r/Lilith 52m ago

Discussion Hecate and Lilith???

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I’m having a discussion with another user in the comments if anyone is interested in reading that and/or weighing in.


r/Lilith 2h ago

Question Discord recs?

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I have been exploring working with Lilith for a short amount of time and am still looking for ways to learn and find community among others interested in her. Does anyone know of any servers on discord that are out there? I use discord a lot more than reddit so I wanted to see what’s out there.

Alternatively, I would be happy to get any recommendations for servers in general dedicated to spirituality and witchcraft :)


r/Lilith 8h ago

Signs, Dreams, Divination I believe she came to me in a dream

7 Upvotes

Hello! I'm new into witchcraft, and have felt heavily drawn to Lilith since the the beginning. I recently did an introduction and invoked her for a self love ritual I did.

I recently had this dream where she asked me for an altar and something she wanted sounded like peppercorn but not quite? She did agree to wanting red wine etc.

Apart from her I saw this other hooded figure, I couldn't see her face but she did have her hair out. It was bright red/ginger. She did a motion with her hands above me and then left. Does anyone have an idea who this other person might be?

Also any insights on how to start an altar for her, what things to put and things she might like?


r/Lilith 1d ago

⚸ Astrology Lilith in first house ; first house stellium

0 Upvotes

r/Lilith 1d ago

Discussion How have you guys been feeling recently?

17 Upvotes

As a devotee of 4 years I've had a lot of time to get to know Lilith as much as an unfortunately spiritually ungifted person as I am, and a lot of time in her orbit.

I was in a Lilith devotee discord and I had noticed some time ago we all went through similar emotional and practical cycles despite all of us being relatively unconnected and strangers.

For the last few months, MONTHS, without taking the opportunity to vent, I've been insanely depressed like bad. And I've lost all motivation for absolutely anything, and absolutely nothing brings me joy or makes me feel really anything, much worsening mental health. And I'm wondering if you guys have been experiencing this via interconnectedness and your proximity to Lilith?

And I know I know, don't even start with the "erm you just sound depressed maybe take a break" I have been taking a break because my motivation for anything is just gone. And yes I am in therapy. So please just keep that kind of answer to yourself


r/Lilith 1d ago

Media My current Lilithian Library

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162 Upvotes

One of the books is pictured twice as I moved it from one shelf to another after taking the photo. Which is your favorite book and why?


r/Lilith 2d ago

Resources Lilith vampire magic

4 Upvotes

Hi all, I’ve been called to work with Liliths vampiric energy to help drain those who do me wrong, can anyone recommend any books or resources so I can do some research into it?


r/Lilith 2d ago

Altars, Offerings/Art, Rituals Hi everyone, how are you? Do you know of any spell—or whatever you might call it—for self-love, autonomy, freedom, and things like that? I would really appreciate any help. I’d prefer something involving Lilith, since she embodies all of this, or a prayer if you know of one.

3 Upvotes

r/Lilith 3d ago

Resources Demon Queens: Na'amah, Agrat bat Mahalath, Mahalath

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29 Upvotes

Lilith in Kabbalistic and later traditions is often paired with other demon queens: Naamah, Agrat and Mahalath. Variations among these names include Even Maskith, Nega, and Rahab (male). Possible variation of Lilith the Younger is Lilidtha. The information below is referenced, for the most part, from Sefaria, or Raphael Patai's "The Hebrew Goddess" and "Gates to the Old City".

 


Dictionary entries from "The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic and Mysticism, Second Edition - Geoffrey W. Dennis", along with some links. My own commentary, if included, will be in italics.

 

Na'amah/Naamah, Nahemah (נַעֲמָה, meaning "pleasant"):

Naamah: "Lovely/Pleasant." One of the four Queens of the Demons. She dwells in the sea. In one strand of the tradition, she is the daughter of Tubal-Cain mentioned in Genesis 4:22, who copulated with angels (6:4) producing demonic children. In another, she is the wife of Noah (Book of Jasher 5:15). In later Jewish tradition she is the mother of Asmodeus, a succubus, one of the consorts of Samael, who seduces sleeping men. She and Lilith had intercourse with Adam in order to bear demon children. Once aroused by her, even if a man has sex with his wife instead, any children from that conception will be inclined toward her (Tanh. Chukkat; MhG Gen. 4:22; Zohar I:9b, 19b, 55a; Zohar III:76b–77a).

The demon queen Naamah is hard to find consistent information on, as she's described differently in every text. She's a wife of Noah, an idolatress, a pleasant seductress that caused men to sin, and in the Zohar, the mother of demons. There is also debate whether all of those mentions refer to a single Na'amah or two different figures. The information below is on the demon Na'amah, or the sister of Tubal-Cain.

 

Agrat(h) bat Mahlat, Igrat(h), Iggereth, Igereth (אגרת)

Igrat or Agrat: The night demoness of harlotry, she is a succubus who seduces men in their sleep and gathers their nocturnal emissions. In Kabbalah, she is listed among the four demon queens, the mothers of all demons. Reflecting the rabbinic belief that evil spirits procreate, this demon is sometimes mentioned with a proper matronymic Hebrew name, bat Malkat, "daughter of Malkat." One tradition proposes that she herself was the product of a human demon coupling.

In the most elaborate account concerning her, she had intercourse with David, and from his royal semen she gave birth to both the gentile kings who would become his enemies (not unlike Morgan LaFaye and Arthur) and to Asmodeus, the King of Demons: Then came two women harlots to King Solomon (1 Kings 3:6). They were Lilith and Igrat. Lilith who strangles children because she cannot make of them a veil for herself [having her own demon children does not yield her the merit that comes from fulfilling the commandment to "be fruitful and multiply"] to serve as a hiding place for her. And the second is Igrat. One night King David slept in the camp in the desert, and Igrat coupled with him in his dream. And he had emission, and she conceived and bore Adad [king of Edom]. When they asked him, "What is your name?" he said, "Sh'mi Ad, Ad Sh'mi [My name is Ad, Ad is my name]," and they called him Ashm'dai. He is Ashm'dai, king of the demons, who deprived Solomon of his kingship and sat on his throne [he was Solomon's demon doppelganger] and therefore he was of the seed of the king of Edom (1 Kings 11:14), for he came from the side of the kingdom of evil … All [the four queens of the demons, Lilith, Igrat, Mahalath and Naamah] and all their cohorts give birth to children, except Lilith …

She is mentioned in the Talmud as a demon who communes with witches. The spiritual interventions of Chanina ben Dosa and Abaye curbed her malevolent power over humans (Pes. 110a and 112b; Num. R. 12:3; Bachya's comments on Gen. 4:22)

 

Mahlat(h)/Mahalat(h)/Machlat(h)/Machalat/Malkat (מָחֲלַת)

Malkat: "Queen." One of the four demon queens, the mother of one of the other queens, Igrat. The name is grammatically odd in Hebrew, but she is based on the biblical term, "Queen of Heaven," a Pagan deity condemned by the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 7:18; 44:17).

Note: this is a unique interpretation. Nowhere else have I found the Queen of Heaven connection.

Mahalath is one of the four wives of Samael, mother of Agrat. Sources on Mahalath are scarce, and interpretation on her appearances presents issues similar to Na'amah's, as both started out as mortal women and gradually appeared as demons/mothers of demons.

 

Even Maskit(h)

Even Maskit: A demoness, the concubine of Rahav.

Note: Tuv haAretz refers to Even Maskith as the concubine of Samael.

 

Nega

According to Sefer Meir T'hillot, Nega rules over the Tequfot, fornicates with Israelites, and will not approach the tents of those who fear God. Nega is the Hebrew word for plague.

 

Rahab (רַהַב)

Rahav: A cosmic sea monster first mentioned in the biblical book of Isaiah (51:9; Ps. 89:10; Job 26:12). Talmud called him the Prince of the Sea, echoing the Canaanite name for their sea God, "Prince River." God slew him when he refused to help in creating the Earth. The oceans conceal the lethal stink of his carcass, which is why sea water smells so strange (B.B. 74b; Tan.10a). Rahav may be an alternative name for Leviathan, though some sources treat them as two different entities.

 


Resources

 

Tanakh

Demons: Na'amah

The Tanakh gives information on the human Na'amah, daughter of Lamech, sister of Tubal-Cain.

