Facing the other in the guise of twin or double, one might sense a threat to the idea of personal identity, yet people are teased and delighted by the odd prospect of becoming "otherwise". Twins arouse a sense of awe in many societies around the world. Jacob and Esau, Horus and Set, Jekyll and Hyde - all these and many more are recurrent pairs who lure us into the world found through the looking glass. The author sets out to bring together genetics, psychology, mythology and art in order to clarify the lore and reveal the enigma of the dyadic principle, common to modern and archaic intuition alike. John Lash established the Institute for Creative Mythology at Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1981.
Comparative mythologist, author and teacher John Lash is one of the foremost exponents of the power of myth to direct and shape an individual's life, as well as history itself. Described as the true successor of Joseph Campbell, John is a teacher of world mythology, Gnosticism, the pre-Christian Mysteries, along with many of his other expert talents. He has traveled widely and lived in Japan, the UK, Greece, Norway, France, Spain and Belgium.
His unpublished and in-progress works include original studies of alchemy, the Dendera Zodiac, eonic cycles in the World Ages ("parallel history"), psychonautics and entheogenic shamanism for the future. He is the leading exponent of the new discipline of metacritique (radical analysis of belief systems).
In 1981, John founded the Institute for Creative Mythology in Santa Fe, New Mexico. ICM offered an open forum to explore universal "directive" - psychologically active - myths and their expressions in culture and daily living. At ICM John gave lectures and interactive seminars on a broad range of subjects, including Gnosticism, the erotic psychology of the Troubadours, Mesoamerican calendars, and Goddess rites of participation in the seasonal cycles of nature. Over several years, he developed a long course in alchemy that resulted in an extensive syllabus and study guide entitled "The Great Work: Alchemy and PsychoEcology."
For over 35 years, John Lash has specialized in studies of sidereal mythology i.e. myths found in all cultures around the world relating to the visible patterns in the skies. He has a unique technique of observation, combined with an original method of reading those patterns and relating them to the way we live and view the world. He is recognized as a leading scholar on ancient astronomy, the Zodiac, and precession of the equinoxes (World Ages).
John Lash is also co-founder and principal author of metahistory.org, a unique source of gnostic and pagan perspectives, including Planetary Tantra, a open source vision for interactive magic with Gaia. The purpose of this site is to challenge unexamined beliefs and foster a future myth centered on Gaia-Sophia, the living planet.
John's published books:
The Seeker's Handbook: The Complete Guide to Spiritual Pathfinding (Crown, 1991)
Twins and the Double (Thames & Hudson, 1993)
The Hero - Manhood and Power (Thames & Hudson, 1995)
Quest for the Zodiac (Starhenge Books, 1999)
Forthcoming: Not in His Image: Gnostic Vision, Sacred Ecology, and the Future of Belief (Chelsea Green Publishing, November 2006)
