On May 5th, I began a new series of mandala drawings. I sensed that the first series of pictures had not completed the process. At the beginning of this sequence the fiery center makes contact with the perimeter circle. This contact produces a profound change in the image of what I have come to think of as the temenos circle. In place of the running spiral design,I now drew an intertwining figure:
The colors of the temenos ring changed in this first image, echoing the colors of the doors in my Four Door Mandala. I sense a connection between these two mandalas. All traces of the pyramid have been obliterated by the expansion of the fire. And four diagonal lines touch the temenos ring and the firey center.
The sequence of the images eventually produced a fourfold connection between the center and the temenos ring along the diagonal lines. On May 10th I wrote to Carroll:
This past week I drew a new sequence of fire mandalas. These involved a profound change in the design of the temenos ring. The fire expanded until it touched the outer ring, and now there is a permanent connection between the fire and the outer ring. I used a blue color around the fire(ice, I sense now) but this was not sufficient. I invoked my crucible of gold image in the last two mandalas, and at last I found the container for the fiery image. It receeded a bit, no longer pressing outward against the temenos circle. No rupture occurred, which seemed possible when I was in the middle of the sequence.
I felt a tremendous sense of urgency while making these drawings. Finding the right container for this fire was crucial...
The ice can no longer contain the fire and has melted away. Fortunately the four circle figure and the crucible image in combination seem to provide a suitable container. No doubt this is a transforming fire, and I sense that the circle has been subjected to tremendous heat and pressure...
The transformation of the temenos ring involves themes of one and many, a single strand woven with itself to create an impression of many, or of two twined together, many possibilities.
This was the final fire mandala, drawn around May 7-10, 1997. The next step was to incorporate the transformations wrought by this into my dream mandala.