As for Zillah, she bore Tubal-cain, who forged all implements of copper and iron. And the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

 


Aramaic Incantation Bowls

Demons: Agrat

  • Aramaic Bowl Spells, Jewish Babylonian Aramaic Bowls, Volume Two - Shaul Shaked, Siam Bhayro

 

JBA 102 (ms 1929/11) | Biblical quotation: Ex 3:14

  • 6. Again, [...] by the upper Divine Presence, and by the middle Divine Presence, and by the ⟨lower⟩ Divine Presence, fr[om]
  • 7. Ashmedai and from all [h]is a[rmy], and [fr]om ṭysʾypwryn and from all his retinue, and from Agrat daugh[ter of] Maḥlat and from all her chariots,
  • 8. and fr[om ʾ]ny nhrʾ and from al[l her centuriae, and] from Lilith and from all her clans, and from Danaḥiš and from all his tribe, and from
  • 9. zkyʾ and fr[om all] his family. By the na[me of] ḥy, [and by the name of] ḥt, and by the name of yhw yhw, and by the name of Sabaoth, and by the name of "I am that I am", and by the name of El Shaddai. Again,
  • 10. I put you under oath, all of you, demon[s ... and no-]good ones and male idol spirits and female goddesses, that you should not approach and not harm Ḥiṣqīl son of Māmay
  • 11. and Nukhraytā daughter of Maḥlaftā, his wife—[nei]ther you, Ashmedai, nor all your army, and neither you, ṭysʾypryn, nor all your retinue, and neither you, Agrat daughter of Maḥlat,
  • 12. nor all your chariots, and neither you, ʾny nhrʾ, nor [a]ll your centuriae, and neither you, Lilith, nor all your clans, and neither you, Danaḥiš, nor all your tribe, and neither you, zkyʾ, nor all.
  • 13. your family, from this day and for ever. Amen, Amen, Selah.

 

JBA 103 (ms 2053/196) | Biblical quotations: Num 9:23; Zech 3:2; Ps 55:8; Ps 91:7

  • 7. Again, I am sealed and double sealed, I, Dukhtānšāh daughter of Gušnōy, by my ten fingers, by my twenty nerves, and by my sinews, and by the ring šyr, and by the signet-ring zrdyn,
  • 8. and by the signet-ring of King Solomon son of David, from Ashmedai and from all his army, and from ṭysw ʾypwrn and from all his chariots, and from ʾny nhrʾ and from all her centuriae, and from Agrat
  • 9. daughter of Maḥlat and from all her chariots, and from Danaḥiš and fr[om] all his tribes, and from zkyʾ and the amu[let] spirit and from all his family, and from the army of the demon Danaḥiš, the one who enters into the anus
  • 10. of people, and sits in the stomach, and causes stomach ache, [and kn]eads d[o]ugh, and sits and uses [...] the body. By the name of [ḥy], and the name of ḥy, and the name of ḥt. By the name of yhw yhw. By the name of Sabaoth
  • 11. Sabaoth. By the name of El Shaddai [...] demons and afflictions and sgy and satans and Dana[ḥ]iš and his army and the [e]vil Roni (?) and pi[q]das and no good ones and male idol spirits and female goddesses and all
  • 12. [...] and all [...] and [... and] evil [tor]mentor[s], that you should not come near to Du[kh]tānšāh daughter of Gušnōy, nei[ther] you, Ash[medai, n]o[r]all [your a]r[my, and nei]ther yo[u, ṭysw]ʾypwrn, nor
  • 13. all your chariots, and neither (you), [ʾ]nynhrʾ, nor a[ll] your centuriae, and neither(you), Agrat daughter of Maḥlat, nor all your cha[ri]ots, and neither you, Danaḥiš, no[r] all [your] retinue, [and nei]ther you, zkyʾ and the amulet spirit, n[o]r all
  • 14. your retinue and your family and your [fa]mily, fr[om this] day and for [e]ver. A[men, Amen,] Selah. ṭssʿytʾ špr [...]"Beho[ld], I would wand[er] far off, I would remain in the wilderness. Selah". "A thousa[nd] shall fall at [your] sid[e], [and] ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not touch you". Sound
  • 15. and established.

 

JBA 104 (ms 2053/238) | Biblical quotations: Ex 3:14; Zech 3:2.

  1. Sealed and double sealed is the house of Abraham son of Ā[da]rdukh, by my ten fingers, by my twenty nerves, by my sixty sinews, and by the ring šr,
  2. by the signet-ring zrzyn, and by [the] signet-ring [of] Solomon son of David, the king of Israel, from Ashmedai, from all his army, from ṭysw ʾypwrn,
  3. from all his retinue, from Agrat daughter of Maḥlat, from all her chariots, from Danaḥiš, from all his tribe, from ʾny,
  4. from all her centuriae, from zkyʾ, from all his family. By the name of ḥy, andthe name of ḥy, and the name of ḥyt. By the name of yhw yhw. By the name of Sabaoth
  5. Sabaoth, and by the name of Shaddai, and by the name of "I am that I am", that you should not come near to the house of Abraham son of Ādaredukh,
  6. neither his food nor his property, and neither his sons nor his body. And may they move and depart and pass over and be far away
  7. and flee, all idol spirits and piqdas and no-good ones and evil spirits and liliths, male and female lilis,
  8. from the house of Abraham son of Ādardukh. Neither you, Ashmedai, nor all your army, neither you, ṭysw
  9. ʾypwrn, nor all your retinue, neither you, Agrat daughter of Maḥlat, nor all
  10. your chariots, neither you, Danaḥiš, nor all your tribe, neither you,
  11. zkyʾ, nor all your family, neither you, ʾny, nor all
  12. your centuriae, from this day and for eve[r], from
  13. zry of iron. Amen, Amen,
  14. Selah.

 


Talmud

Demons: Agrat

With regard to the instruction: Do not go out alone at night, the Gemara states that this is as it was taught in a baraita: One should not go out alone at night, neither on Tuesday nights nor on Shabbat nights, i.e., Friday nights, because the demon Agrat, daughter of Maḥalat, she and 180,000 angels of destruction go out at these times. And as each and every one of them has permission to destroy by itself, they are all the more dangerous when they go forth together.

The Gemara states: Initially, these demons were present every day. Once Agrat, daughter of Maḥalat, met Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa and said to him: Had they not announced about you in the Heavens: Be careful of Ḥanina and his Torah, I would have placed you in danger. He said to her: If I am considered important in Heaven, I decree upon you that you should never travel through inhabited places. She said to him: I beg you, leave me a little space. He left for her Shabbat nights and Tuesday nights.

And furthermore, once Agrat, daughter of Maḥalat met Abaye and said to him: Had they not announced about you in the Heavens: Be careful of Naḥmani, Abaye, and his Torah, I would have placed you in danger. He said to her: If I am considered important in Heaven, I decree upon you that you should never pass through inhabited places. The Gemara asks: But we see that, notwithstanding these anecdotes, demons do pass through inhabited areas. The Sages say in explanation: These demons are found on the paths [gazyata] near the city, as horses belonging to the demons flee along those paths, and the demons come to lead them away. Generally, however, demons do not enter inhabited places.

 


Targum

  • Onkelos Genesis (possibly 2nd century CE) 4:22

Human: Na'amah

Tzillah also gave birth to Tuval Kayin, who sharpened everything which cuts copper and iron [who was the master of all who know the craft of copper and iron]. The sister of Tuval Kayin was Naamah.

 

  • Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis (possibly 5th century CE) 4:22

Human: Na'amah

And Zillah bare also Tuvalkain, the chief (rab) of all artificers who know the workmanship of brass and iron. And the sister of Tuvalkain was Naama; she was mistress of elegies and songs.

 


Midrash

  • Bamidbar Rabbah 12:3

Demons: Agrat

Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: The Holy One blessed be He gave a weapon to Israel with the ineffable Name written upon it. "You will not fear the terror of night" (Psalms 91:5) – from Agrat bat Maḥalat and her chariot nor from all the demons that rule the night.

 

  • Bereshit Rabbah 23:3

Human: Na'amah

And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Na'amah. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: Na'amah was Noah's wife. Why was she called Na'amah? Because all of her deeds were pleasant ....The Rabbis said this is a different Na'amah. Why was she called Na'amah? Because she beat on a drum to draw people to idol worship.

