Sky's Embrace

16 Pages·2009·6.53 MB·English

Volume 2
Issue 10
October 2009
Sky’s Sol in Libra
Embrace
The Official Publication of Horizon Oasis O.T.O.
This Month:
On Knowing Aleister Crowley Page 2
Personally - Part 2
Lilith by Soror 207 Page 5
CD Review: “Aleister Crowley’s Page 12
The Rite of Mercury”
Horizon Regular Events Schedule Page 15
Horizon Calendar Page 16
ON KNOWING ALEISTER CROWLEY PERSONALLY - Part 2 of 3
by Hymenaeus Alpha 777
Originally Published in the O.T.O. Newsletter Vol.3 No. 9 August 1979
$
As I mentioned in my last rap, 93 Jermyn Street fect that I would have liked to have been there. His
is just off Picadilly Circus in London. A “circus” is reply was rather devastating. He said, and I quote,
a “r’und-a-boot” (round-about), i.e. a circle where “Oh, you would just have gotten yourself buggered.”
traffic flows in and out. Picadilly Circus has tradi- Considering my physical strength at the time that
tionally had a statue of Eros (Cupid) on the island in does seem unlikely, but anyway...
the center (taken down during the war, of course).
It was also here at 93 Jermyn Street that a Ger-
They couldn’t take down Nelson’s Monument in
man bomb landed in his back yard, blowing glass
Trafalgar Square, so they sandbagged it. Anyway,
from the window all over his bed, and as he said to
and for whatever reason, it was the habit at that
me at the time, “If I had been home, I would have
time (’43 – ’44 e.v.) for all of the young ladies of Lon-
been killed.” This shook his nerve a bit. He, along
don who wanted to fuck for fun and profit to come
with Lady Frieda and many another Britisher, were
down and blanket the walls while the various cli-
determined that the German bombing would not
entele (mostly American soldiers) considered the
drive them out of London — the old British “bulldog”
prospects. The comments one heard while passing
spirit. As to whether any of this on Crowley’s part
could be rather startling. I remember being jolted
had to do with any remorse over his pro-German
out of my satori one evening by some broad yelling
activities in the U.S. during War One, I cannot say.
“Get your hand off my cunt!” during a particular
So far as I am concerned, he was just being the typ-
point when they were negotiating as to who was to
ical Britisher he had always been. Crowley was in
sleep with whom and where and how much for the
the tradition of the radical conservative. On the one
night. We had a saying in the American army, “If
hand there is nothing more radical than Thelema.
you put a roof over Picadilly Circus, you would have
On the other hand he was a monarchist. He could
the biggest whorehouse in the world.” Whether
never forgive Edward VIII for having abdicated his
Crowley ever made use of the local availability I
throne to marry a commoner. After all, the office of
have no idea, but it did set a certain tone.
the Royal Consort had been approved in European
Speaking of sex, the question has arisen as to royalty for centuries.
whether Crowley ever made any homosexual ad-
Speaking as an old combat trooper, I can report
vances to me. The answer is no. (For a confirmato-
with great authenticity that being next to a bomb
ry opinion, see The Eye in the Triangle by Dr. Israel
going off will do something to you. What it does
Regardie, p. 16.) The Aleister Crowley I knew had
mostly is make your nerves a lot more frangible.
the greatest respect for the right of an individual to
So if sometimes my hand shakes a little and maybe
manifest their Will without interference. The only
I drink more than is good for me, believe me I have
time the subject ever came up was by accident and
reasons. When the Chinese hit the Kumwha Ridges
a joke. One day he was telling me about how he had
with a human wave that went on for a solid week
been at a party the previous evening. From his de-
in October of ’52 e.v., and I was ammo supply on
scription I got the idea that the people who attended
the Central Front, Korea... but that is another Grady
were mostly of the artist / bohemian persuasion,
story...
but elderly, because, as he said, despite their age
they were all jumping about “as spry as crickets.” Back to Crowley. As a result of the German
Whereupon I made some inane comment to the ef- bombing he decide he needed “more quiet.” Can’t
Page 2
say I blame him. I thought it was dumb enough to stay in
London to begin with, but I didn’t tell him that.
So he looked around and decide to move to the Bell
Inn at Ashton Clinton, Bucks County (I think that means
“THE CIRCLE OF THE
“Buckingham”). There is a whole history of England writ-
HORIZON IS THE EARTH
ten in the county names. “The painted counties.” Yes, I saw
it once when I was running east on a highway over in the AND SKY’S EMBRACE”
West country — those perfect patches of agriculture, each
in its own color... (Essex means “the East Saxons,” Wes- SKY’S EMBRACE
sex means “the West Saxons,” Sussex means “the South VOLUME 2
Saxons,” Northumberland means the pits. That is Robin ISSUE 10
Hood country.) ...about 30 miles north of London. Of course, OCTOBER 2009
London goes on forever.
SOL IN LIBRA
The Bell Inn is an authentic country inn. It still has the
courtyard where the stagecoaches stopped to load and RELEASED BY
unload. I was still up in East Anglia at Bury St. Edmunds at HORIZON OASIS O.T.O.
the time. Now England is built very much like Italy or Korea http://www.seattle-oto.org
when it comes to roads. “All roads lead to...” London, Rome 1423 10TH AVE
or Seoul, as the case may be. To cut across country is a SEATTLE, WA 98122
problem. Add to that the fact that the British had taken down
all road signs in case of a German invasion, which was not
CONTACT THE EDITOR AT
at all unlikely. But I had a very beautiful, red Morocco bound
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quarto sized map book, so I never really had any problems
negotiating the terrain. (From a recent film, “The Eagle Has
ADDITIONAL WEBSITES
Landed,” it is quite obvious that the Germans had just as
good road maps, so why did the British take down the road http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sea-oto/
signs? Well, you are at war — you have to do something — http://www.cafeshops.com/horizonoasis
even if only to keep up your morale.) I fogged my way across http://www.livejournal.com/community/
country... wondering at the convoys of British trucks that did horizon_oasis/
not have front wheel drive... sure enough, they bogged down
All content © 2009 Ordo Templi
in the mud of Italy while those American GMC deuce and a
Orientis and respective author(s)
halfs went plowing sturdily through... bugged the hell out
and may not be reproduced without
of the British newspaper correspondents at the time... and
expressed written consent.
those colorful “Royal Corps of Signals” on their messengers
motorcycles with their funny helmets and fantastic yellow
The views and opinions expressed
gloves with the long gauntlets to cover their wrists.
are the responsibility of the individual
I did not really have all that much trouble in finding Ash- author(s) and do not necessarily
ton Clinton, not at all like that time in Korea when I wanted represent the views of Horizon Oasis
to drive from Chouchon over to the Western Front without or Ordo Templi Orientis.
bothering to drive all the way into Seoul. Found myself on a
washed-out road on a mountain pass, up to the fan belt in
a flooding stream without a bridge — and when a squad of
Koreans burst out of the cane in full camouflaged combat
Continued on Page 4
Page 3
Continued from Page 3
regalia, I damned near shit my pants while grab- conservatorship).
bing for my carbine in the back of the jeep. Turned
The blank side is the male (Yang, energy) side.
out they were just ROK troops on maneuvers, but
The divided side (looks like red nail polish to me)
for a horrible second I didn’t know that. Well, any-
is the female (Yin, receptive) side. By my ruler
way, back to Crowley, like I said.
they are less than an 8th of an inch in thickness,
Naturally I was in uniform. Not only was there but slightly more than a 16th thick. They either
a war on, but I had taken the morning off from my were mahogany or teak or stained dark to look so.
