January invites us to soften.
After the outward motion of the holidays, this season gently asks us to turn inward by listening, reflecting, and reconnecting with what feels true beneath the noise.
Rather than rushing into resolutions or expectations, this is a time to pause and create space for clarity. Mandala-making offers a beautiful way to do just that. Through layers of shape, pattern, and repetition, we can explore where we are, what we’re ready to release, and what we’re gently calling in for the year ahead.
This art ritual is not about perfection or artistic skill. It’s about presence, intention, and allowing creativity to become a mirror for self-reflection.
Choosing Your Focus
Before you begin, choose one area of your life to reflect on. This helps keep the process grounded and focused, rather than overwhelming. You can choose to do this practice multiple times, using each time to focus on a different area.
You might choose:
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Personal well-being
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Professional or creative life
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Relationships
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Family
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Emotional or spiritual growth
There is no right choice on where to start, simply notice where you feel drawn.
Supplies You’ll Need
Choose materials that feel inviting and easy to work with. This ritual is about flow, not complexity.
Option 1: Paint
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Small canvas or heavy mixed-media paper
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Acrylic or watercolor paints
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Paintbrushes
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A pencil (for lightly sketching circles)
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Water and paper towels
Option 2: Dry Media
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Paper or sketchbook
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Markers, colored pencils, or crayons
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A compass, bowl, or circular object (optional, for tracing circles)
You may also wish to light a candle, play soft music, or create a quiet, cozy space before you begin. This is your self-care time, your art practice, so take the time to set up your space in a way that is most inviting and comfortable for you.
Creating Your Mandala: Step-by-Step
Your mandala will be made of five expanding circles, moving outward from the center. Each layer holds a specific intention. This photo shows a good guide of how the circles will look before we draw the intricate details. I used the dotted lines to help segment sections.
Center Circle: Where You Are Now
Draw a small center circle in the very middle of your mandala using a pencil and your compass. This is your starting point. For this circle, reflect on how you currently experience yourself in the area you chose. Use up to five descriptive words, such as anxious, competitive, stable. Or you may use short phrases like, “in the learning process”.
You may:
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Flip your canvas/paper over and write these on the backside. I chose to create corresponding circles on the backside and write my phrases and words within.
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Use a separate sheet of paper to write these on.
Going back to the circle you drew, using your pencil, draw small shapes that might visually represent those words. For example, anger and anxiety might show up as jagged lines, boredom could be squares, happiness circular shapes. Go with your intuition and draw what comes naturally in this space. Use a repeating pattern if it feels right. These don’t need to be dark lines. Later on, you will use a marker at the end of this practice to trace over them after coloring all the shapes.
Next, choose some colors to paint or color in the shapes. As you do this, reflect on what you wrote and how you currently think of yourself in this area of life that you chose to focus on.
Second Circle: Who You Are Becoming
This layer represents how you would like to feel or describe yourself in this area of your life.
Draw a second circle moving outwards from the center one. This can be any width, however, remember you will be drawing five altogether so be sure to leave room for the outer circles.
Next, following the same procedure, write out no more than five words or phrases on how you would like to be in this area of your life. For example, if I feel anxious about my career currently, I would like to feel confident instead.
After writing, return to the second circle and draw shapes with your pencil to represent these words. As you color them in, reflect on these inspiring words you just wrote down.
Third Circle: Releasing Old Beliefs
This circle is devoted to what you are ready to let go of. What beliefs are keeping you from becoming that person you just described in the second circle? Are there behavioral patterns or habits that are not serving this version of yourself? What thoughts or old stories run through your mind that may be holding you back?
Draw your third circle then write down any beliefs, patterns, or stories that you may need to let go of in order to move into the version of who you want to become.
Next, following the same steps as the previous circles, draw shapes and patterns in your circle that visually represent these old beliefs. These can be completely different that your previous circles. There is no wrong way to express release. Color it in according to how you feel.
Fourth Circle: Integrating New Beliefs
Now, its time to replace those old beliefs with new beliefs, old stories, with new stories that serve a greater purpose. Draw your next circle.
As you create this layer, reflect on:
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What feels more supportive or true
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What new thought patterns and self talk support you better
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What you’re ready to gently embody
Let this circle feel intentional and grounding. You may notice a softening or clarity as you write these out. There is no limit to what you want to write. When you are finished, return to your mandala and fill in your circle with patterns and color that represent these new beliefs.
Fifth Circle: Expansion and Integration
The outermost circle represents how these inner shifts ripple outward into your life.
As you write, consider:
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How your relationships might change
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How your energy may feel different
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How your daily life shifts and what it now looks like.
Allow this layer to feel open, spacious, and expressive. This is the fun, imaginative, dreaming part of the visualization. This is what the future looks like for you. This is who you are.
When you are done writing out your visualization in whatever way feels right to you, then return to your mandala and finish the last circle.
The very last step is to use a marker, sharpie, or paint pen to trace over the outline of all your shapes and patterns, working from the inner circle, outwards. This is a very meditative part of the exercise where the brain doesn’t have to process but rather falls into a flow state. Be sure to have soothing music in the background. As you trace the patterns in each circle reflect back on what that circle represents for you.
Reflection and Closing
When your mandala feels complete, take a few moments to sit with it.
Notice:
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Where your eye is drawn
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Which areas feel dense or light
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What emotions or thoughts arise
You may wish to journal or simply sit quietly with your work. There is no need to analyze, sometimes the meaning unfolds over time.
You can place your mandala somewhere visible throughout January or tuck it away as a private reminder of your inner process. If you wrote on a separate sheet of paper, gently fold it and tape it to the back of your mandala in case you want to refer back to it.
An Ongoing Practice
This ritual doesn’t have to be a one-time experience.
You’re invited to create additional mandalas using the same process for other areas of your life. Each mandala becomes a snapshot of awareness, growth, and intention, layered gently through creative practice.