Analysis of the Meru (Kenya) creation myth resembling the biblical Fall, comparing motifs (forbidden tree, serpent, lost immortality) with Afro-Eurasian parallels.
The “Fall” in Meru Mythology and Its Afro-Eurasian Parallels
How Did a Self-Aware Mind Evolve?
Meditations on mind, myth, and evolution. Cast the scales from your eyes!
TL;DR
- Symbolic thought emerged ~50,000 years ago, yet the universal human symbol, “I,” or the ego appears globally entrenched only in the Holocene ~10 kya.
- According to Eve Theory of Consciousness, women invented serpent-venom initiation rituals that reliably taught subject-object separation, producing powerful gene-culture evolution towards understanding “I am’” at a young age.
- The memory of this awakening is preserved worldwide in creation myths (cf. Lucifer, Nüwa, Quetzalcoatl) and was transmitted globally via bullroarer mystery cults (cf. the rites of Dionysus or Australian Dreamtime).
Topics
About
I’m Andrew Cutler, a Machine Learning engineer researching human origins. My work connects psychology, comparative mythology, and AI to trace how recursive self-awareness evolved. Snakecult.net is a place for me to put lightly-edited AI-generated essays that explore niche questions (usually produced with OpenAI’s Deep Research or latest reasoning model).
The Serpent Demands Your Judgment
Want to play a game? Cast your vote to determine which images grace these pages.
▶ ENTER THE VOTING CHAMBER ◀Research Articles
The Snake Cult of Consciousness vs. McKenna’s Stoned Ape Theory
An exploration of two theories on the origins of human consciousness: the Snake Cult/Eve Theory (snake venom) versus the Stoned Ape Theory (psilocybin mushrooms).
The Australian Dreamtime and the Symbolic Revolution: Indigenous Evidence for Late Consciousness?
Comparison of the early Holocene emergence of the Aboriginal Dreamtime symbolic system with the Near East’s Neolithic ‘revolution of symbols,’ examining Australian rock art, technology, exchange networks, language diffusion, and cognitive impacts.
Cosmic Herakles & Dionysus Zagreus: Orphic Cosmology and Mysteries
A detailed exploration of the complementary roles of Cosmic Herakles (Chronos) and Dionysus Zagreus in Orphic theogony, myth, ritual praxis, and Neoplatonic interpretation.
The Ritualised Mind and the Eve Theory of Consciousness: A Convergent Account of Human Cognitive Evolution
Deep synthesis of Tom Froese’s Ritualised-Mind Hypothesis and Andrew Cutler’s Eve/Snake-Cult Theory, resolving the Sapient Paradox through ritual-mediated recursion, female agency, and gene–culture sweeps.
Nüwa and Fuxi: The Serpentine First Couple and the Square-Compass Motif in Mythology
An exploration of the serpentine creator deities Nüwa and Fuxi in Chinese mythology and their parallels in world mythologies.
Pre-Columbian Trans-Oceanic Contact: Current Knowledge and Debate
A comprehensive analysis of evidence and scholarly debate surrounding pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact between the Americas and Old World civilizations.
Hermeticists of Fame
From Hermes Trismegistus to Carl Jung: the remarkable roster of scientists, mystics, and thinkers drawn to Hermetic wisdom across history.
When Symbols Get Real: The First Hard Evidence for Homo sapiens Symbolic Thought
A stricter audit of the archaeological record that only counts true symbols-ritual burial and figurative art-and shunts beads, ochre crayon-shavings, and doodles to the kiddie table.
Medici and the Americas: Foreknowledge?
Survey of speculative theories on pre-Columbian knowledge of the Americas and possible Medici foreknowledge.