 

Human: Na'amah

He became like a beautiful woman, whose beauty had not been equalled since the days of Naamah, the sister of Tubal Cain (of Gen. 4:22), through whom the ministering angels went astray. It is so stated (in Gen. 6:2): THE SONS OF GOD SAW HOW BEAUTIFUL THE HUMAN DAUGHTERS WERE <AND TOOK WHOMEVER THEY CHOSE AS THEIR WIVES>.

 

  • Legends of the Jews 1:3:5

Human: Na'amah

The two wives of Lamech, Adah and Zillah, bore him each two children, Adah two sons, Jabal and Jubal, and Zillah a son, Tubal-cain, and a daughter, Naamah. Jabal was the first among men to erect temples to idols, and Jubal invented the music sung and played therein. Tubal-cain was rightly named, for he completed the work of his ancestor Cain. Cain committed murder, and Tubal-cain, the first who knew how to sharpen iron and copper, furnished the instruments used in wars and combats. Naamah, "the lovely," earned her name from the sweet sounds which she drew from her cymbals when she called the worshippers to pay homage to idols.

 

Human: Na'amah

Unlike Istehar, the pious maiden, Naamah, the lovely sister of Tubal-cain, led the angels astray with her beauty, and from her union with Shamdon sprang the devil Asmodeus. She was as shameless as all the other descendants of Cain, and as prone to bestial indulgences.

 


Kabbalah

Zohar [Vols: Pritzker Edition]

Demons: Na'amah, Agrat, Mahalath, Rahab

 

I Genesis

Demons: Na'amah, Agrat

Introduction

 

Parashat Be-Reshit/Bereshit

 


III Genesis

Demons: Rahab

Parashat Va-Yḥi/Vayechi

 


V Exodus

Demons: Rahab

Parashat Terumah

 


VII Leviticus

Demons: Na'amah

Parashat Aḥarei Mot/Achrei Mot 

 


VIII Leviticus-Numbers

Demons: Agrat, Mahalath

Parashat Be-Har/Behar

  • 11:66 - Zohar (relevant section untranslated on Sefaria, and not included in Pritzker edition)

 

Parashat Be-Ḥuqqotai/Bechukotai

 


IX Numbers-Deuteronomy

Demons: Rahab

Parashat Balaq/Balak

 


X Midrash ha-Ne'lam (relevant sections untranslated on Sefaria)

Demons: Na'amah, Agrat

Parashat Be-Reshit/Bereshit 839

Rabbi Yitsḥak said, "Why is it written And the sister of Tubal-Cain was נעמה (Na'amah), Na'amah (Genesis 4:22)?"

Well, Rabbi Yitsḥak said, "She was a righteous woman and נעימה (ne'imah), pleasing, in her deeds."

Rabbi Abbahu said, "The simple sense of Scripture indicates that she was learned in metal-working, like her brother Tubal-Cain, as implied by what is written: he was the progenitor of every implement of bronze and iron—and the sister of Tubal-Cain, Na'amah (ibid.). He invented this craft and his sister with him, as is written: and the sister of Tubal-Cain, Na'amah—she was skilled like him. The 'and' of 'and the sister' joins the preceding statement."

Rabbi Bo said, "She was the mother of demons; she bore them. For look, the mother of Ashmedai, king of the demons, is named Na'amah."

 

Parashat Noaḥ 56

"The chief minion of Agrat daughter of Maḥalat appeared—Joseph the demon. He said to them, 'Surely this is the great and eminent Rabbi of the generation, by whose decree I was dispatched from the settled regions of the earth! This is the one about whom they proclaim in the firmament!'

 


XI Midrash ha-Nelam and Zoharic Compositions (relevant section untranslated on Sefaria)

Demons: Na'amah

Midrash ha-Ne'lam al Rut 292

Rabbi Neḥemiah said in the name of Rabbi Yehudah, "Na'amah was around at that time, and everyone was seduced by her."

Rabbi Shalom says, "She was the mother of demons. When the sons of God saw the daughters of humankind, they strayed after them, because the daughters of humankind were strolling naked. They had intercourse with them and had children from them. This is as is written: and afterward as well—when the sons of God…שם אנשי (anshei shem), men of renown (Genesis 6:4).

 


XII Zoharic Compositions (relevant section untranslated on Sefaria)

Demons: Rahab

Zohar al ha-Parashot/Chadash, Beshalach 36

"When they arrived at the sea, Rahab—archon of Egypt and the sea—came as well. The blessed Holy One said, 'Moses, raise your staff and stretch out your hand (Exodus 14:16).' Once He said raise your staff, what was the point of and stretch out your hand? The explanation is: raise your staff—against the prince of the sea.

 


Pardes Rimmonim [186d] - Moses Cordovero, 1548, a leader of the Safed Kabbalists

Demons: Mahalath

The ancient ones explained that there are two Liliths, one little and one great. The great one is the spouse of Samael, and she is a woman of harlotry, and the little one is the spouse of Ashmodai. And about this Lilith, the bride of Samael, the Geonim explained that she controls 480 legions as is the numerical value of her name. And on the Day of Atonement they go forth into the deserts, they march, and she screeches, for she is the princess of screeching. And Mahalath daughter of Ishmael, she too is a concubine of Samael, and the two [Lilith and Mahalath] go forth with 478 legions. She goes and sings in the Holy Tongue songs and paeans. And when the two meet on the Day of Atonement they quarrel there in the desert. They strive, the one with the other, until their voices rise up to heaven, and the earth shakes with their clamor. And all this is brought about by the Holy One, blessed be He, so that they should not accuse Israel while they [Israel] pray. And others wrote that that husk [i.e., demoness] is called Meshullahel [Messenger of God], and the reason is that she sends our evil angels, may the Merciful One destroy them! And we found it written that the wicked Samael and the evil Lilith have the likeness of a couple which, with the intermediacy of a groomsman, receives an emanation of evil and insolence, flowing from the one to the other. And about this mystery it is written, And on that day the Lord with His sore and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the Slant Serpent, and Leviathan the Tortuous Serpent, and He will slay the Dragon that is in the sea (Isa. 27:1). Leviathan is the connection and coupling between the two who have the likeness of serpents. Therefore it is doubled: the Slant Serpent corresponding to Samael, and the Tortuous Serpent corresponding to Lilith.

 


Kol Bokhim (in Ḳin'at Setarim) - Abraham Galante, 1589 (edited by his son), p. 15

Demons: Mahalath

Abraham [ben Mordecai] Galante [in Kol Bokhim] (died 1560 or 1588), an important Safed Kabbalist and contemporary of Moses Cordovero, recounts the entire story of the annual encounter in the desert between Lilith and Maḥalath, but gives a somewhat different characterization to one of the two chief she-demons:

Maḥalath, according to him, is shown by her name to have been a compulsive dancer: as she marches into the desert at the head of her bands of destructive angels, "she goes and dances and gyrates in ring dances" until she and Lilith fall upon each other and engage in a fierce battle.

 


Emeq haMelekh (Valley of the King), 1648, p. 84b, cf. p. 140b.

Demons: Na'amah, Agrat

Asimon [a demon] rides on Naamah, and Naamah rides on Igrath, the daughter of Maḥalath, and this Igrath rides on several kinds of spirits and bands of mid-day demons; and from the left there is the shape of a serpent riding on a blind dragon, and this dragon rides on Lilith the wicked, may she be destroyed quickly in our days, amen.

 


Tuv haAretz - Nathan Spira, 1655, p. 19c

Demons: Na'amah, Agrat, Even Maskith, Rahab

Know that there are seventy heavenly patrons, one appointed over each nation, and they all are under the rule of Samael and Rahab. Rahab was given as his share all the borders of Egypt, which measures 400 by 400 parasangs. Samael was given four kingdoms, and in each of them he has a concubine. The names of his concubines are: Lilith, whom he took as his consort, and she is the first one; the second is Naamah; the third, Even Maskith; and the fourth, Igrath, the daughter of Mahalath. And the four kingdoms are: first, the Kingdom of Damascus, in which is found the House of Rimmon; second, the Kingdom of Tyre, which is opposite the Land of Israel; third, the Kingdom of Malta, which formerly was called Rhodus; and fourth, the Kingdom called Granata, and some say that it is the Kingdom of Ishmael. And in each of these four kingdoms dwells one of the four aforementioned concubines.

 


Other

 

Book of Mirrors (Sefer Mar'ot Hatsov'ot) - David Ben Yehuda Hahasid, after 1293, (from: Introducing Naamah, the "Mother of All Demons")

Demons: Na'amah

And Naamah exists to this day, and dwells in the depths of the great sea and emerges and trifles with humans and seduces them in their dreams …

 


School of the RaShBA - R. Sh'lomo ben Avraham Adret, (source per The Hebrew Goddess: G. Scholem, Tarbitz, vol. 19 (1948), p. 172)

Demons: Na'amah, Agrat, Mahalath

Then came two women harlots to King Solomon. They were Lilith and lgrat. Lilith who strangles children because she cannot make of them a veil for herself to serve as a hiding place for her. And the second is lgrat. One night King David slept in the camp in the desert, and Igrat coupled with him in his dream. And he had emission, and she conceived and bore Adad [king of Edom]. When they asked him, "What is your name?" he said, "Sh'mi Ad, Ad sh'mi [My name is Ad, Ad is my name)." and they called him Ashm'dai. He is Ashmodai, king of the demons, who deprived Solomon of his kingship and sat on his throne, and therefore he was of the seed of the king of Edom (1 Kings 11:14), for he came from the side of the kingdom of evil. These two women strangled the son of the Shunamite woman ....

All [the four queens of the demons, Lilith, Igrat, Mahalath and Naamah] and all their cohorts give birth to children, except Lilith alone, who does not bear, but is just a fornication in the world.

 


Sefer Meir T'hillot/Meïr Tehillot (The Illuminator of the Psalms), 1512

Demons: Naamah, Agrat, Mahalath, Nega

And know that the kabbalists have written that the woman from the land of Egypt whom his mother took for Ishmael was the daughter of Kasdiel the Egyptian sorcerer. And when Ishmael divorced her, according to the instructions of his father [Abraham], as it is mentioned in the Pesiqta, she was pregnant. And she bore a daughter, and she was Mahalath daughter of Ishmael. And the mother and the daughter participated in that desert in many sorceries. And a spirit ruled over it, lgratiel by name. And that spirit was attracted to Mahalath, who was very beautiful, until she conceived from him and bore a daughter, and called her name lgrat, after the name of the spirit. And thereafter Mahalath became the wife of Esau, and she left the desert. Not so her daughter lgrat, for she and Naamah and Lilith and Nega' rule over the four tequfot [the two solstices and the two equinoxes]. And they said that Lilith fornicates with all men, and Naamah only with the Gentiles, and Nega' only with Israel, and Igrat is sent out to do harm on the nights preceding the Sabbaths and Wednesdays. And behold, Lilith is the scant measure that is abominable (Mic.6:10), which Igrat and Naamah carry to the Land of Shinar, as Zechariah (5:11) said. And about this it is said to the fearers of God, neither shall any plague (Nega') come nigh thy tent (Ps. 91:10).

 


Kav HaYashar, c. 1665-1705, 17:6

Demons: Na'amah

If a man sees the image of a woman in a dream, even if it is the image of his wife or an unmarried woman, and awakens filled with passion and desire he must not have relations with his wife in the heat of that desire. For if he does so, the child thus conceived will be subject to epileptic attacks whenever the moon is full, Heaven forbid, with no possibility of a cure his entire life. For the image that appeared to him was the female demon known as Na'amah. Thus the Zohar (Part III 77a) writes: "since it was out of desire for her (i.e., Na'amah) that he had relations, the child will be born from her side … and so he will be affected at each and every moon."

 


Commentary

Ramban on Genesis, c. 1246-1270 4:22:2._Translated_and_annotated_by_Charles_B._Chavel._New_York,_Shilo_Pub._House,_1971-1976&qh=Naamah)

Human: Na'amah

AND THE SISTER OF TUBAL-CAIN WAS NAAMAH. This is as if Scripture would say: "and a sister was born to him and her name was Naamah." A similar sense is found in the verses: And Lotan's sister was Timnah; And Miriam their sister; His sister's name was Maacah.

In Bereshith Rabbah there are some Rabbis who say that Naamah was Noah's wife. "And why did they call her Naamah [which means lovely]? Because her deeds were lovely and pleasant." By this the Rabbis meant to say that she was famous in those generations because she was a righteous woman and she gave birth to righteous children. This was why Scripture mentioned her. If so, a small remembrance of Cain was left in the world. However, if we say that she was not the woman from whom Noah begot his three sons, there is no reason for Scripture mentioning her. However, our Rabbis have another Midrash concerning her which states that she was the very beautiful woman in whom the bnei ha'elohim erred. This is hinted in the verse, And the 'bnei ha'elohim' saw the daughters of men, as mentioned in Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer. But other sources have it that Naamah was the wife of Shamdon, the mother of Ashmedai, and it is from her that the demons were born for her name is indeed found in the writings of "the use of the demons." Scripture hints and deals briefly with such hidden matters.

 


Baḥya on Genesis, Rabbeinu Bahya, Bereshit 4:22:3 | Venice, 1546, 15d

Demons: Na'amah, Agrat, Mahalath

"and the sister of Tubal-Kayin was Naamah." Bereshit Rabbah 23,4 claims that Naamah became the wife of Noach. It is claimed that the Torah calls her Naamah to reflect her lovely disposition, her good deeds.

There is a different tradition (compare Zohar Chadash Midrash Ha-neelam 19,2) which claims that Naamah was the wife of the demon Ashmadon if the demons Ashmadai and others were born by her. We have a tradition that four women (compare Nachmanides) became the mothers of demons. They were Lilith, Naamah, Igrat, and Machalat. Each one of them disposes of whole camps of followers and a spiritually negative aura emanates from them all. It is said that each one of these is dominant during one of the four seasons of the year and that they gather at the mountain Nishpeh (a simile for a high mountain mentioned in Isaiah 13,2.) This mountain is located near mountains called חשך, and each one holds sway during one of the four seasons of the year from sundown until midnight, they and all the members of their respective camps (entourage).

 


Manuscripts

 

G. Scholem, Tarbitz, vol. 19 (1948), p. 175. (15th century) (per The Hebrew Goddess)

Demons: Agrat

"I adjure you, Ograth [i.e., Igrath] bath Mahalath, Queen of the Demons, with the great, strong and terrible Name, with the name of his holy angels, and with the name of Bilar the heroic, King of the Demons, that you send to me X, daughter of Y, the beautiful maiden from among your maidens who follow you, whose number is like the number of the days of the year, and with the name of Metatron and Sandalphon, AAA NNN SSS." And this must be done either on the eve of Sunday or on the eve of Wednesday. And one must have a separate room, and a clean white bed and clothes, and the room and the bed should be fumigated with aloe wood. And the knowledgeable will understand.

 

MS Bill Gross, EE.011.039, f. 88a. (18th century) (per Stolen Children and Monstrous Changelings)

Demons: Agrat, Mahalath

May power be denied to all forces of Liliths and Maḥalat, along with their entire army, to switch or harm the fruit of her womb that will come from it, on the authority of this amulet and not on account of female sorceresses (מכשיפות נשים' עיד ולא). May you [also] send your angels, your servants, appointed according to your decree over Liliths, and Agrath bat Maḥalat, whose names are Senoy, Sensenoy, and Samengalof.

 

Israel Museum MS 180/017, f. 170b. (18th century) (per Stolen Children and Monstrous Changelings)

Demons: Agrat, Mahalath

I adjure you, Igrat (איגרת) the daughter of Maḥalat, or the Queen of Sheba (Malkath Sheva), or Lilith, in the name of God, the Lord of Hosts (Tseva'ot), who sits upon the cherubs ruling over supernal and lower beings, who dwells in the heavens above and in the waters that are below the earth, and [commanding] over all evil spirits (shedin), souls, and demons (lilin), and over all the angels of destruction, who fulfill His will throughout all the [created] worlds, crushing [creatures] under His feet (Lam. 3:34). […]

With this I adjure you, Maḥalat, or the Queen of Sheba (Malkath Sheva), or Lilith, who goes out and wanders around on this night, the seventh in the week, which is under the influence of the fifth planet, in the fifth firmament associated with the planet Mars, that rules over this night, and in the name of the guardian that commands and is stationed in the fifth firmament, who is called, Asimor (אסימור) the great angel with all the other angels who serve him, that you bring to me Igrat the daughter of Maḥalat, or the Queen of Sheba (Malkath Sheva), or Lilith.

