And they wrapped her in Darkness until she became it.”
Lilith, also known as, the Night Maiden has been a part of Abrahamic mythology for at least 3,000 years. Part of the etymology of her name comes from “Lilu;” meaning malevolent spirit in Akkadian text.
She predates angels, demons, and even Yahweh. The lore of Lilith goes all the way back to ancient Sumerian and Babylonian myths, and later became a part of Jewish mythology. Her evolution throughout the ages is nothing short of incredible. From the first wife of Adam in the Garden, to an infant murdering demoness, to wife of Samiel. As time went on; she split into older variants of the Divine Consort to finally a feminist icon in the 20th and 21st centuries.
In ancient Mesopotamia, the Ahsipu, who were healers that acted as a priesthood and performed rituals as such; greatly feared her. Some of their rituals involved fighting off evil spirits with the use of ‘white magic.’
Lilith arose from a class of demons known as “Lil” in Sumeria or “Liliyyot” as the plural form. She was even feared by the archangel, St. Michael. She was seen as a danger to pregnant women, babies, and young men. Some scholars argue that she was the sister of Ishtar, the Mesopotamian goddess of war and sex. Though it is highly debatable.
In other mythological activity, Lilith was known to consort with Lamashtu, a female Mesopotamian demon who slew children and drank the blood of men and ate their flesh. Lashmashtu was the daughter of the sky god, Anu and possessed up to seven different names. She was often described in incantations as the “seven witches.” One of the ways she would cause women to miscarry was tapping on the mother’s stomach seven times.
To fight that evil, the wind demon, Pazuzu, would be invoked to protect the pregnant mothers and young children. Yes, the Pazuzu demon that took possession of Reagan in the famous Exorcist movie. Sorry Pazuzu; you were a little misrepresented.
The Semitic Acadian word for night is ‘Lilum’ or ‘Liliatum;’ giving rise to a pan Mesopotamian demoness attested in later Phoenenician Israelite texts meaning to seduce young men in their sleep.
Through all this demonic assimilation came “Lilith.”
Lilith also appears in the Dead Sea Scrolls, “The Song of the Sage,” as an exorcistic text.
She gets several mentions in the Babylonian Talmud; where because of the sins of Eve, women have to grow long hair; like Lilith, and act as a pillow for her husband(during sex).
There are hundreds of incantation bowls from the Babylonian Talmud bearing images of Lilith.
Here is one example:
Here is one of Lilith’s most notable symbols.
Probably the most notable story of Lilith came around 700 CE when she was Adam’s wife before Eve. Lilith always saw herself as Adam’s equal and not a submissive wife. Even when they would lie down together; she refused to let Adam be on top. Of course, Adam did not approve of this and asked God to cast her out of the garden. Adam cries out and God sends three angels to due his biding…Senoi, Sansanoi, and Samangalaf. The 3 angels cast her out into the sea. In one narrative of Creation, she comes into being on the fifth day swimming in the primordial waters; as mentioned in Genesis, where she rules after being separated from Adam.
Those 3 names will come in handy later in order to protect unborn and newborn children from Lilith.
Another type of incantation that exists is to protect men from her succubus-like form. Nocturnal emissions were thought to marry the man of the house with Lilith thus you’d acquire a “Bill of Divorce” as a kind of ‘Katuba’ or alimony for Lilith. Others would threaten some kind of excommunication that would subject her to divine wrath.
Lilith spans a millennia from the age of Mesopotamia to the dawn of the Kabbalah in the 13th century. She instills a range of fears and anxieties from crib death to female autonomy.
Christian Spain is where the mythology truly blossomed along with the rise of the Kabbalah-which means ‘reception’ of mystical and theosophical teachings by focusing on the 10-interdimensions of the godhead, or the Sephiroth(Tree of Life). In the Sephiroth, Mercury is countered by severe judgment where Samiel comes in as a ‘demonic inversion.’
Mystically you have Adam & Eve vs. Lilith & Samiel. Lilith was powerful and beautiful but part of her curse was she became totally barren.
There’s ‘Lilith the Elder’ who was emanated from the Divine Throne as a notion of evil from which one can ascend to the wrongs of prophecy. Children born of overly-lustful sex are most vulnerable to Lilith.
Lilith ‘the Maiden’ would also be known as ‘Phonit’ who was beautiful from the navel up and fire below. In Jewish mythology she would feud with Samiel during Yom Kippur.
According to the lore, parents are cautioned when letting their children play alone. If they’re seen laughing and talking to themselves; it could mean they are not actually alone. Lilith is known to impress her impurity onto the children and then take them. This is why it’s important to have the names of the 3 angels hovering around to create a protective barrier from Lilith.
All of this ties into a long standing conspiracy theory that connects back to the Chateau des Amerois. A previous blog I wrote about the mass kidnappings and disappearances of children in Belgium. The theory stems out of this whole notion that the shady operations are all in service to the demon goddess in exchange for fortune and power. But, that’s all just a conspiracy theory. Or is it?
In conclusion, Lilith has been an archetypical figure throughout the ages giving rise to mystical folklore across many different cultures. She can be viewed as an external representation of what is a part of our shadow-selves. The stories of Lilith give us endless depth into the mythological and psychological behavior of human nature.
