Lilith: The First Woman
Lilith: The Woman of Many Stories
Lilith is an interesting character that has
been used in stories ranging from Syfy to religious myth. With Black Moon
Lilith being very present in astrology recently, the character of Lilith has
been present in my thoughts and here is some information I have learned. Please
add extra information and sources below! The links to my sources will be added
at the end.
Jewish
Legends
The
most popular story of Lilith comes from Jewish mythology in the Genesis of
Rabbah where she appears as Adam's wife. She was not created from Adam, but
alongside Adam as an equal from the same clay. Lilith was independent and
wanted to be consider equal. In some stories, Lilith is unwilling to lie with
Adam and left the Garden of Eden for good. In others, Adam was attempting to
establish dominance and Lilith refused to submit, choosing to leave the garden.
In
some versions of the myth, the story follows Lilith to the "Red Sea"
where the "demons" dwell. Lilith remained there reproducing with the
demons by the river, creating the spirits known as lilim/lilin, hundreds a
day. [Lilim/ lilin are claimed to be dark spirits that prey on men at night. I
didn't find much information on these spirits.] Adam soon got lonely and
asked God to send his angels three to bring Lilith back. Lilith refused, asking
the angels, how she could return after her time spent at the river? The angels
respond with a curse, proclaiming that Lilith's children will die, hundreds a
day.
This
is where Lilith is said to retaliate, promising to take young children and
became associated with still-born births and crib death, sparing only
those marked with an amulet from those same three angels
that cursed her. Through this conversation, we learn
that Lilith has the God-given power to "weaken" babies:
weakening male babies until the 8th day of life, or after the Jewish tradition
of circumcision, and female babies until the 12th or 20th days of life. Lilith
takes the children by robbing them of life and spirit.
This
is discussed in the Alphabet of Ben Sira, an anonymous Herbrew text from the middle ages. Later, it is suggested
that this story may have been shared to help explain away the many infant
deaths that plagued the population at the time. Amulets given to babies
from medieval times to modern days are still gifted bearing the name
of the three angels in this story for protection: Sanvi, Sasanvi, and
Samangelof.
Biblical
Connections
Lilith
is also found in the Hebrew scripture [lilit; the night monster] and some versions of
the Christina Bible once:
"Wildcats and hyenas will hunt together,
demons and devils dance
through the night.
The night-demon Lilith [lilit], evil
and rapacious,
will establish permanent quarters." -Isaiah 34,14
The Message
Translation; The Bible
In Isaiah, her name appears in a warning or
threat to Babylon, Egypt and others for their arrogance towards the Hebrew
G-d and many centuries later the Christian God. Other versions say her spirit
will find rest among the people.
Babylonian culture also had a myth for Lilith,
describing her as a dark spirit with dangerous, controllable sexual desires with the power to "fertilize herself" with the
sperm of unknowing men to create demons. In the Jewish mythology, Lilith also
known to steal men's seed, but only the seed of Adam out of jealousy of Eve's
creation.
In other stories, the seed of men from
erotic dreams or the act of masturbation can impregnate Lilith,
creating more lilim/lilin offspring. Which could explain why the God of the Old
Testament punished the spilling of seed on the ground in Genesis 38 with
death. As the passage reads, God is "offended by what [Onan] does and took
his life." There is not official reason given and Judah immediately
assumes the problem is Tamar. At the writing of this passage, Lilith would
have been very popular lore among the Jewish nations and this concept would add some perspective
to the story.
Europe Legends (?)
In some parts of Europe, Lilith represents
chaos and sexuality with the ability to cast spells on those around her,
especially men. Lilith is also related to the early vampire legends in
Europe.
I will be looking into this more, because I
love vampire lore!
Ireland, in the early 19th century produced
a novelist portrays her as the "patron of abortions", [talk
about bad publicity].
Black moon Lilith: Astrology
Black Moon Lilith in the astrology chart
represents a topographical point of the Moon. The Black Moon Lilith effects all
of us differently depending on the placement of it in our chart. With our
personalities, the Black Moon Lilith can cause our greatest short comings and
this placement is blamed from a lot of peoples bad choices, bad communications, and bad
responses. Once this placement is understood and explored consciously, it can
become a healthy strength that others will come to admire.
Black Moon Lilith is often associated with
death. Death and rebirth are represented in many different ways that do not necessarily
mean physical death. She was, however, present in the sky during the 9/11
terrorist attack and was present now and for several moon cycles before the
COVID-19 outbreak. Black Moon Lilith is currently present with Chiron, which
adds to the effects of Black Moon Lilith on everyone, especially if the
placement is present in your chart.
La
Bruja’s Thoughts
It
is unsurprising that the *rebellious woman character* becomes
known for being vicious, practicing hyper-sexuality, and gives birth to "darkness" that may or may not be interested in stealing infants. I am sure some versions
she even eats them.
The
woman that does not submit, will produce demons!
In other spheres of conversation, Lilith is
a symbol of liberation or positive rebellion. The imagery provided by the
"Red Sea" where Lilith finds her freedom and being the same place
that Moses will one day led God's people to freedom is not lost in the modern
interpretations of Lilith's story. In this light, Lilith becomes what all
powerful entities that maintain control through fear hate the most: a person
who is fully aware of and non-complacent in their oppression.
No symbol is black and white; this would
include Lilith and Black Moon Lilith. We are working with energies,
possibilities, and learning cycles. Religious text for many is considered a
collection of stories that are meant to share a lesson or teach a principle.
These stories can also open our eyes to different perspectives of the cultures’
past. If the story in the in the Alphabet of Ben Sira was created to blame someone/thing for the
death of babies in a community, this is a very interesting, historical remembrance of scapegoating to the "boogie man". A religious story created to explain away a social issue that also brings people closer to God, and more faithful and dependent on religions earthly leaders.
Now, society is finally opening to the
conversation about the few perspectives that were able to write "official"
history and religious teachings. Biases of cultures, scribes, and even educators should be explored
when learning and should always be considered when absorbing information,
including mine.
Sources:
The
Bible : NLT, MGS, TKJ
Others:
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