On the Cover
Shiva, the androgynous god(dess) of destruction and rebirth, perhaps the most ancient deity worshipped in the world today.
The surrounding flames are the radiance of the dance of the universe. The upper right hand holds a little drum shaped like an hourglass, the rhythm of which is the world-creating beat of time, which draws a veil across the face of eternity, projecting temporality and thereby the temporal world. The extended left hand holds the flame of spiritual light that burns the veil away, thus annihilating the world and revealing the void of eternity. The second right hand is in the "fear-dispelling" posture. The second left, hand lifted across the chest and aligned with the raised left leg, clears a path to lead others through the jungle.
The right foot stamps on the back of "Forgetfulness," driving souls into the vortex of rebirth. The soul gazes in fascination, representing our psychological attraction to the realm of our bondage to birth, suffering, and death. The head is poised, serene, and still in the midst of creation and destruction. The right earring is a man's, the left a woman's, thus both including and transcending opposites.
Shiva is the archetypal yogi, canceling the illusion of life, but is also the creator of life, its generator as well as its illuminator.
Adapted from Joseph Campbell's The Mythic Image and The Power of Myth
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 2000
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited