#Judaic mythology

[dynocation]

🌈⭐ Cute Little Angels ✧( ु•⌄• )◞◟( •⌄• ू )✧ 🌈⭐

[raspberry-beret]

Mythology Weekend - Lilith

In Mesopotamian and Judaic mythology, Lilith was the first wife of the first man, Adam, and created from the same soil. Lilith left the Garden of Eden after she refused to obey and be subservient to her husband and became a demon associated with sexual temptation and death, especially of young children. She was said to be the mother of all demons and people would use amulets to protect against her. Modernly, Lilith has been a figure in Occultism as a symbol of female independence and as a sex, fertility, and mother goddess.

[mrsdenasaan]

Dragons Don't Celebrate Passover is coming...

[the-fire-within0]

Hey idk your history or anything but Lilith is closed to non-Jewish people.

Hey there, anon. I'm open to discussing Lilith, but whether Lilith is a closed practice for non-Jewish people is a bit complicated. First, I'm not sure about your background. Second, I don't know your intentions behind asking. Third, I'm unsure about your research on Lilith or your own beliefs. I'm not trying to be rude; I just want to clarify a few things before we proceed to avoid any potential misunderstandings.

I believe it's important to understand Lilith both as a specific figure and as a symbolic one. Although I rarely engage with Lilith in my practice, I acknowledge her occasional presence. While modern portrayals frequently depict Lilith as a feminist icon and "goddess of fertility," or "mother goddess," these views do not trace back to traditional beliefs about her or what she was associated with. She is represented as the complete opposite of these newer tellings.

Regarding that, there is archaeological evidence of Aramaic incantation bowls and amulets used in Semitic regions to ward off Lilith or demons. She is a demon associated with lust, miscarriage, and child abduction, with her name's etymology linked to screech owls, night bird, night creature and the night ("laylah," Hebrew). She is primarily a figure in Jewish apocryphal works. However, it is possible that the inspiration for Lilith came from the Mesopotamian demonic goddess Lamashtu, who in which, bears much resemblance to her.

In Mesopotamian mythology, "Lil," "Lilītu," (Akkadian) "Lilû" (masculine version) refers to a group of disease-bearing wind spirits/demons rather than a single demon. Additionally, the image on the Burney Relief plaque is unlikely to be Lilith, as scholars have suggested that it might represent Inanna/Ishtar or her sister Ereshkigal instead. Another aspect to mention is that "ardat-lilî" refers to the ghosts of young women who died without experiencing sexual fulfillment or marriage. Therefore, they would attempt to seduce young men. The term "ardat-lilî" translates to "maiden lilî"/"phantom bride." They were described as a troubled and restless spirit associated with negative sexuality and the wind. They are suggested to be a form of succubi, believed to possess the ability to fly and enter houses through windows. There's a bit more of an explanation of ardat-lilî within the book Women in the Ancient Near East. (You can just ctrl + F to search keywords).

Another thing to point out that Lilith within the Hebrew bible is only mentioned once in

Isaiah 34:14, NRSV, "Wildcats shall meet with hyenas; goat-demons shall call to each other; there also Lilith shall repose and find a place to rest."

However with this translation alone, scholars suggest that it is associated a type or class of demon (similar to the Lilītu). Lilith can also be identified in the Dead Sea Scrolls as a "singular entity" but there isn't much detail that goes further than that.

11QpsAp, "And I, the Sage, sound the majesty of His beauty to terrify and confound all the spirits of destroying angels and the bastard spirits, the demons, Lilith. . ., and those that strike suddenly, to lead astray the spirit of understanding, and to make desolate their heart."

In this translation, there is a reference to Lilith in the Songs of the Sage (4Q510–511). For more information about 4Q510-511.

In rabbinic literature, the Babylonian Talmud, during the exile, Lilith poses much more of a threat to men if they were to sleep alone,

Shabbat 151b, "It is prohibited to sleep alone in a house, and anyone who sleeps alone in a house will be seized by the evil spirit Lilith."

There are mentions of the appearance of lilith (lower-cased on purpose), with depictions of having long hair and wings.

Niddah 24b, "Rav Yehuda says that Shmuel says: In the case of a woman who discharges a fetus that has the form of a lilith, a female demon with wings and a human face, its mother is impure with the impurity of a woman after childbirth, as it is a viable offspring, only it has wings."

The notion of Lilith as the "first woman" primarily stems from satirical literature like the Alphabet of Ben Sira.

