Tarot Lovers Relative To Bicameral Mind Theory

Bicameral Mind Theory and tarot Major Arcana Card Lovers

Tarot Lovers and the cards’ relationship to Bicameral Mind Theory, by  Julian Jaynes

My rendition of The Lovers tarot card defines in its imagery the clash of modern consciousness rising within humankind, thus preempting the automatic responses of previous generations.

Before 1000 BC, bicameral mind theory was of the opinion that humans responded robotically to the impulses of nature. Heard as ancestral voices, these impulses over time developed into the voices of gods.

The serpent featured in the card is raw nature. It is the source of hallucinated ancestral voices that converse with the maiden, our receptive, creative selves.

She makes the ancient sign of welcoming or honouring the serpent, her lover. This is important; it is not a sign of worship, but a greeting of equals.

Perseus, the figure descending from the sky, is the appearance of modern man and a new way of thinking.  This originates through an increase of emphasis on logical thought.

His drawn sword, symbolic of a pen, represents the origin of writing, a radical stimulus culminating with the end of the old ways symbolised by the serpent.

Hallucinated conversations, exorcised through writing, negated our ancestors’ need to listen to personal impulses and needs, thus causing a gravitation to reliance upon another man’s opinion over one’s own revelation.

The desert background is the state of our lives through the impact of no longer trusting, listening, or hearing the vocalisation of nature’s ancestral voices. It is symbolic of the loss of love.

The serpent becomes a threat because it is now the misunderstood voice of natural force.

See Dream Linguistics for techniques to renew communication with ancestral directives.