duties as Company Commander to grab the Com- Each stick has a Yang side and a Yin side. The way
pany jeep and go over and see Crowley. I walked Crowley used them was to shuffle them (with his
in to the desk (on the right; the dining room is on eyes closed then take them one at a time and, hol-
the left as you walk in) and asked the clerk how I ing each one upright with his right forefinger (eyes
could find Mr. Crowley. He said, “Oh, right up those still closed), get a signal and lay it down either right
stairs (on the right), down the corridor to the left, or left. First stick down is the bottom line. You can
and its room num- also get moving lines
ber so and so (which this way. If one of the
I have forgotten).” So sticks wants to move
I go pounding up the when you lay it down,
stairs “with me com- just shove it right or
bat boots on,” found left as indicated.
the door (on the Personally I like this
right), and pounded method of taking the
on it. I heard some Oracle. It gives you
unintelligible sound, a chance for your
so I pounded again. Angel to communi-
This time I heard a cate directly through
voice saying very dis- your fingertip. Of
tinctly, “Who is it?” course, one must
Since I was talking always be wary of
to a piece of wood, lying and malicious
the door, and there spirits.
seemed to be some
I forget exactly
problem of communication, I said very loudly,
what we talked about, but I do remember that it
“LIEUTENANT McMURTRY.” The door opened and
was a happy reunion and a heart warming experi-
there was Crowley. He took one look at me and
ence. Crowley could be a wonderful person when
said, “Oh, there you are, dear chap. Come right on
he wanted to be. As for the irascible side of his
in.” Then he paused, looked puzzled for a second,
nature, I personally do not think he could have
and said, “That’s strange. When I was taking the I
brought down The Book of The Law unless he had
Ching this morning it said that I would be meeting
been authentically THE GREAT WILD BEAST OF
a military man.” I walked in, and he said, “Pardon
THE AEON.
me a minute.” He was in progress of taking an
oracle from the I Ching. It was the one time I saw I met him once more, Xmas of 1944 e.v., but
him using his I Ching sticks (which I was able to re- more of that next time... and Hastings.
cover from the library after the court order decree-
ing that his library belonged to the O.T.O. under my To Be Continued...
Page 4
Daughters of Lilith: A Gathering of Women
present
È L i l i t h É
by Soror 2071
When
the main features of Lilith first appear vampire who, once she chose a lover would never
in Sumerian culture about the middle of the 3rd let him go, without ever giving him real satisfac-
millennium B.C.E., Southern Mesopotamia flour- tion. She was unable to bear children and had no
ished under the intensive administration and cul- milk in her breasts. According to the Sumerian
tivation by the rulers of the Sumerian city-states. epic Gilgamesh and the Huluppu Tree (ca. 2000
The Semites from the steppes of north-eastern B.C.E.); Lilith (Lillake) built her house in the midst
Arabia and the highlanders from the Iranian pla- of the Huluppu (willow) tree which had been
teau to the east came into the country. The Sem- planted on the bank of the Euphrates in the days
ites of the steppes had seasonal grazing rights in of creation. A dragon set up its nest at the base of
the settled land after harvest. the tree, and the Zu-bird placed his young in its
The desert was an uncanny place to the people crown. Gilgamesh slays the dragon with his huge
of the settled land. They saw it as the region of in- bronze axe, whereupon the Zu-bird flees with its
security, the unpredictable, from which wild men young to the mountain, and Lilith, terror-stricken,
went raiding and wreaking, with destructive hot tears down her house and escapes to the desert.
winds and dust-storms. In Mesopotamian mythol- In Babylonian culture Lilith appears slender,
ogy it was the preserve of the sinister supernatural well-shaped, beautiful and nude, with wings and
powers, the malevolent demons; the Lil. owl-feet. She stands erect on two reclining lions
The earliest mention of a she-demon whose which are turned away from each other and are
name is similar to that of Lilith is found in the Su- flanked by owls. On her head she wears a cap em-
merian king list which dates from ca. 2400 B.C.E. It bellished by several pairs of horns. In her hands
states that the father of the great hero Gilgamesh she holds a ring and rod combination. Lilith is no
was a Lillu-demon. The Lillu was one of four de- longer a lowly she-demon, but a goddess who
mons belonging to a vampire or incubi-succubae tames wild beasts and, as shown by the owls on
class. The other three were Lilitu (Lilith), a she- the reliefs, rules by night.
demon; Ardat Lili (or Lilith’s handmaid), who vis-
ited men by night and bore them ghostly children; It was expected that at some point in the history
and Irdu Lili, who must have been her male coun- of Mesopotamia the Semitic element in the popu-
terpart and would visit women and beget children lation which had settled and assimilated the cul-
by them. Originally these were storm-demons, ture of the Sumerians should aspire to dominate.