Honestly, interpret this however you like. There are countless theories, different ways to interpret texts, and various personal beliefs. Even if you see everything as just lessons and don't take it seriously, that's your choice. If someone wants to explore and learn about Lilith or liliths, I'm personally not opposed to it—as long as they understand her/their exact origins. Some people practice demonolatry or just conduct extensive research in demonology, so it's hard to make definitive statements. That's why I find it complicated to say that an entity, demon, deity, or anything similar is closed. Additionally, converting to Judaism is NOT an easy process. From what I know, Jewish people would not want to work with demons. They would prefer to ward them off or avoid any involvement with them altogether, and or whatever their standpoint might be since not one individual is the same.

It's also important to note that Lilith isn't part of Christian theology (this goes to anyone just learning, honestly). The Christianized version of Lilith I'd like to think is very washed-down or "declawed."

If you'd like to discuss any potential errors in my statements, feel free to reach out. Please provide relevant links to support your points, and avoid generalizing one person's opinion as representative of everyone or an entire group, not only that, it's good to be respectful while discussing, that's all I would ask and kindly appreciate.

There are so much more information in terms of Lilith, with which you can look at through these links since it's a lot harder to fit everything into one post:

A good video to learn from too can be the video from Dr. Justin Sledge/ESOTERICA called Who is Lilith - First Wife of Adam - Ancient Origins and Development of the Myth of the Demon Queen:

[harrietswrittenworlds]

LILITH

By Nikki Marmery

📖 BOOK REVIEW:

Amazing new release! Beautifully divine.

A triumphantly feminist retelling of ancient creation myths in the tradition of Madeline Miller and Claire North. Lyrically rendered, this epic U.S. debut tells the story of the woman known as Adam's first wife and her fall from Paradise and quest for revenge.

Before Eve, there was Lilith. Lilith and Adam are equal and happy in the Garden of Eden. Until Adam decides Lilith should submit to his will and lie beneath him. She refuses and is banished forever from Paradise.

Demonized and sidelined, Lilith watches in fury as God creates Eve, the woman who accepts her submission. But Lilith has a secret: she has already tasted the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Endowed with Wisdom, she knows why Asherah, God's wife and equal, the Queen of Heaven is missing. Lilith has a plan: she will rescue Eve, find Asherah, restore balance to the world, and regain her rightful place in Paradise.

If this is not the best book of 2023, I don't know what is. A bold retelling of our origin story. Lilith's story is finally told and finally heard!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Harriet, Certified Bookaholic (@_written_worlds)

Here is a link above to get the full review and my favorite quotes.

Have you read Lilith yet?!!!!

[kirua9]

If Yui is Eve, then Cordelia is a technical Lilith?

[three--rings]

Okay look I don't really Go Here, but are people really saying it's OOC of Aziraphale to chose to return to Heaven?

Are those people like totally unexposed to religion?

Because maybe like they don't get what the Metatron is. It's not another angel. It is literally the Voice of God. In traditional Christian teaching, a human cannot hear God's voice or it will kill them because the voice is so powerful. So when God needs to speak, it's through an intermediary like a burning bush or something. Or specifically The Metatron. (This may come from Judaic tradition, but I can't speak to that. But I went to seven years of Catholic school.)

So here's the thing. Yeah Aziraphale became disillusioned by Heaven and the bureaucracy of it. And maybe a little with God's Plan, especially from the Job thing.

But he didn't stop being an angel. He didn't stop believing in and worshiping God.

So imagine you quit your job because the board of directors is constantly making bad decisions and giving you terrible orders, but you still believe in the company and the CEO (who is in a coma or something.) And then the CEO wakes up and comes to you and is like "Hey we got rid of all those other people who didn't get the mission, but YOU, you truly have the right idea, please come back and fix it."

Of course you're at least going to consider it.

And when that person who comes to you is LITERALLY GOD? Is speaking for God himself at least? Aziraphale would have had to have truly fallen to reject it. And he didn't. He wasn't a demon. He was just an angel who disagreed with current management.

And maybe that's really the difference. A demon is someone who wouldn't drop everything if God invited them back, who wouldn't renounce their rebellion. (But also probably a demon has seen a lot more of the nasty side of God/Heaven.)

Anyway, I just saw something and was like...wait really are people surprised? As soon as the Metatron showed up I was like oh SHIT WAIT.

Like literally the only person in The Mythology who could have more weight than The Metatron would be Jesus. And I'm...somewhat assuming that's how they get around S3 without just going Wow God Sucks Fuck God.

[profanepurity]

just because I want to make myself cry more, about how old were Liliths’ children when they were killed. Can she also drop her “how to get a hot monster boyfriend(s) in ten steps” YouTube tutorial, I need it for a friend, thanks

I thought this ask might be perfect to give a peek at the WIP for Lilith's character sheet. Adam really did absolutely nothing to have this woman as his wife, and you know what he did? He really took one look at her and said, "Submit". 🤡 Like, ok buddy lol.

But as for your questions, I'm going to answer them under the cut just in case! I'm very excited to answer these 🖤

Tw for under the cut: Mentions of child death, sex, and abuse

How old were Lilith's children when they were killed?

That's a good question, but the answer is a bit uncertain. Stay with me while I give some context lol. If you look at some of the stories about her within Judaic mythology, she is a demon that roams the desert. Specifically in The Book of Isaiah, she is referred to as a "Night Demon" or "The Night Monster" (Isaiah 34:14). This is related to the original interpretation of her being a vengeful spirit that steals and kills children at night, specifically male babies. Now, there is a whole layer of issues that I could get into with this, but I'm going to stick to two main points for this:

Her "reason" for wanting revenge comes from the punishment that God placed on her. When she was found in her cave by God's angels, they tried to force her to come back to the Garden of Eden, which she ran from after refusing to submit to Adam. Because of her disobedience, the children that she has already had, and assumingly will have, will die every day (as some text describes her as either being pregnant or having children with her in the cave when the angels find her). Sometimes there's a number attached to this, like "100 children a day", and we could also get into a whole discussion about demon litters lol, but for now let's run with the fact that every child she had was killed. This leads me to my second point...

Lilith is also described as being the wife of Samael, who in Judaic mythology is the angel of death. I find it really interesting how Lilith is associated heavily with child death, while also being seen as the wife of, essentially, the grim reaper. It is also important to note that the children she is bearing are not clearly identified to be Adam's or Samael's.

Here is my twisted ass take, now finally getting into your question:

I find it very hard to believe that Lilith would refuse to be seen as a sex object for one man, but then run into a marriage with another. Even if, in the time span of her escaping the Garden, she did fall in love with Samael, why would she marry him? The dynamic of marriage within this context and time period was very much so "women are the subordinate" when Lilith's main objective is to be seen as an equal to her partner.

My take is she got with Samael so that he would help her escape the Garden. While Samael is a darker figure, he is still in alignment with God, sometimes even interpreted as one of the 7 archangels.

But weren't angels cast out of heaven for coupling with human women? Yup, but I can also see Samael simply getting a slap on the wrist and dismissed because of his special privilege as "the venom of God", while Lilith gets the full blow of God's wrath, especially if those children weren't his, but Adam's. You can also consider the power dynamic that Samael has over Lilith. It is one thing for her to refuse a man, but to refuse The Angel of Death, as a human woman, is entirely different. What other choice did she have but to agree to be his wife in order to escape?

As for her children, I really don't see how they could have been very old at all when they died. The stories don't give an exact time frame, but it does seem like it took a fair amount of time for the angels to find Lilith in her cave. I can easily see it being around 2-4 years, maybe less. So assuming she got pregnant or was in the early stages of pregnancy when she fled the Garden, her children were probably within that range of years as well.

Now this is really fucked up, but if God's punishment was to have Lilith's children be killed every single day, regardless of the number, that very well might mean she was constantly having children with Samael in order for the curse to continue. Why would she continue having kids knowing the consequence? I'm not going to get too into that, because that is quite dark, but it seems possible considering Samael was still an angel of the Lord, meaning he would also act upon God's will.

Her children were all very young when they died.

“How to get a hot monster boyfriend(s) in ten steps”

Please let me know if you guys would like a comic for this because I would be so down to draw it! I can't wait to show you guys more of the relationship that Lilith has with her Kings.

For now, though, her main tips would be:

Look them in the eyes when they try to scare you. Once they see you are not afraid, they will stop baring their teeth.

Make sure they are well fed, and that their needs are taken care of properly. It's important to take care of your pets.

Remind them that they are not monsters to you, but the ones that showed you what love is supposed to look like.

I hope this doesn't make you cry too much, anon 🖤💐

[mythos-asks]

How did you name the characters?