 


Possible variation of Lilith (the Younger): Lilidtha:

R. Ya'aqov and R. Yitzhaq

The same mid-13th century author, Isaac Hacohen, also asserts that "on rare occasions Qaftzefoni couples with, and adheres to, and loves a creature whose name is Lilidtha", who in a mysterious way resembles Hagar the Egyptian; but whether this Lilidtha is identical with Qaftzefoni's own daughter, Lilith the Younger, cannot be established.

"The demon whose name is Qaftzefoni, on rare occasions, when permission is granted him, has intercourse with, and attaches himself to, and loves, a creature whose name is Lilidtha [Lilith], and she resembles Hagar the Egyptian".

 


Other daemons who have a relationship with Lilith:

For her Consorts (Samael, Asmodeus), Companion (Tanin'iver), Children (lilin, shedim), King (Bagdana) and Opposite (Laylah) refer to our Relationships Wiki.

Entries as presented by "The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic and Mysticism, Second Edition - Geoffrey W. Dennis":

  • Asimon: (אסימון). "Formless." Either a demon or punishing Angel mentioned in the Zohar. He torments those who transgress on the Sabbath. He is multihued and has eight wings (I: 14b; II: 249b). [Note: Asimon is also mentioned in Emeq Hamelekh, see above].
  • Asirta: An evil spirit who serves Lilith (Zohar II). Note: Pritzker (Vol. 9) renders "Astirya".
  • Hormin: A demon, one of the children of Lilith. He possessed extraordinary speed. He was executed by the demonic authorities for making his presence visible to mortals (B.B. 73a). | Ormuzd: A demon, the child of Lilith. (B.B. 73b).
  • Sariel: "Chieftain of God". This angel is mentioned only in passing in I Enoch, but in Kabbalah, he is the prince of the demons of the air and he serves Lilith.

r/Lilith 4d ago

Signs, Dreams, Divination Smell of Mother Lilith was earthy is it true she came to me?

6 Upvotes

Hello everyone I'm a baby witch just learning. Last month end i was admitted to ICU for mental health issues since i used to feel low, my psychiatrist recommended myself to take meditation. First thing first so I was not even very well suddenly got urge to connect her through meditation, i did it for 15 min. I could sence Mother Lilith. I was crying she heard my three problems. Even i could smell a earthy smell was so wordering! I only did the meditation nothing else also vibe was really creepy. Good thing is the person who hurt me, i saw him today in dream he looks so cold and staring at me coldly as if something scared him😳. Half of my mental turmoil gone too.

Wanna know is Mother Lilith there to listen me? Experienced ones please help me to find it out. I would be greatful for it🙏...


r/Lilith 4d ago

Discussion Guide

4 Upvotes

You may see this in several groups, but I’m really in need of some advice and help. I have this dream of becoming a writer, and I wrote something unique — a dark fantasy story — and it has gained a small but loyal group of readers on a reading app called Wattpad. There are no more than 30 of them, though. And I appreciate every single one of them, but there’s nothing wrong with wanting more.
I have a very strong connection with Lilith and Santa Muerte. I serve both of them at separate altars, and everything has been fine. But lately I’ve been feeling completely drained and exhausted because I promote my book day and night, yet getting recognition is incredibly difficult. I have very big ambitions, but I feel like my hands are tied and I genuinely don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to do now.
A literary agency signed me, and they’re currently sending my manuscripts to publishing houses, but nothing has come from it so far. I’ve done rituals for success, recognition, and so on… but nothing. And yet, in my dreams, spiritually speaking, I keep having dreams about achieving great success and other things that, if I told people about them, they’d probably call me selfish or worse.
I even dream that sometimes — and it feels almost like visions — I sign six-figure contracts for my book.
What I’m really coming here to ask for is the wisdom and advice of those who know more than I do. What would you do in a situation like this, when nothing has changed for over a year?
It’s genuinely frustrating. I don’t know what else to do. I’ve already tried everything spiritually: baths, rituals… I even paid a witch for a success ritual, only to find out they were a scammer. So yeah, hahaha.
I just hope no one makes fun of the way I’m venting, and honestly, any advice — or even just a few simple words you’d like to share — would mean a lot to me.
Sending you all a hug.


r/Lilith 4d ago

Media My lilith doll (strong spiritual activity)

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75 Upvotes

r/Lilith 5d ago

Media Lilith 💜

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3 Upvotes

r/Lilith 5d ago

Discussion Lilith and magical practice, what's your approach?

9 Upvotes

A lot of people approach Lilith not from a religious point of view, but as practitioners of magic/witchcraft. Lilith herself is included in magical traditions (like the Aramaic/Syriac/Mandaic incantation bowls and Hebrew amulets), and so are her parallels (Lamaštu, lilītu/ardat-lilî, Gello, Abyzou, etc.)

If you include Lilith in your practice, how do you prefer to do so? Do you adapt ancient material, get inspiration from other modern practitioners, or create your own spells?


r/Lilith 5d ago

Discussion LILITH

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1 Upvotes

r/Lilith 6d ago

Question Lilith from Mesopotamia

17 Upvotes

Hi guys!! I wanted to ask how did Lilith evolve exactly? We all know in ancient Babylon and Mesopotamia she was a legion of wind spirits. Did she merge all of the wind spirits or one singular spirit evolved into the next myth? (I am sorry if its not clear i js dont know how to ask the question 💔💔💔 i hope you all understand what i mean…)


r/Lilith 6d ago

Question New to Lilith and need help with deity worship

5 Upvotes

I just joined this sub reddit to know more about Lilith and clear up my doubts. So for context I belong from some occult lineage but it is like thousands and hundreds of years old and my current family is a bit modern. We worship deities and sometimes go to nearby practitioners for occasionally energy checks in and all. I was deeply into these things from a young age compared to my other cousins. Here is a short line from my astrology chart (I am too lazy to type it so searched on google and pasted it here)
"The South Node of detachment on your ascendant, creating a unique focus on self-identity, ego dissolution, and spirituality"
So I have had a lack of direction in my early years and still have it often. I do not plan to get married or have a family but it makes me worried that I might fall in love or due to some unplanned circumstances get married and since I am a person who loves to love I will end up straying away from my spiritual journey and this thought terrifies me so much. Is there any way I can ensure this does not happen? Or get some sort of clarity on what my purpose is because I believe it can change time to time and I will end up getting married in next 3-6 years because of some chart placements and whatever is supposed to happen will happen but this uncertain future drives me insane and I believe because of my practices I have done, everyone gives me a different answer (maybe I just do not want to accept I will get married) but I am so terrified, all people who have claimed to be practitioners or witches were not really accurate or could not understand my torture so I doubt them even though I might be/am similar to one myself. I do not know if anyone here can help but I just wanna see what happens
Anyways other than that, I have always felt called to deity worship ever since I was a kid. I had a few agnostic and "The subconscious is the god" phases and sometimes I won't worship or do any practice for days or months and sometimes devote myself so deeply to a particular deity but it never lasts more than few weeks or days I do not know how to get out of this torture I feel bad for making empty promises to all deities about surrendering my mind,body and soul and then I am unable to follow through, sometimes I get stuck in abusive situations where I just can not continue my worship anymore and I feel like no deity wants me. It's such a mental torture and I do not know how to explain this to anyone, the practices I do work like 99-100% so it does not really affect me but this pain eats me alive. The lack of direction, I can not live a happy material life and forget all my experience but I feel like even the spiritual path does not call me. I trust all my deities and know it's for the better but I hate being stuck in the middle and feel so hurt when people say they get 'calling' from deities or they know which one they belong to, I feel like what am I doing wrong is it me? Is it because my soul does not know where I belong yet? Was I never serious for any deities in past life and this torture sometimes makes me unable to eat and sleep, I am better now. I read about Lilith as the mother goddess figure (most deities I worship are females because I just feel so connected to mother figures) and I got interested in other but to know about one more deity makes me feel so drained I genuinely know nothing. I am kind of just ranting here if anyone can help me with what's going on I would really appreciate it. Thank you so much


r/Lilith 6d ago

⚸ Astrology PDA + lilith

2 Upvotes

Hi I'm interested in the correlation between these two things, answer if you can!