“Lil” means storm in Sumerian, an example is the Such domination was won by the Semitic power in
name Enlil (En=god) (lil=storm) but, because of a the city of Akkad, under Sargon (2242-2186 B.C.E.).
mistaken etymology they came to be regarded as This Akkadian hegemony in southern Mesopota-
night-demons due to the Semitic tri-literal root mia was not sustained, and there was a reversion
ליל“Lil” meaning night.1 to Sumerian hegemony under the Third Dynasty
of Ur (2044-1936 B.C.E.). But in the Akkadian as-
Lilith’s epithet was “the beautiful maiden”,
cendancy the Sumerian syllabic cuneiform signs
but she was believed to have been a harlot and a
were adapted to the writing of Semitic dialects in
what is known as Akkadian. This was used by the
1 Lilith in Hebrew is spelled לילית; the English spelling has a ‘th’ to
Semitic Amorites from the western steppes, who
indicate the Hebrew letter Tav. The 'th' sound in English is not pro-
nounced in Ancient Hebrew; so Lilith is pronounced as 'lee-leet'. next dominated Mesopotamia (1826-1526 B.C.E.).
Continued on Page 6
Page 5
Continued from Page 5
Though the Semites made their own distinc- that she must return to Adam, but she refused.
tive contribution to culture, religion, politics and When they threatened her with drowning her in
literature, they also assimilated the substantial the sea, she contended that she was created in
heritage of the Sumerians, often with little adapta- order to weaken the babes. The male child she has
tion. While the mythology of Mesopotamia is really power over him from the moment of his birth until
Sumerian, it was appropriated by the Semites in the eighth day of his life when he is circumcised
southern Mesopotamia in the older Akkadian pe- and thereby protected, and the female child until
riod or in the later Amorite period. she is twenty days old.” The angels were adamant
The native tradition of Mesopotamia continued and in order to make them desist she promised
to flourish ca. 500 B.C.E. when another Semitic to them in the name of God that whenever Lilith
power, the Aramaeans, usually called Chaldae- sees these Angels, their names or their images on
ans, from the western steppes came to power in an amulet, she will not harm the child. She also
Babylon. They dominated the country until they agreed to the death of one hundred of her own
too fell to the ascendant power of the Persians children day after day. This pact between the three
under Cyrus the Great, who captured Babylon in angels and Lilith is the basis for writing the names
538 B.C.E. The Persians had their own mythology, Senoy, Sansenoy and Semangelof on amulets
or rather their own conception of the natural and hung around the necks of new-born babes: when
supernatural order, formulated by the religion Lilith sees the names, she remembers her oath
of Zoroaster. This cosmic philosophy, influenced and leaves the child alone.
by Babylonian astronomy, had an effect on late The older sources do not state clearly that it
Jewish thought. Lilith was integrated into the was Lilith herself who, after her Red Sea sojourn,
Hebraic tradition through this Babylonian-Semitic returned to Adam as his succubae. The first medi-
connection. eval source to give the myth of Lilith and Adam in
Lilith’s shape had changed by the 7th century full is the Midrash Abkir (ca. 10th century), which
B.C.E. In northern Syria she is shown as a winged is followed by the Zohar and later Kabbalistic writ-
sphinx across whose body is written the following ings. In spite of her steadfast refusal to return to
inscription in the Phoenician-Canaanite dialect: Adam, Lilith soon became again attracted to him,
“O, Flyer in a dark chamber, Go away at once, O and managed to sleep with him against his will.