Mod Caide: The basic character of Jackie is one I came up with years ago, well before the current iteration of Mythos or their involvement in it, for a separate project that has since been abandoned. That version of Jackie was quite a bit different from the one we know today, including the fact that she was a woman and not a practitioner of Schrodinger's Gender. When I first attempted to write Mythos in novel form, I initially chose to have a single Human protagonist rather than pull in the other Humans from the original rp, and I decided to reuse the character of Jackie. Things developed a lot since that point, but "Jackie" works fine as a gender-neutral name, so I stuck with it as I explored Jackie's character and identity more deeply.

Mod Tag: Few know this, but Sam is a nickname for Sariel. Originally, I had the idea of a character named Sariel for a DND campaign that never happened, and then reused the name years later when Caide started this project. Sariel is a Judaic mythological figure whose story doesn't really have anything to do with Sam. I liked the more celestial feel for the character, as Sam is a healer and a helper in the story, so I kept that as his given name. However, Sariel is a bit of a mouthful, so I decided on Sam as a nickname. Mostly used as a reference to Samwise Gamgee from Lord of the Rings. They bear similar characterisitcs in my mind with their loyalty and caring nature, so the nickname just fit well.

Mod Trilo: Well, my favorite band of all time is My Chemical Romance. And I'm awful at naming characters. I pretty much just scrolled through my music library for ideas, saw the name Helena, and decided it was a nice enough name to use! Funny enough, I didn't actually like the song back then, but now it's grown on me. No doubt due to Helena the character's influence (although she has nothing to do with the song in terms of theme or anything!)

Mod Kj: Strade's name comes from a small indie horror game character. When I made him I took a lot of inspiration from the creator's art and other works.

[primordialchoice]

Independent & Fandomless interpretation of the mythological, religious and astrological figure LILITH, inspired by Mesopotomanian and Judaic mythology. Open to be adapted to your fandom and verses. | 18+ | Multiverse | Multiship | Written by KOTYS [CARRD]

[haggishlyhagging]

“The Celtic-Druidic influence is far greater in our modern lives than is generally realized. It is from the Druids that most Christians derive their belief in the survival of the soul and in the guardian angels as spirits of the beloved dead. Hesiod, "the poet of the matriarchates," in the eighth century B.C. wrote of the belief in angels as the guardian spirits of the dead, a concept which was no longer entertained by the Greeks of the classical age. The idea of the survival of the soul in angel form was no doubt common to the original religion and was preserved only among the Celts. What Gerard Murphy calls the "strange loveliness of Celtic mythology" may have its foundation in the fact that Celtic myth is the last echo of the primal universal religion of the matriarchal age—a religion that remains buried deep in the subconscious of modern man as part of his very psyche.

These ideas are denied and discouraged by Christianity, as they were by Judaism. Saint Paul insists that our only hope for survival lies in the resurrection of the body at the last judgment; and the Old Testament, like Egyptian Atonism, teaches that there is no immortality of any kind. In Christian and Judaic angel-lore, both derived from Persian cosmogony, the angels represent a completely separate creation — never human, and only half divine. Moreover, in Christian belief the angels are masculine, whereas in the early Greek and Celtic religions the angels, the spirits or animae of the dead, are always feminine.”

-Elizabeth Gould Davis, The First Sex

[alephskoteinos]

In the sacred world of Christianity nothing was allowed to survive which clearly confessed the fundamental nature of sin or transgression. The devil-angel or god of transgression (of disobedience and revolt)-was driven out of the world of the divine. Its origin was a divine one, but in the Christian order of things (which prolonged Judaic mythology) transgression was the basis not of his divinity but of his fall. The devil had fallen from divine favour which he had possessed only to lose. He had not become profane, strictly speaking: he retained a supernatural character because of the sacred world he came from. But no effect was spared to deprive him of the consequences of his religious quality. The cult that no doubt still persisted, a survival from the days of impure divinities, was stamped out. Death by fire was in store for anyone who refused to obey and who found in sin a sacred power and a sense of the divine. Nothing could stop Satan from being divine, but this enduring truth was denied with the rigours of torment.

- Georges Bataille, Erotism, page 121

[rojinsart]

“Lady Lilith”

Painter: Dante Gabriel Rossetti Style: Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Aestheticism, Oil Year: 1866-73 Themes: Beauty, Youth, Mythology Notes: Lady Lilith is an oil painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti first painted in 1866–1868 using his mistress Fanny-Cornforth as the model, then altered in 1872–73 to show the face of Alexa Wilding. The subject is Lilith, who was, according to ancient Judaic myth, "the first wife of Adam" and is associated with the seduction of men and the murder of children. She is shown as a "powerful and evil temptress" and as "an iconic, Amazon-like female with long, flowing hair."

