OCTOBER FIRE MANDALA

October Fire Mandala (Fall Circle series) © Sue O'Kieffe 2009
source image: unidentified leaf

Autumn is the eternal corrective. It is ripeness and color and a time of maturity~ Hal Borland

I love perfect autumn days when the sun is out, the wind is not, and the light is a golden glow. I went out for a photo shoot yesterday. My intuition was urging me out the door, and I'm so glad I listened. Unfortunately I don't have any idea what kind of bush it is that caught my eye when I was walking about town. Purple on the top side and totally autumnal underneath with the sun shining through, it was striking and begged to be noticed. I love the slant of shadows on the leaf the hidden-ness, and having to search for the prize; these are common themes of mine.

Everything about creating this mandala just seemed to flow into rightness. I was going to make it six-rayed, but it quickly morphed into twelve. Twelve is symbolic of cosmic order, as well as being related to Jung's idea of individuation, according to Susanne Fincher. Twelve is seen in the twelve months, twelve planets, twelve disciples and can be seen as the end of a cycle and completion of a period of time. It seems like this mandala could be a great image for someone who is celebrating the completion of an important task or maybe needs some spiritual support in getting there. This mandala seems to shout out I am so powerful; don't nobody mess with me now. And, it is for sale on my Etsy shop too!

I am putting on the finishing touches for my shop and will be annoucing the grand opening, complete with a grand opening sale, within the next few days. In the meantime, for those of you in the Northern Hemisphere, get out there and enjoy those crisp October fire days!

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