Lili”! These lines are part of an incantation text In the meantime Adam had received Eve as his
used to help women in childbirth; one of many wife, was persuaded by her to eat from the fruit
extant from the period of the Assyrian Empire and of the Tree of Knowledge, and was expelled from
the new Babylonian Kingdom. the Garden of Eden with the curse of death hang-
ing over his head. When Adam became aware that
In the Talmud Lilith is Adam’s first wife, but because of his sin or as a consequence of Cain’s
they could not find satisfaction together. When fratricide God decreed mortality upon him and
Adam insisted that Lilith lie under him, Lilith all his future descendants; he embarked upon a
refused because in her opinion they were equal, period of penitence which lasted for 130 years.
since both of them were created from dust. Adam He fasted, refrained from intercourse with Eve,
was determined to subdue Lilith, so she uttered and in order to mortify his flesh, wore a belt of
the magic name of God, rose into the air and flew rough fig twigs around his naked body. But Lilith
away to the Red Sea, a place of ill repute, full of whose name is Pizna or according to the Zohar,
lascivious demons. There Lilith engaged in ram- two female spirits Lilith and Naamah found him,
pant promiscuity and gave birth to a demonic desired his beauty which was like that of the sun
brood of more than one hundred a day. The three disk, and lay with him. Adam could not control
angels Senoy, Sansenoy and Semangelof were his involuntary nocturnal emissions which were
sent to locate Lilith and give her God’s message brought about by female spirits who came and
Page 6
coupled with him and bore him spirits, demons goddess, and had a granddaughter who was an-
and Lilin. At the same time, male spirits came and tagonistic to her; which is comparable to the rela-
impregnated Eve who thus became the mother of tionship between the Elder Lilith and the Younger
innumerable demon children. Lilith also managed Lilith, according to Qabalistic mythology Lilith’s
to attach herself to Cain and to bear him numer- notoriety spread from Babylonia to the East, into
ous spirits and demons. The issue of these unions Persia, where magic bowls were used against
were demons and spirits, called “the plagues of her by various layers of the population, much in
mankind”, who lurk under doorways, in wells and the same fashion as in Babylonia. The Persian
in latrines, and lead men astray. bowls also talk of Lilith in singular, as well as of
“Liliths” in plural, as a category of female, harmful
The Talmud contains the views of the learned and dangerous demons, in conjunction with male
elite about Lilith, but the Aramaic bowls found in “devils” and male “demons”.
Nippur, Babylonia from the 5th century C.E. in-
scribed with magical incantations to ward off Lilith While the major characteristics of Lilith were
shows what she meant for the general population. well developed by the close of the Talmudic period,
Lilith was regarded as an unearthly paramour it remained for Kabbalistic mysticism to establish
of men and constituted a special danger for a relationship between her and the deity.
women during many phases of their sexual life Her birth is described in a number of alterna-
cycle. A mother in the hour of childbirth, and her tive versions. According to one, she was created
newborn babe were especially vulnerable and had before Adam on the fifth day of Creation. Another
to be protected from the Liliths. The home, arches version, recounts that she was created by God in
and thresholds were favorite places where the the same manner in which Adam was produced.
Liliths lurk, ready to seize upon anybody foolish But instead of using clean earth which was the
enough to go unprotected. At night, the female substance of Adam’s body, God used filth and im-
Liliths join men, and the male Lili-s women, and pure sediments from the earth and out of these it
generate demonic offspring. Spontaneous noc- formed a female.
turnal emission is the visible sign of Lilith having According to a third version, God originally cre-
succeeded in arousing the desire of a man in his ated Adam and Lilith together in such a manner
sleep and having satisfied her own lust through that the female creature was contained within
him. In doing this, she assumes the shape of the male. Lilith’s soul was originally lodged in the
either a mature woman or a young virgin. The depths of the Great Abyss from where she was
product of such unions are evil spirits. Once they called forth by God and joined to Adam. When
succeed in attaching themselves to a human, they Adam was created and his body completed, a
acquire rights of cohabitation, and must be given thousand souls from the Left (i.e. Evil) Side tried to
a get, letter of divorce, in order that they may be attach themselves to him. But God let out a shout
expelled. Jealous of the human mates of their and thus drove them off. All this while Adam lay
bedfellows, they abhor the children born of ordi- there, a body without a soul, greenish in color.