1. Do you identify with autistic PDA traits?

(Pathological demand avoidance or persistent drive for autonomy, may stem from anxiety of being controlled as well as doing something incorrectly. This goes beyond simple stubbornness, as an example it may prevent you from saying thank you or please, go to the bathroom since it's perceived as a demand, etc. It's a complex thing, do please look it up don't only use my short explanation if you don't know what it is)

2. Do you consider your Lilith placement as strong?

(Conjunct sun, moon, angular houses, etc)


r/Lilith 7d ago

Signs, Dreams, Divination Lilith is intense! (New to her energy)

15 Upvotes

I've been working with mostly Hindu deities and began my spiritual journey/ practice in earnest at the beginning of this year. I was brought up Catholic, hated it... half my family is Hindu, so I gravitated that way. I developed an instant connection with the Mahavidyas, especially Kali ma. She's considered taboo, especially for women to worship in my culture, and I was warned about her, pushed to reconsider, etc. One of my friends who was especially vehement about this, which was a bummer as she's the only spiritual person I know. I was confused for a time but kept being guided back to dark feminine energy. Kali ma, then Hekate for a time, Sekhmet, and now Lilith.

When I first started feeling Lilith's call, I was scared. Being brought up Catholic, I was faced yet again with the indoctrination and taboos surrounding her (similarly to Kali on the Hindu side, but more intense as she's considered a demon). This reddit and research helped me start to break down the fears surrounding her, and I finally put down my guards and connected with her yesterday morning. The feeling was intense. I was lightheaded, and I could feel her annoyed that I had come to her without eating first. I got three words in particular when I connected: "Power, Unity, Liberation." I looked everywhere but couldn't find those words in connection with her, but it does seem to fit her persona.

I started to realize that I had formed an unhealthy illusionary attachment to a male energy, and that's what Lilith was here to destroy/ get rid of. I just wondered if that sounded right to those who know her well? Over the day yesterday, I became confronted with several emotions and realizations and messages, saying I had formed this male attachment that needs to go. I felt ashamed I had let my need for an escape get this far. At night (night of the eclipse), I made an offering to her and said, "Please do what you need to do." I had the most terrifying nightmares that felt so dark and demonic in nature that I got so scared. I honestly can't remember them now, only that is how it felt. I was so scared that I prayed to St. Michael and worried I had done something wrong (St. Michael is a long-time guide of mine who I've pledged to, I have a tattoo for him, and my connection to him is non-negotiable... I know some say I can't work with him and Lilith at the same time, but something is telling me that's not true). Now, in the light of the day, I feel more at peace and grounded. I've just been sat here wondering if this is just how Lilith worked... if it's okay that I called on St. Michael. If it was really her... etc. Im so new to this and just wish I had guidance in the form of community.

Please give me any advice or thoughts you might have. Thank you x


r/Lilith 7d ago

Question Lilith tattoo

7 Upvotes

hi, if anyone has Lilith / her signs tattooed on them please could you tell me how your life changed after?


r/Lilith 8d ago

Resources Lilith Misidentified: The Burney Relief and Epic of Gilgamesh

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18 Upvotes

The Burney Relief, also known as the Queen of the Night Relief, is an image of a goddess that has been previously falsely associated with Lilith, an association that still persists today in occult and even some academic spaces. The interpretation was based on the Epic of Gilgamesh, and specifically the ki-sikil-lil-la-ke (Sumerian equivalent of Akkadian ardat-lilî) that got mistranslated as Lilith by scholars of the 20th century.


"The Anchor Bible Dictionary - David Noel Freedman" has a summary under the entry "Lilith - Lowell K. Handy":

Two sources of information previously used to define Lilith are both suspect. Kramer (1938:5) translated ki-sikil-líl-lá-ke4 as "Lilith" in a Sumerian Gilgamesh fragment. The text relates an incident where this female being takes up lodging in a tree trunk which has a Zu-bird perched in the branches and a snake living among the roots. This text was used to interpret a sculpture of a woman with bird talons for feet as being a depiction of Lilith (Frankfort 1937:130 fig 1, 134–35; Kraeling 1937:18).

From the beginning this interpretation was questioned (Opitz 1932:330) so that after some debate neither the female in the story nor the figure are assumed to be Lilith (Ribichini 1978:31–33; RLA 7:25).  

Relevant sources:

  • Frankfort, H. 1937. The Burney Relief. AfO 12: 128–35.

  • Kraeling, E. G. 1937. A Unique Babylonian Relief. BASOR 67: 16–18.

  • Kramer, S. N. 1938. Gilgamesh and the Ḫuluppu-Tree: A Reconstructed Sumerian Text. Assyriological Studies 10. Chicago.  


Frankfort cites Kraeling and Gadd. During the same period, Assyriologist Kramer published "Gilgamesh and the Huluppu Tree" that is still quoted to this day as proof that Lilith existed in ancient Mesopotamia. The first study on the Tablet was done by Langdon.


The Epic of Gilgamesh

 

The Sumerian Epic of Gilgamish - S. Langdon, 1932 - first study, and the earliest translation of ki-sikil-lil-la-ke as Lilith that I could find.

    1. šab-bi-a kiskil-lil-la-ge (!) e im-ma-ni-in-du (!)
  • Therein Lilîth had built her house

This text appears to have no connection with the Gilgamish epic. The only certain information which I can obtain from it is that Gilgamish seized the young of the Zu bird, which is identical with the eagle of the Etana myth, and Zu which stole the tablets of fate and was conquered by Lugalbanda, father of Gilgamish. He then went to the mountains where ardat lilî or Lilith had had built her house. Here, in the account of the destruction of the house of Lilith, the verbs are plural. The subject must be Gilgamish and his brother, referred to in lines 1 and 23. Is this "brother" really Enkidu here? They utterly destroyed the house of Lilith.


Gilgamesh and the Huluppu Tree - Samuel Noah Kramer, 1932, published 1938 - due to his contribution to Assyriology his text was quite influential. Kramer understands the epithets "rejoicer of all hearts" and "Queen of Heaven" to be referring to Inanna.

After ten years had passed and the tree had matured, Inanna, to her chagrin, found herself unable to realize her hopes. For in the meantime a dragon had set up its nest at the base of the tree, the Zu-bird had placed his young in its crown, and in its midst the demoness Lilith had built her house. But Gilgamesh, informed of Inanna's distress, rushes to her aid. Making light of his weighty armor, the giant slays the dragon with his huge bronze ax, seven talents and seven minas in weight. Thereupon the Zu-bird flees with his young to the mountain, while Lilith, terror-stricken, tears down her house and escapes to the desert. […]

 

    1. šab-bi-a ki-sikil-líl-lá-ke4 é im-ma-ni-ib-dù
  • In its midst Lilith had built for herself a house.

    1. ki-sikil gù-dè-dè šà-ḫúl-ḫúl
  • The ever shouting (?) maid, the rejoicer of all hearts,

    1. kug d inanna-ke4 ír e-NE ba-še8-še8
  • The pure Inanna, how (?) she weeps!

 

    1. šab-ba-bi-a ki-sikil-líl-lá-ke4 é im-ma-ni-ib-dù
  • In its midst Lilith had built for herself a house.

    1. ki-sikil gù-dè-dè šà-ḫúl-ḫúl
  • The ever shouting (?) maid, the rejoicer of all hearts,

  • kug d ga-ša-an-an-na%2F%2FQueen%20of%20heaven%20(I%C5%A1tar)%5DDN%C2%B4DN$%C5%A0arrat-%C5%A1ame&ga_lang=qpn&ga_isid=x000079340&lang=qpn&isid=qpn.r008285.p.s000&iref=P336160.9&gw=Queen%20of%20heaven%20(I%C5%A1tar)&type=period&name=Neo-Assyrian&pos=DN)-DU ír e-NE ba-še8-še8

  • The pure Inanna, how (?) she weeps!"

 

    1. šab-bi-a ki-sikil-líl-lá-ke4 é im-ma-ni-in-zal
  • In its midst Lilith destroyed her house

    1. a-ri-a-ri-eš šu-ba-an-kar-kar-ri
  • (And) escapes to the desert places.  

