Prayer Flags

Tibetan prayer flags are among the best-known symbols of Tibetan culture. Their bright colours, blue, white, red, green and yellow, are not a random pattern. Each colour stands for an element: sky, wind, fire, water and earth. Together they embody the harmony of all the forces that carry life.

Each flag is printed with mantras, prayers and blessings, often also with the image of the wind horse, the lungta, which carries the prayers in all directions. The belief behind it is simple and deeply human: when the wind moves the flags, it carries the prayers away with it, for the wellbeing of all beings.

Prayer flags are made by hand in small workshops in Nepal and Tibet. They are printed with traditional woodblocks, from models unchanged for centuries. The quality of the colours and the fabric varies a great deal. At tibet-markets.ch we take care to offer only flags made from natural materials and printed with lightfast colours.

Whether in the garden, on the balcony, in a meditation space or as colourful decoration in the living room, prayer flags bring Tibetan tradition into everyday life without imposing. They recall something larger, quietly and steadily, for as long as they hang.

For indoor use we offer flags designed specially for the purpose, which hold their beauty and meaning without wind. For outdoors we recommend our weatherproof outdoor flags, which stand up to wind and rain.