nary human wedlock, attack them, plague them, Then a cloud descended, and God commanded the
suck their blood and strangle them. The Lilith also earth to produce a living soul. This God breathed
manage to prevent the birth of children by causing into Adam who now was able to stand up, and be-
barrenness, miscarriages, or complications dur- hold, his female was attached to his side. But God
ing childbirth. sawed his creature into two, whereupon Lilith flew
The name “Lilith Buznai” appears in an incan- off to the Cities of the Sea where she still lurks
tation bowl. Buznai was the individual name of a ready to harm mankind.
female numen, who is described interchangeably And another version considers Lilith not as a
as a Lilith and an angel. She was regarded as a being created by God, but as a divine entity which
Continued on Page 8
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Continued from Page 7
emerged spontaneously, either out of the Great their bodies and once she succeeded in doing this,
Supernal Abyss, or out of the power-aspect of God she refused to separate from them. But when God
(the Geburah or Din), which manifests itself chiefly created man, which He did in order to bring this
in the divine acts of stern judgment and punish- world to completion, He forcibly detached Lilith
ment. This stern, divine punitive aspect of God, from the Cherubim and made her descend to
one of His ten mystical attributes (Sephiroth), has earth. When Lilith approached Adam she became
at its lowest manifestation some affinity with the frustrated for attached to Adam’s side was Eve
realm of evil referred to as “the dregs of the wine”, whose beauty resembled the beauty of Above.
and it is out of this that Lilith and Samael emerged When Lilith saw the complete image of Adam
in an androgynous form. and Eve together, she understood that she had
no chances and flew back again up to heaven to
In mystical writing that predate the Zohar by a re-attach herself to the Cherubim. But the watch-
few decades, Lilith and Samael are said to have ers of the Gate of Above barred her way, and God,
been born by an emanation from beneath the addressing a stern rebuke to her, cast her into the
Throne of Glory, in the shape of an androgynous, depths of the sea.
double-faced being, corresponding, in the spiritual
realm, to the birth of Adam and Eve who too were The next period in Lilith’s life was spent in two
born as a hermaphrodite. The two androgynous activities seducing men and killing children. Lilith
twin-couples not only resembled each other, but is “that whore of a woman”, the wrathful demonic
both “were like the image of what is Above”, that dark side of feminine, who seduces men to sin,
is reproduced in a visible form, the image of the and is identified with the serpent. Sin, lust, and
androgynous deity. death are the works of Lilith acting together with
Yet another version connects the birth of Lil- her consort Samael.
ith with the creation of the luminaries. The “first Lilith is capable of seducing men not only in
light”, which was the light of Mercy (another of the their sleep but also while awake. Once she suc-
ten Sephiroth), appeared when, on the first day ceeds, Lilith turns from a beautiful seductress;
of Creation, God said “Let there be light”. When her allurements turn into punishments and her
this light became hidden, Holiness became sur- cruel fury kills her victim:
rounded by a husk of Evil. This idea is expressed by She adorns herself with many ornaments like a
the statement that “a husk (Qelipoth) was created despicable harlot, and takes up her position at the
around the brain”, and this husk, in turn, spread crossroads to seduce the sons of man. When a fool
and brought out another husk and this was none approaches her, she grabs him, kisses him, and pours
other than Lilith. him wine of dregs of viper’s gall. As soon as he drinks
it, he goes astray after her. When she sees that he has
The information about Lilith contained in
gone astray after her from the path of truth, she divests
Midrashic and Talmudic sources shows Lilith
herself of all ornaments which she put on for that fool.
having a general appearance very much like the
Her ornaments for the seduction of the sons of man
Cherubim, in which she has a connection with the
are: her hair is long and red like the rose, her cheeks
Cherubim in Zoharic myth.
