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Lilith, originally a spirit of
hostile winds in the Arabian Peninsula became a devourer of children, a
succubus and finally a Queen of vampires. First wife of Adam according to ben
Sira and a hostile demon Queen according to The Zohar.
Lilith rose to prominence in
the world from the shades of storms and bad augurs. Over time she has been
associated with the Moon, with Venus, the mother of Djinn and the mother of
Sidhe (‘fairies’). She has been approach as a succubus – or their mother, as a
Specter and a Sorceress. From Sumer and Chaldea she spread her wings over Edom,
Syria, Arabia and Europe. Blavatsky saw her as a primordial ethereal shadow of
sexuality – and it is from her theosophy we find the modern ideas that see her
as an icon of the suppressed woman that seeks dominion.
In the book of necromancy
called ‘Forbidden Rites’ Richard Kieckhefer (Penn State Uni Press. 1997) gives
an instruction for making a mirror of Lylet or Lilith. This mirror should be
placated on Saturn days in the hour of Mars (i.e. malefic with malefic). The
daimonic genius of the mirror however is called Floron. Floron might be a
reference to a spirit of the green, being floral by name and hence a reference
to the Garden of Eden might be detected.
In Lemegeton we have two
candidates that might be linguistically related and thus it can be that Floron
is in truth either Flauros (Havres) and/or Focalor, both of them dukes under
the rays of Venus. Flauros is a great duke that appears in the form of a
were-leopard, and speaks much about the fallen host and the conditions of the
world before the fall. He is a fiery duke and can be used in works of revenge
and vengeance. He is given the kabalistic value of 212, ‘splendor’. Focalor
appears as a griffin, a creature with a lion’s body and wings of an eagle. He
is a wind spirit that is drawn to the oceans and waters. His kabalistic value
is 342, meaning ‘path’. Together they make 554 which is Zorea Zara, to ‘bear seed’ – hence something fertile happens here
where the path of splendor opens up for a seed. It is also said that Focalor
was promised to reenter heaven after one thousand years of servitude – but was
in the end denied entrance.
So, the mirror itself is a
product of the dukes of Lemegeton, a mirror of Venus. But this mirror of Venus
should be worked when the two maleficas, Mars and Saturn is strong – or for
more benevolent works when Jupiter and Saturn are found in good aspects with
one another. Furthermore Flauros is a demon of Capricorn while Focalor is a
demon of Taurus –and Taurus is the sign that holds the star Algol, in the constellation
of Perseus. Like Medusa sought her refuge in a cave Lilith sought her refuge in
a cave at the red sea.
In the most recent rendering of
her we find the HBO series ‘True Blood’. Here Lilith appears from lakes of
blood caused by the intoxication of her lilins that enter into a frenetic
bloodlust –and she herself brings dispersion and havoc in an outlandish
seduction in her children. Perhaps this vision is more accurate in its
perception of her nature. It is about dominion – it is about ecstasy, it is
about frustration. Lilith is sexual, but she is more about the frustration of
delayed sexual release typical for the vama marg tradition of Tantrik kaula
practice than a florescent garden of sexual delights. Like the astrological
black moon – associated with her – is but a mathematical point in space she is
also a state of mind similar to what is known in BDSM as the ‘substate’.
She is not a power confining to
the order set by men and therefore she constantly escapes any label and any
attempt of lodging her in a neat and rational box of clarity and identity. The
moment this happens, she will break free and declare that she is other than
this.
As the neo pagan world is
growing, the veneration for Lilith as a daimon of sexuality and female powers
has also seen a growth. In spite of never being a daimon of fertility or
motherhood she is in a greater and greater extent being treated as such. She is
seen as a savior for suppressed women – and perhaps in this she has a
benevolent function. But she is not this; she is so much more…
Lilith went through a
transition in modern days quite similar to what we find in astrology
considering the nature of the 8th house and the sign of Scorpio.
Modern astrology sees the 8th house as ruled by Scorpio and they see
Scorpio as the primordial sexual drive. Classical astrology sees the sign of
Scorpio as ruled by Mars, it is a dark and humid sign that is intuitive and
death-seeking. Its sexuality is in conformity with primal instincts of survival
and primal procreation – like it is with most amphibians. The 8th
house itself is a place where death – and consequently inheritance is read and
predicted. In the 8th house Saturn have his joy and it is here all
malefic join together in the amphibian lust of crocodiles, vipers and
scorpions…
So, sure, Lilith is a sexual
daimon, but her erotic lust is of nights and shades. In truth, she is the
nightshade and she is the head of Medusa – she is beyond planets, she is Algol
– and here on earth, such stellar matters made manifest is bound to be terror.
She is not kind, she was the spouse of Samael, God’s poison, and she was the
forbidden tree, the balance itself. She was the mother of the accursed ones,
those that were called witches and sorcerers by those who could not understand
Her; nor her children.
She is truly deeply connected
with the star Algol or al-ghûl – after the class of djinns of the same name.
This star is found in the plant hellebore and in diamonds. It is distinctively
Saturnine but exalts when Mars is rising. The impulse of Venus is about its
female grace, it is about veiling diamonds in hellebore to wreck vengeance or chaos…