I’ve lived for 40 plus years in a small town, Buxton, on the edge of the Peak District in England.

Buxton has a rich history dating back to beyond Roman times and I’m close to woodland, hills, dales, caves and rivers. I love to walk and wander and wonder in nature, have lived semi-rurally since the late 70’s and feel very blessed. I spend many hours in my beloved garden.

I’m now retired after a variety of jobs, including cave guide and part of a cooperative running a whole food shop and cafe, residential care with troubled teens, and care in the community for the elderly.

I have two children, Beth and Tom that I single parented—hard work but I wouldn’t change it! Tom is now happily married with two children, who are the lights of my life and live not too far away. Beth died in a car crash in 2007, a pivotal event in my life…

I’ve always made ‘stuff’ since I was little. As a child I made my own paper dolls, each with a set of clothes, family newspapers, shops for fairies in the garden, using mud and twigs and leaves. I’ve always loved colour, pattern and texture, but was told I couldn’t draw or paint at secondary school and that haunted me for a long time.

I never lost my desire to create or my love of nature and these were set alight after losing Beth. They were my journey to a place of acceptance and as a balm to my life that felt ripped apart. I celebrated Beth’s life in textile pieces, making books, journaling and drawing.

Spiritually, it drew me further and further into that place where nature is my church… the woods are where I went to cry and seek solace and wisdom in the early days of grief and they are still my go-to place.

Love, connection, community, cooperation, kindness, gratitude, peace … are all my cornerstones.

I first became interested in mandalas when I stumbled across a book by Susanne Fincher called Mandalas a creative guide to self exploration I began to draw mandalas that were led by meditations and journalling to see what would come up… colours, symbols, shapes, images … sometimes it would lead to deep insights.

I also drew mandalas just for the joy of playing with pattern, shape, colour and a way to focus a mind that can exhaust me as it has a tendency to keep chucking out endless ideas and projects.

And then in the autumn of 2024, I felt like I was floundering. I felt directionless and a wee bit disconnected from my art and spiritual practices… and I put out an ask to the universe for some guidance.

And up popped Mandala Magic and lovely Julie. The combination of mandala as a way of self inquiry, the connection to the natural world, the wheel of the year and the rich material available and I was hooked.

Mandalas work on different levels for me… a mindful way to focus, or a distraction from the darkness in our world. They are also a way of expressing connection, joy, respect and love for our home, Mother Earth and a way to explore more of our inner depths.

Joining Mandala Magic and having access to the different courses has solidified my desire to draw mandalas that create and contain meaning, and helps me to ‘read’ my mandalas.

The CODEX modules were so stimulating and helped me to create a reference library!

I love participating in the Magic Circle gatherings as I feel so connected to a wonderful, caring creative community. They are a huge source of inspiration—seeing and listening to how others create.

And the rich material and inspirations that Julie provides are beyond measure.

Creativity in different forms, including mandalas, has been and still is a road to acceptance and peace.

They are a way to stitch the torn fabric of my life back together and they are a way of celebrating the natural world, my spiritual home.

Before I begin a mandala I like to light a candle, perhaps bring in a few garden flowers and often journal feelings, thoughts and let the image, design begin to form in my mind.

The whole process of creating a mandala brings a sense of peace, settling, and connection. It’s difficult to describe.

Sometimes it feels as though the mandala is creating itself  and I am the vehicle through which it’s flowing, being delivered onto the page… this was the case with my ‘Hands of Fire’ mandala.

For much of my work, I’m addicted to my Prisma colouring pencils. I like to outline my drawings using fine liners and then add colour.

Joining Mandala Magic has provided a framework, a structure for me… there is much material to explore.

I also keep a journal of the walks I take, with photographs, which provides another layer of inspiration, particularly my walks in the woods and some favourite trees which I like to visit. Recently, the autumn colours inspired some purely pattern mandalas celebrating the rich colours of this season.

The Alignment and now the Almanac programmes both combine beautifully with my desire to observe and document the seasonal changes and to also connect with my internal changes… physical, emotional and spiritual.

The mandala has become a truly meaningful container for my observations and thoughts whilst out in the natural world and Mandala Magic has become another very important thread in my continuing healing journey, which is also a journey of self discovery.

For me one of the most important aspects of Mandala Magic are the online gatherings. It is so enriching and inspiring to share this creative process in a safe and caring group.

I am certain that this creative, and for me spiritual practice, centred round Mandala Magic will continue to be one of the cornerstones in my life that it has become.

Finally, I would say to anyone thinking to begin Mandala Magic and the Alignment programme just dive in there and start. It’s so rich and stimulating and there is clear information and guidance to assist with creating mandalas.