Rossetti overpainted Cornforth's face, perhaps at the suggestion of his client, shipping magnate Frederick Richards Leyland, who displayed the painting in his drawing room with five other Rossetti "stunners." After Leyland's death, the painting was purchased by Samuel Bancroft and Bancroft's estate donated it in 1935 to the Delaware Art Museum where it is now displayed.

The painting forms a pair with Sibylla Palmifera, painted 1866–1870, also with Wilding as the model.  Lady Lilithrepresents the body's beauty, according to Rossetti's sonnet inscribed on the frame.  Sibylla Palmifera represents the soul's beauty, according to the Rossetti sonnet on its frame.

A large 1867 replica of Lady Lilith, painted by Rossetti in watercolor, which shows the face of Cornforth, is now owned by New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. It has a verse from Goethe’s Faust as translated by Shelley on a label attached by Rossetti to its frame:

"Beware of her fair hair, for she excells All women in the magic of her locks, And when she twines them round a young man's neck she will not ever set him free again."

More: Lady Lilith

[sapio-sensual-affair]

Lilith is a female figure in Mesopotamian and Judaic mythology, alternatively the first wife of Adam and supposedly the primordial she-demon. Lilith is cited as having been "banished" from the Garden of Eden for not complying with and obeying Adam. 

[computer-cacophony]

Just quickly jotting something down for some My Friendly Neighborhood-related OCs

Working on some designs for my versions of the Unfriendly Neighbors. Do they count as OCs? Honestly, I've been in fandoms since I was technically ten years old, and now at the ripe age of 22, I can safely say: I have no clue.

But if not, I could twist them into original designs.

While I work on the designs, here were some names that I thought would be cool for them:

Unfriendly Norman - Nightjar Reasoning: Most of these puppets have alliterative names, but I thought something relating to the newfound dark nature of this Unfriendly puppet would be great. It's a standard trope in horror that we associate the night with frights (haha), so something relating to that was something in mind. Nightjar, specifically, is a name taken from nocturnal birds of the same name (some species of which are classified as owls).

Unfriendly Junebug - Jade Reasoning: Once again, alliteration, but when you hear Ricky drop the lore that some of the puppets' minds were twisted by the horrors they saw on television, you could argue that some of them were "jaded" by what they saw.

Unfriendly Lenard: Lenore Reasoning: Similar to how Lenore from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" was considered to be someone precious who was lost, so is Unfriendly Lenard, now dubbed Lenore, now fallen from their former self. She is the closest to her Friendly counterpart, though tends to follow the others in attacking Gordon because of the hive mind habit. I headcanon both Lenard and his unfriendly counterpart to be genderfluid/nonbinary, using any pronouns and comfortably expressing themselves through their relaxed personalities in how they dress no matter what naysayers try to say and do.

Unfriendly Liliana: Lilith Reasoning: In Judaic mythology, Lilith is allegedly Adam's first wife, banished and shunned and, in turn, becoming the first she-demon, because she did not comply with Adam. Similar to this religious/mythical/Biblical counterpart, Lilith embraced the darkness within her, and due to this, was exiled to the Unfriendly Neighborhood because she wouldn't - and couldn't - be what the other, less scathed puppets expected her to be.

Unfriendly George: Ghost Reasoning: Unfriendly George became fascinated with death when he saw the bad TV shows, realizing that, for most, at least, it was inevitable. He wondered how it would be to be a spirit, a ghost, free of the pains and troubles that plague his mind.

My art isn't the best, but I hope to post some design ideas for these Unfriendly fellas soon. Thanks for taking the time to read this, I had a lot of fun writing and researching name ideas. Until next time, ciao!

[fenrislorsrai]

putting together the conspiracy theory dots

Aziraphale says in that first encounter with Crowley "we're starting out with a breeding pair"

Then we get the minisode about Eve having been born in the garden of Eden from the whole Adam's rib.

Hang on. what happened to your starting out with a pair?

ARE WE GETTING LILITH???

Just grabbing the start of the wikipedia entry for those who are going "who?"

Lilith (/ˈlɪlɪθ/ LIH-lith; Hebrew: לִילִית, romanized: Līlīṯ), also spelt Lilit, Lilitu, or Lilis, is a female figure in Mesopotamian and Judaic mythology, theorized to be the first wife of Adam[1] and supposedly the primordial she-demon.