in the beautiful blue of a summer sky uninhibited by storm or cloud.
The underlying grid work radiates from the heart and suggests wholeness (12) – nothing needs to be added… nothing needs to be taken away. It is whole. Complete. And we are enough.
As I colored, it occurred to me that the synthesis of this mandala is to bring to the light of day – into the world, that is – that which is already burning and blooming in one’s heart. Have faith. Be courageous. Blaze a new path. Your path. And if you need a little boost, look to the west at the new moon and find Sunny’s beautiful, encouraging smile!
I can say for myself, the journey of these past 12+ years with Sunny and her mandalas has opened up a whole new world for me. I started coloring because everything was buried so deep within me I found it impossible to put word to page. Over time, my colored pencils became my words. Through color, sign and symbol, events and people… things began to “bubble up.” And, I have seen, and continue to see, the divine communicating through everything and everyone. I work to “connect the dots”… to discern the possible meaning of what is perhaps being said… being communicated. Nothing is discarded. All is taken into consideration. And while I am human with the weaknesses and faults of a human Be-ing, I can say that this practice has caused my luminous nature to be more present, more often. To Sunny, and David, I am forever grateful.
With continued prayers for your wholeness, your healing and your wellbeing, I send…
Love, Hugs, and Blessings,
L xoxxx