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Lilith
Lilith, the formidable and infamous figure who originates from Jewish and Middle Eastern folklore, is most widely known as a she-demon, a seductress and child killer, but beneath the veil of a complicated and fragmented identity, can the legacy of one of the most controversial female figures in world history give us information about how women are viewed through many lenses, how Lilith regained positive connotations within modern feminist movements, and most importantly, what makes her a witchy woman?
Origins
Lilith in her singular form first appears in The Alphabet of Ben Sira, a satirical text written in the eighth century CE, however this work only amalgamates a much longer history that dates back several thousands of years about a category of demons known as Liliths, with a male equivalent, Lilis.
Lilith as a seductress and child killer has a long history in ancient Babylonian religion and began as a collection of demonic beings, with the plural term being the male lilû-demons and the female ardat lilî-demons who were said to be the dead souls of young people, entering the windows of houses and taking the wives, children and husbands they never got to have.
They were cited as having a taste for flesh and blood and bearing wings, giving the Lilith distinct vampiric qualities. Eventually Lilith came to be known to seduce unwitting men, allowing the full metamorphosis to she-demon, discarding the original two genders.
Lilith in The bible is mentioned just once as ‘a dweller of the wastes’ in Isaiah 34:14, and, returning to The Alphabet of Ben Sira, Lilith there is told to be the first woman along with Adam in The Garden of Eden, who rejects Adam’s request for her submission to him with Lilith arguing, ‘We are equal to each other inasmuch as we were both created from the earth.’
Lilith’s fate as a sexually charged she-demon was to be sealed in The Zohar, a medieval compendium of Jewish esoteric and mystical teachings, where she attempts to seduce men and produce demonic children with their seed.
The clear paranoia of being unwittingly ‘seduced’ seemed to be extremely prevalent in early depictions of Lilith, and the texts that cemented her as a she-demon, rather than multiple demons made up of both genders paved the way for further demonisation. Consequently and inevitably, those depictions translated into Lilith being a symbol for female licentiousness, promiscuity and potentially even about the rejection of a traditional family life or even bitterness about infertility.
There are possible other lines of enquiry such as the first incarnations of Lilith as a response to the immorality of the time. A call to action on the unfaithfulness of married men along with the perils of pregnancy and childbirth, in a world where logical reasoning could easily have been placed on the mystical unseen and evil entity known as Lilith.
Lilith as a symbol of modern feminism
The reclaiming of Lilith as a symbol of feminism came about during the 1970’s in an inquiry into Lilith by Lilly Rivlin in an article published in feminist magazine, Ms. Which gave the concept of Lilith a distinct revival.
The criticism that ensured Lilith as an anti-type on ideals around what was once considered normal sexuality and family life was turned on its head, where Lilith spoke to female body autonomy, freedom of choice and control of one’s own destiny, transforming this she-demon into role-model. This became a ground for a powerful reclaiming of the entity known as Lilith, re-writing the misogynistic texts that were once written about her, and consequently about women.
What makes Lilith a witchy woman?
Lilith is not just an ancient evil entity, but a human reaction to the perceptions around women. From man-seducer to child killer, all the things that women have historically been persecuted for, Lilith embodies, that has always been prevalent in the vilification and oppression of women throughout history. Lilith is the historical scapegoat for those who wished to see women vilified. She was the archetypal ‘evil woman’, the ‘defiant woman’ and the ‘the woman who chooses to reject cultural or traditional expectations’.
Lilith as the first woman has determined her vilification, and her emancipation. She continues to cause controversy wherever she walks, and is one witchy woman who just keeps on creeping into our consciousness.
It is said that all witches derive from Lilith.
Lilith, the formidable and infamous figure who originates from Jewish and Middle Eastern folklore, is most widely known as a she-demon, a seductress and child killer, but beneath the veil of a complicated and fragmented identity, can the legacy of one of the most controversial female figures in world history give us information about how women are viewed through many lenses, how Lilith regained positive connotations within modern feminist movements, and most importantly, what makes her a witchy woman?
Origins
Lilith in her singular form first appears in The Alphabet of Ben Sira, a satirical text written in the eighth century CE, however this work only amalgamates a much longer history that dates back several thousands of years about a category of demons known as Liliths, with a male equivalent, Lilis.
Lilith as a seductress and child killer has a long history in ancient Babylonian religion and began as a collection of demonic beings, with the plural term being the male lilû-demons and the female ardat lilî-demons who were said to be the dead souls of young people, entering the windows of houses and taking the wives, children and husbands they never got to have.
They were cited as having a taste for flesh and blood and bearing wings, giving the Lilith distinct vampiric qualities. Eventually Lilith came to be known to seduce unwitting men, allowing the full metamorphosis to she-demon, discarding the original two genders.
Lilith in The bible is mentioned just once as ‘a dweller of the wastes’ in Isaiah 34:14, and, returning to The Alphabet of Ben Sira, Lilith there is told to be the first woman along with Adam in The Garden of Eden, who rejects Adam’s request for her submission to him with Lilith arguing, ‘We are equal to each other inasmuch as we were both created from the earth.’
Lilith’s fate as a sexually charged she-demon was to be sealed in The Zohar, a medieval compendium of Jewish esoteric and mystical teachings, where she attempts to seduce men and produce demonic children with their seed.
The clear paranoia of being unwittingly ‘seduced’ seemed to be extremely prevalent in early depictions of Lilith, and the texts that cemented her as a she-demon, rather than multiple demons made up of both genders paved the way for further demonisation. Consequently and inevitably, those depictions translated into Lilith being a symbol for female licentiousness, promiscuity and potentially even about the rejection of a traditional family life or even bitterness about infertility.
There are possible other lines of enquiry such as the first incarnations of Lilith as a response to the immorality of the time. A call to action on the unfaithfulness of married men along with the perils of pregnancy and childbirth, in a world where logical reasoning could easily have been placed on the mystical unseen and evil entity known as Lilith.
Lilith as a symbol of modern feminism
The reclaiming of Lilith as a symbol of feminism came about during the 1970’s in an inquiry into Lilith by Lilly Rivlin in an article published in feminist magazine, Ms. Which gave the concept of Lilith a distinct revival.
The criticism that ensured Lilith as an anti-type on ideals around what was once considered normal sexuality and family life was turned on its head, where Lilith spoke to female body autonomy, freedom of choice and control of one’s own destiny, transforming this she-demon into role-model. This became a ground for a powerful reclaiming of the entity known as Lilith, re-writing the misogynistic texts that were once written about her, and consequently about women.
What makes Lilith a witchy woman?
Lilith is not just an ancient evil entity, but a human reaction to the perceptions around women. From man-seducer to child killer, all the things that women have historically been persecuted for, Lilith embodies, that has always been prevalent in the vilification and oppression of women throughout history. Lilith is the historical scapegoat for those who wished to see women vilified. She was the archetypal ‘evil woman’, the ‘defiant woman’ and the ‘the woman who chooses to reject cultural or traditional expectations’.
Lilith as the first woman has determined her vilification, and her emancipation. She continues to cause controversy wherever she walks, and is one witchy woman who just keeps on creeping into our consciousness.
It is said that all witches derive from Lilith.