are white and red, from her ears hang six ornaments,
As soon as Lilith was born, or emerged in Egyptian chords and all the ornaments of the Land of
one of the mysterious ways her longing for male the East hang from her nape. Her mouth is set like a
companionship manifested itself. She began to narrow door comely in its décor, her tongue is sharp like
fly about, soaring up into the heights of heaven a sword, her words are smooth like oil, her lips are red
and again swooping down, until she reached the like a rose and sweetened by all the sweetness of the
Cherubim who surrounded God’s throne. To them world. She is dressed in scarlet, and adorned with forty
Lilith attached herself, impressing herself into ornaments less one. Yon fool goes astray after her and
Page 8
drinks from the cup of wine and commits with her forni- The myth of Lilith the child-killer remained a
cations and strays after her. What does she thereupon potent factor in the lives of the tradition-bound
do? She leaves him asleep on the couch, flies up to Jews down to the 19th century. To protect the
heaven, denounces him, takes her leave, and descends. newborn boy-child against Lilith, they would draw
That fool awakens and deems he can make sport with a circle with natron or charcoal on the wall of the
her as before, but she removes her ornaments and birthroom and write into it: “Adam and Eve. Out
turns into a menacing figure. She stands before him Lilith!” At the same time they would write the
clothed in garments of flaming fire, inspiring terror and names of the three angels, Senoy, Sansenoy and
body and soul tremble, full of frightening eyes, in her Semangelof, on the door of the room.
hand a drawn sword dripping bitter drops. And she kills
that fool and casts him into Gehenna. Lilith’s companion in many of her evil exploits
is Naamah, another high-ranking she-demon.
Even when a man wishes to engage in lawful
Her origin is obscure, but as her name Naamah,
sexual intercourse with his wife the menace of Li-
“the charmer”, indicates, she is a demoness of
lith is present, but there is an incantation to chase
extraordinary, irresistible beauty.
Lilith away during copulation.
In the earlier Talmudic-Midrashic, mythology
Lilith has dominion over children who are con-
Naamah is still taken to have been a flesh-and-
ceived during forbidden sexual intercourse. She
blood woman, who earned her name by enticing
can kill them any time she wishes because they
men with the sweet, sensual sounds of her cym-
are delivered into her hands. And this is the secret
bals to worship idols. Naamah is still a human
of the children’s smiling when they are small – be-
female according to those myths which tell about
cause of Lilith who plays with them.
her role in seducing the sons of God. She was so
The counterpart of these magic efforts to pro-
beautiful that she led the angels astray, and from
tect men from the nocturnal enticements of Lilith
her union with the angel Shamdon or Shomron,
the succubae, is an incantation whose purpose is
sprang Ashmodai who was destined to become
precisely the opposite: to obtain a succubae for
the king of the devils.
the night with the help of that other demon-queen,
From being the human mother of Shamdon’s
Igrath bath Mahalath.
demonic brood, Naamah was transformed by the
Following her rejections by the Cherubim, Lilith Qabalah into a semi-human, deathless being,
remained in the depths of the sea until Adam and who, like Lilith, fulfils the double task of seducing
Eve sinned. Lilith obtained power over children who men and strangling children in their sleep.
were punished because of the sins of their fathers. Lilith rears Naamah’s children.
She roams all over the world, then approaches the
Cherubim watching over the gates. She sits down King Solomon had dominion over the demons,
there, next to the flame of the sword, since it was spirits and Lilin, and knew the language of each…
from that flame that she originated. When the and when his heart was merry with wine, he would
flame turns around (indicating that the world has command the wild animals, the fowl of heaven,
entered into a phase of punishment), she rushes and the creeping things of the earth, as well as
off and again goes roaming all over the world to the demons, spirits and Lilin to dance before him.
seek out the children who deserve to be punished. It was due to Solomon’s power over the demons
And she smiles at them and kills them… that he was able to resist the Queen of Sheba who
After the completion of her raids on mankind, was none other than Lilith.
