100 Days for Mandalas – Heart Awareness – Week Six

February 21st, 2013

February is the month we think about love and hearts with Valentine’s Day.  It is also Heart Awareness Month, to help bring awareness to our heart health.   The mandala below was  created when I became aware of my own heart health with a trip to the hospital over a year ago.  Each day I am grateful for the beating of my heart, and reminded of the importance of our hearts as the center of love we share with the world.

The symbol for the heart in ancient Eygpt is called the “ieb”.   The ieb’s vessel shape was like the heart and the handles like the arteries.  The heart was considered the center of the life and consciousness.  When a person died one entered the hall of gods, their heart was weighed against the weight of a feather.  A light heart was one that belonged to a person who did good deeds and was full of love.  Those whose hearts were light went on to the afterlife.

mandala by Gail Haverhill

The heart symbol we use now reminds us of the heart’s importance in sending love. It also remind us of the heart’s importance as a center of consciousness and creativity.  And it can remind us to keep our heart healthy.

The heart symbol is one that brings meaning to the images we make.  The mandala above and ones below have heart images in them.  I created them over the years and found the heart symbol important in my art journaling.

MANDALA PROMPT – Let you heart be strong, healthy and the center of your creativity

MANDALA MEDITATION –   Mandala Meditation Week Six