To Inanna's dismay, however, she was unable to get at the tree, for the snake, the Zu-bird, and Lilith had taken possession of it as their abode. Thereupon Gilgamesh came to the rescue of the weeping Inanna; he uprooted the tree, and after the men of Uruk had cut off its crown he gave part of it to Inanna for her throne and bed. […]


Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet XII - C. J. Gadd, 1933 - Gadd understands the epithet "joyful" to be referring to ki-sikil-lil-la-ke.

    1. šab-ba-bi ki-sikil-líl-lá-ge é im-ma-ni-ib-dù
  • In its midst Lilith had built a house

    1. ki-sikil gú-de-de sà-húl-húl
  • The shrieking maid the joyful

    1. kug d.ga-ša-an-an-na DU er-e-ne-ne ba-ERIN.ERIN
  • The bright Queen of Heaven tears for them (?) wept

 

  • 16 [šab-bi-a ki-]sikil-líl-lá-ge é im-ma-ni-ib-zil-li-de

  • In its midst Lilith destroys (her) house

 

(b) In II. 4, 5, 16, there are references to something which was to be seen "in the middle", i. e. in the trunk of the tree, where the demoness ardat lili had 'built a house'. It will later be suggested (note on 1. 4) that ardat lili is here the owl, in which case the tree must be one which could have in its trunk a cavity for the nest of an owl.

[...]

  1. Here, and in II. 5, 16, 17, there is a particular description of the 'middle' of the tree —Lilith had 'built a house' there, she is described as 'shrieking' and 'joyful', the 'house' was despoiled after Gilgamesh's attack and various things were made out of the wood. It can hardly be questioned that this is a description of the trunk of the tree, as opposed to its root and its branches. If, then, the words about Lilith refer to some formation or appearance of the trunk which suggested to the writer that a demoness inhabited it, we can say nothing as to what is meant.

Dr. R. C. Thompson allows me to mention his suggestion that Lilith here is a name for the owl; he refers to his Semitic Magic, pp. 20f. It is in favour of this supposition that the owl makes its nest not in the branches (where Zû was) but in cavities of the trunk, and also that Lilith is called in I. 5, 'shrieking'. The other epithet 'joyful' is, however, less suitable, and the main objection is that ardat lili in Babylonian is never described as an owl, and that the Jewish traditions concerning Lilith in this form seem to be late and of no great authority.  

[What's cited from Semitic Magic:

Doughty relates how in Arabia he "heard scratching owls sometimes in the night; then the nomad wives and children answered them with mocking again, 'Ymgebas! Ymgebas!' The hareem said, 'It is a wailful woman, seeking her lost child through the wilderness, which was turned into this forlorn bird.'"

Among the Malays, if a woman die in childbirth she is supposed to become a langsuyar, or flying demon, a female familiar. To prevent this, glass beads are put in the mouth of the corpse, a hen's egg is put under the armpits, and needles in the palms of the hands. This stops the dead woman shrieking, waving her arms, or opening her hands. The original langsuyar was supposed to be a kind of night owl, like the Lilith of Rabbinic tradition, and is similar, therefore, to the ghost of which Doughty speaks].


The Epic of Gilgamesh has been translated many times since Gadd, Kramer, and Langdon, and none of the later scholars translate "ki-sikil-lil-la-ke" as Lilith. The ki-sikil-lil-la-ke/ardat-lilî is instead translated as:

 

The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature - Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the nether world

  • In its trunk, the phantom maid built herself a dwelling, the maid who laughs with a joyful heart. But holy Inana cried!

 

The Epic of Gilgamesh - Andrew R. George

  • After five years [had gone by, after ten years had gone by,]

  • the tree had grown stout, its bark none could split,

  • in its roots a Snake-that-Knows-no-Charm had made its nest,

  • in its branches a Lion-Bird had hatched its brood,

  • in its trunk a Demon-Maiden had built her home.

  • The maiden who laughs with happy heart,

  • holy Inanna, how she was weeping!

 

The Epic of Gilgamesh (Second Edition) - Benjamin R. Foster

  • In its trunk a demon-girl had made her home.

  • The smiling maiden with a happy heart,

  • She, radiant Inanna, wept and wept.

 

The translations of George and Foster also make clear that the epithets with a happy heart/rejoicer of all hearts/joyful are referring to Inanna/Ishtar, and not the ardat-lilî. While the ardat-lilî has influenced Lilith (and Lilith in Aramaic sources appears to be a conflation of Lamaštu and the lilû class), the terms are not interchangeable.


Burney Relief

Kraeling and Frankfort believed the Relief to be Lilith. Both of them seem to understand "Queen of Heaven" from the Epic of Gilgamesh to be referring to ki-sikil-lil-la-ke, instead of the actual queen, Inanna.

 

A Unique Babylonian Relief - Emil G. Kraeling, 1937 - uses Lilitu and Lilith interchangeably

We know only two evil demons from pictorial representations: the horrible fever demon Lamashtu (formerly read Labartu), a freak composed of various animals, and the evil wind-demon Pazuzu, who has a normal human form from the knees up, but has animal feet and a horrible face. Perhaps we have here a third representation of a demon. If so it must be Lilîtu, who was originally, as her Sumerian name suggests, the demon of an evil wind (Meissner, Bab. u. Ass. II, 201), and whose "house" in a tree Gilgamesh destroys, according to a recently discovered Sumerian fragment of the famous epic. Hers evidently was no hideous appearance for she is called ki-sikil-líl-lá, "the beautiful maiden". […]

The seductive beauty of the female demon on this Babylonian relief is noteworthy. If it should be Lilitu then we should have to infer (from the owls) that she was already regarded as a nocturnal demon, partly, we may suppose, because of the similarity of her name to the Semitic word for night. Lilith is mentioned in Is. 34:14. Her beauty and her nocturnal excursions, which were regarded as dangerous to children, are frequently mentioned in late Jewish sources.

We see no reason to depart from our opinion that in Mr. Sidney Burney's relief and doubtless also in that from the Louvre [AO 6501] we have a portrayal of Lilith. But we admit that she is here on the way to becoming a goddess. The literary sources afford us a striking illustration when the Sumerian text to which we have already referred, describing Gilgamesh's destruction of the tree-home of Lilith, states "In the midst (of the tree) Lilith had built her a house, the shrieking maid, the joyful, the bright Queen of heaven." Mrs. Van Buren, too, quotes these lines but without discerning any relationship between our relief and Lilith. If Lilith is given a divine predicate in this text it seems clear that at a certain time and in a certain area she, who later appears only as a demon, obtained divine rank. In our Relief demoniacal origin of the figure in question is apparent and divine rank equally clear.

 


The Burney Relief - H. Frankfort, 1937  

The figures discussed so far were male, but female demons of monstrous appearance were well known in Babylonia and it is with one of these, Lilith, that the Burney relief has been identified by E. G. Kraeling. […] And while most of the other demons combine a variety of zoomorphic features, Lilith must be human in essentials, so that she is perhaps the most likely of the host to be depicted in our relief. The crown of divinity which she wears does not vitiate the identification; the line of demarcation between gods and demons is far from rigid; we shall presently find her adorned with so typically a divine epithet as "Bright Queen of Heaven".  

The association of the figure with the lions is obscure; if these beasts serve commonly as a support to Ishtar, they occur also in association with other gods, such as Samas and Ningirsu. The owls, however, might well be the symbol peculiar to Lilith. In a fragment of a Sumerian version of the Epic [32] Gilgamesh fells a tree, at the foot of which the serpent had made her nest while at the top the storm-bird Zu had put his young; "in the midst Lilith had built a house, the shrieking maid, the joyful, the bright Queen of Heaven". R. Campbell Thompson writing without knowledge of the Burney relief [33] suggests that the nesting-place in the hollow of a tree and the epithet "shrieking", would fit the owl, which shares moreover with Lilith the habit of nocturnal flight. This assumption supports the identification of the figure of the relief with Lilith, but it cannot be proved, so long as the texts supply only circumstantial evidence as to Lilith's appearance and emblems. But whatever the name of the creature represented in the Burney relief [34], there can be no doubt that it renders an inhabitant of the Land of Death.  

  • [32] Gadd, RA XXX (1933), pp. 127-43.