Lilith returns to the cities of the sea, her head- Solomon’s dominance over Lilith, which be-
quarters. Only when ultimately God will destroy came an integral part of Medieval Jewish and
the Evil Kingdom of Rome, will she move there to Muslim Arab demonology, retained an important
take up her abode in the eternal ruins. role in Middle Eastern Jewish exorcisms as
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recently as the early 20th century. The Lilith who was born androgynous with
Samael is Lilith the Elder. She is a ladder on
A Zoharic version that was current in Kabbalistic which one can ascend to the rungs of prophecy.
circles in the Middle Ages makes Lilith Samael’s Lilith can help those whom she favors or who gain
wife, and the first among his four wives the other mastery over her to rise towards or actually attain
being Naamah, Igrath and Mahalath. Each ruled prophetic powers.
on one of the four Tequfot (i.e. the vernal equinox,
Lilith the Younger becomes the wife of Ash-
the summer solstice, the autumnal equinox and
modai, King of the Demons and out of this union
the winter solstice) of the years, when they gather
spring the great prince Harba diAshm’dai (Ash-
on a lofty peak near the Mountains of Darkness.
modai’s Sword), who rules over 80,000 demons of
These four women become the “rulers”, in destruction and numerous other demon offspring.
the sense of heavenly patrons, of four kingdoms, Lilith the Younger has the form of a beautiful
the Kingdom of Damascus, the Kingdom of Tyre, woman from head to navel, and from the nave
Kingdom of Malta and the Kingdom of Granata or downward is flaming fire and aroused the desire
of Ishmael. of Samael. This caused intense jealously between
Lilith fornicates with all men, Naamah only Samael and Ashmodai, as well as constant fight-
with the gentiles, Igrath is sent out to do harm on ing between the Elder and the Younger Lilith.
the nights preceding Wednesdays and Saturdays In the 14th century Lilith the Elder is said to
and Nega only with the men of Israel when she have 480 bands of demons under her command
became a ruler after Mahalath left the desert. (לילית LYLYT = 30,10,30,10,400) On the Day of Atone-
The marriage between Samael and Lilith as ment, Lilith the Elder marches out into the desert
arranged by the “Blind Dragon” who in Qabalis- and, being the demon of screeching – her name
tic mythology is the counterpart On High of “the taken as if derived from the verb ילל YLL, to howl
dragon that is in the sea.” or scream – spends the day there screaming. Ma-
halath has 478 bands of demons at her disposal
The marriage of Lilith with Samael, also known
(מהלת MHLT = 40,8,30,400), when the two meet,
as the “Angel Satan” or the “Other God”, was not
they fight, they taunt each other until their voices
allowed to prosper. God was apprehensive lest
rise to heaven and the earth trembles under their
they fill the world with their demonic brood, and,
screams. And all this is brought about by God so
to prevent this, he castrated Samael. Once Samael
that they should not be able to make accusations
was castrated, Lilith, since “she could no longer
against Israel on the Day of Atonement.
couple with her husband”, took to satisfying her
desire by fornicating with men who experience Mahalath is also, shown by her name, to have
nocturnal emissions. been a compulsive dancer (מהול MHVL = dance);
as she marches into the desert at the head of her
In another 15th or 16th century Qabalistic text
bands of destructive angels, she goes and dances
the Midrashic statement that God “cooled” the
and gyrates in ringdances until she and Lilith fall
female leviathan is reinterpreted to mean that
upon each other and engage in a fierce battle.
God made Lilith barren, so that she cannot bear
offspring “but is mere fornication”.
In other Qabalistic stories there was an angel
who was expelled from heaven and he was called
The idea that there are many Liliths is very old.
‘the flame of the revolving sword’, and at times she
In the Babylonian incantation texts there appear
is an angel and at times a demon called Lilith. And
male Lili-s, in addition to the female Liliths. It re-
since the female rules at night, and the demons
mained for the 13th century Qabalists to split the
rule at night, she is called Lilith (i.e. “Nocturnal”)
person of Lilith herself into two and to distinguish
between an Elder and a Younger Lilith. The notion that Lilith rules at night goes back
to the Zohar where the Biblical expression “dread
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