We met in Tehran, Iran three years into the Islamic Revolution then immigrated to the United States while still young girls, turning back to look at a country choking under the black veil of worn-out myths and old hatreds. Decades later, rather than turn to salt, we’re inspired to put our collective experience in service to the adoration of our beautiful, kaleidoscopic, archetypal cosmos.
Maryam Sayyad is a mythologist and designer who emigrated from Iran as a child.
She studied philosophy, art, and design, and received her Ph.D. in Mythological Studies with Emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute in 2022.
She teaches courses and lectures in myth, philosophy, and writing and serves as a consultant on myth-based film and animation projects.
She is the current Director of Art and Education for Cross-Cultural Expressions where her mission is to create programming that bridges psychology and mythology.
Born in Tehran, Iran, Gelareh Khoie is an artist, writer, scholar, and DJ. Her award-winning artwork has been widely exhibited in group and solo exhibitions. She has curated multi-media art exhibitions and creative arts and live music events, and she founded and operated a multi-media venue called thirtyninehotel in Honolulu. She has lectured and taught courses in Jungian Psychology, Dream Analysis, Mythology, Fairytales, and spiritual practices at College of Marin, Pacifica Extension, and in private tutorship. She holds a BFA in painting and art history from the San Francisco Art Institute and two MAs in depth psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. She is currently completing her doctoral dissertation.