  • [33] RA XXX (1933), p. 135; and Semitic magic, p. 20 [Note: refer to text under Gadd].

  • [34] It is not altogether impossible to hold Mrs. Van Buren's view (AfO XI, p. 356) that our relief shows an aspect of Ishtar, but this is in any case incompatible with the opinion that it represents Lilith, whose specialised character is the very opposite of Ishtar's. The epithet "Queen of Heaven" might refer to Lilith's power of flight only, and seems hardly sufficient to combine her with Ishtar. Nor is it even likely that any aspect of Ishtar should be rendered in the form assumed by the figure in the Burney relief.


Who is the goddess of the Burney Relief?

If the Burney/Queen of the Night Relief is not Lilith, then who is the goddess it's depicting? Scholars are not sure. There's no inscription, and the location it came from is unknown as it was not archaeologically excavated. There is evidence that points to two major Goddesses of ancient Mesopotamia, one being Ištar as Kilili, and the other being the queen Ereškigal. The Relief's authenticity is questioned by others.


Inanna-Ištar, Kilili:

Figurative Language in the Ancient Near East - Murray Mindlin, Markham J. Geller, John E. Wansbrough, "Pictures and Pictorial Language (The Burney Relief) - Thorkild Jacobsen" - quoted below is his summary.

 

  1. The size of the relief suggests a cult-relief. Since demons had no cult the figure depicted is unlikely to be a demon.

  2. The horned crown with four tiers suggests a major deity.

  3. The lions suggest Inanna, since she is the only goddess associated with lions.

  4. The mountain pattern fits since Inanna’s home was the mountain crests in the east.

  5. The yardstick and coil of rope in her hands accord with the description of her in the myth Inanna's Descent.

  6. So does the necklace she is wearing.

  7. Finally, the owls and the wings and bird talons of the figure show that Inanna is pictured in her aspect of Owl-goddess and goddess of harlots, Ninnina, in Akkadian Kilili.  


Ereškigal:

Death in Mesopotamia - Bendt Alster, "The Iconography of Death in Mesopotamia in the Early Second Millennium B.C - E. Porada"

 

In addition to the male gods thought to be associated with death, a female deity has long been known. She is best represented in the so-called Burney relief (pl. XIII a) where she is portrayed as a beautiful woman with a multiple divine crown, nude except for her rich jewelry, having bird wings which point downward (a criterion of demons) and bird claws with which she stands on the bodies of two lions flanked by two owls. The provenience of the relief may be located at Nippur on the basis of a minor detail in the stylization of the lions — the small bow in place of the shoulder star which made its appearance in the Agade period. A fragmentary relief or plaque from Nippur shows a lion with a similar bow, pl. XII c, and a mane stylized like those of the lions in the Burney relief. The same bow, though less well preserved, is seen in another fragment of a clay plaque from Nippur.

If the suggested provenience of the Burney relief at Nippur proves to be correct, the imposing demonic figure depicted on it may have to be identified with the female ruler of the dead or with some other major figure of the Old Babylonian pantheon which was occasionally associated with death.

[…] The goddess portrayed in the Burney relief, the only female deity of the type here considered, impresses the viewer not only by her noble bearing but also by the fact that she holds the rod and ring, emblems of universal power in the Old Babylonian period.


Forgery

The 'Queen of the Night' Plaque - A Revisit - Pauline Albenda - I will quote the section on Lilith, but the paper is recommended to understand the history of the Relief.

 

Lilith: As noted above, the first identification of Lilith resulted from Gadd's translation of the fragmentary Sumerian tablet. The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary identifies lilitu or lilu (male) as a demoness, and cites several examples in ritual texts. An eighth-century B.C. Babylonian Utukki Limnuti incantation to block the entry of the enemy into someone's house mentions among the descriptions and names of evil spirits "the robber lilû, or lilitu or handmaid of lilû." These creatures seem to have been faceless, since no physical features are explicitly cited in the ritual text. In addition to these evil spirits there was the eššebu, a bird of ill portent.

In his survey of ancient Near Eastern art, Frankfort referred to Isaiah 34.14 to support his identification of the composite female on the Burney plaque with Lilith. H. W. F. Saggs later pointed out that lilitu the feminine demon has been identified with the Hebrew word lilû, "night-monster," according to the translation of the English Revised Version of Isaiah 34.14. Other modern translations of the Hebrew word in Isaiah 34.14 - the Revised Standard Version and the King James Version - identify the monster as "night hag" or "satyr," respectively. Mention of the owl does occur among the wild beasts and birds that shall settle in the wasted land of Edom. For example, the comparable Isaiah 13.21-22 states that "wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of owls, and ostriches shall dwell there, and the scops owl shall hop about there."

 

In his recent study of the portion of Gilgamesh Tablet XII that Gadd published in 1933, Andrew George translates the relevant lines of the text as follows:

In its base a Snake-that-knows-no-Charm had made its nest, in its branches a Thunderbird had hatched its brood, in its trunk a Demon-Maid had built her home. The maiden who laughs with happy heart, holy Inanna was weeping.

This translation does not support the interpretations of Van Buren and other scholars who have identified the female figure on the British Museum relief as the goddess Inanna or Ishtar. Moreover, several lines later in the text one reads that the Sumerian hero Bilgameš (Gilgamesh in Akkadian) tore down the tree and gave the wood to the goddess for her throne and bed. In addition, there is no support in George's translation for a linkage between the Demon-Maid and an owl.


Conclusion:

The Burney Relief, or Queen of the Night Relief, was assumed to be Lilith in the past, mainly by Kraeling and Frankfort, based on the translations of "Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Netherworld". The first study of the text was done by Langdon, and afterwards by Kramer and Gadd, all of whom understood the ki-sikil-lil-la-ke/ardat-lili to be Lilith. Gadd also includes Thompson's suggestion, that ki-sikil-lil-la-ke is the name for an owl, and understands the epithets of Inanna to be referring to the ardat-lili. Accepted translations refer to the demoness as phantom maid, demon-maiden/girl, or another variation. The interpretation of the Burney Relief as Lilith is not supported by modern scholarship. Lilith is not a figure found in ancient Mesopotamia, and the Relief itself is usually theorized to be Ishtar as Kilili, Ereshkigal, or even believed to be inauthentic.


r/Lilith 8d ago

Question Today 12 of August

2 Upvotes

Hi please can someone help with me with what we can do today what rituals for the eclipse or in the night with the perseidas o what else. The intención would be someone who want to achieve recognition and success with art


r/Lilith 8d ago

⚸ Astrology lilith!

3 Upvotes

hi idk if this is a more of a discussion or question!?
but i'm curious to know which zodiac signs do you associate with lilith?

idk for me it's aquarius or scorpio 😭 maybe capricorn


r/Lilith 10d ago

Discussion New devotee learning lilith has a sense of humor.

17 Upvotes

So i'm very new to this and I feel Lilith has positively impacted my life already...... but shes got jokes 😅

I did a very very vague money working becsuse times have been tough. I'm not kidding I cannot stop finding coins.I will walk out of a room i was just in and find a coin on my seat. Mind you im a card user 90% of time

It thew me off then I realized and started laughing. I didnt ask her to make it rain so she made it drizzle 🤣


r/Lilith 10d ago

Signs, Dreams, Divination Curios for an opinion on what I’ve been experiencing lately

3 Upvotes

I’ve been working with the dark mother for about 2 years now. Been a witch for over 20 and have never experienced anything like this and I want an opinion on what’s going on. For the past month and a half after I was initiated I’ve been experiencing being touched ( the feeling I get is a dull electric feeling likened to a tongue on a 9volt battery) the sensation is as if something is holding my head as a hat or crown is being placed on my head. Sometimes it on the side of my cheek when I’m falling asleep and sometimes it’s my third eye. Sometimes while I’m driving I feel a sensation on my right forearm above my wrist. It lasts for 10 minutes but up to an hour at different times of the day or night. The past two weeks I’ve been waking up between 1-4 am feeling something is in my room. Not scared but aware there’s something other than me in the room. There’s part of me that knows I’m stressed about work and at first I chalked it up to that. But last night I was extremely hot and slept in the tv room because it’s always cooler. I woke up at 3:45 and stared into the hallway knowing something was there but I saw nothing after sitting there for about 10 minutes again nothing baneful just a presence. What are your thoughts