LILITH
by Artemisia
Image provided by
Sacred Source
Introduction:
Lilith is best known today from the Jewish
tradition as a lusty, demoness who
preys upon men at night and kills babies. She is scorned in their stories and
legends, as she was
the outcast first wife of Adam. According
to Barbara
Black Koltov, PhD, in this tradition she represents
the Shadow woman, one
who refuses to be subjugated, who embodies the
irrational, rebellious aspect of
womanhood, the
terrors that abound in the dark of the night and the dark of
the moon. She inspires fear and revulsion, as she
alternately is a nubile,
young woman who seduces men and leads them away from
their pious lives, and
an ugly hag who brings death and kills babies
descended from Eve, out of
revenge upon Adam.
Koltov, in The Book of Lilith, describes this
mythology of Lilith, and the rituals, habits and
purification rites undertaken by
men and women to protect themselves from her, such as following specific
guidelines before engaging in marital sexual intercourse, and
the use of birthing
amulets for mothers and infants in which protection spells
and entreaties to
appease Lilith were inscribed to prevent her for taking
the infant’s life (1).
Ancient Lilith:
However, Lilith’s
Sumerian Goddess Lilitu (2), described by Demetra
George as “an
emanation of the great winged Bird Goddess” of old (3).
She is also recorded in Sumerian myth as a young
handmaiden of the
Sumerian Queen of Heaven and Earth, Inanna, who’s
job is to bring the men
from the streets to Inanna’s temple for holy rites
involving sacred sexual
customs of the time (3).
Sadly, when the Hebrew culture took over ancient
Sumerian culture, it
destroyed the ancient spiritual traditions and practices of
the region because
of the religious belief that salvation of the spirit
is attained through abandonment
of the desires of the body. These beliefs relegated women’s spirituality
to
wisdom and virginity,
and they suppressed the notion that female divinity is
based on the sanctity of her sex and the powers of her
body. (2)
Modern
Lilith:
The traditional ways in which Lilith interacted
with her followers in ancient
times have been forever lost to us. However, modern thinkers such as
Demetra George in Mysteries of the Dark Moon.
(3) and Betty De Shong
Meador, in
Uncursing the Dark (4), provide
us with though-provoking guides
to interacting with Lilith in a positive, healing
manner. They encourage all
modern women, as part of their spiritual growth, to go
within and find their
Shadow self.
This Shadow self represents the part of the feminine psyche
that has been outcast, suppressed, denied, feared, and
abused since ancient
times, like Lilith.
Through anger, outrage, rebellion
and acceptance of the
feelings brought up through our invocation of Lilith, we go
through a
healing crisis and grow spiritually. Through experiencing and accepting
Lilith, we become able to integrate our Shadow
self, our irrational, cycling with the
moon, intuitive,
feeling, in the dark of the night, the dark of the subconscious,
the darkness of our wombs, the powerful monthly bleeding, our sensuous,
sexual sacred bodies,
back into ourselves and our
understanding of femininity and
become whole again.
A Ritual Process to Meet
Lilith:
Here is a ritual process, inspired by my research on
Lilith and my meditations with
Her. This process is designed to assist you to
invoke Her and begin to integrate
your
Shadow Self. The process of integration
will not be complete until all aspects
of
femininity are accepted by our culture, but change needs to begin at home,
right
here,
right now, within you.
Preparation:
§
Commit to two
moon cycles for this ritual process.
§
Prepare for
this ritual for one moon, beginning at the break of the New Moon.
§
Record the
guided meditation below on tape in your own voice to use the night of the
Ritual, or ask a trusted friend to lead you on this meditation.
§
Find an image,
symbol or artifact that represents Lilith or your Shadow Self.
§
Make time
alone every day, to reflect and meditate on your Shadow self. Write in your journal. Keep track of your dreams.
§
Each night,
take a moment to tell Lilith that you are preparing to meet her. Ask her to come to you to show you your Shadow on the Dark Moon.
§
To bolster
your courage and will to journey to the darkness and face your Shadow Self,
invoke Inanna nightly under the New and Full Moon with this invocation by Z.
Budapest (5):
I invoke you, mother of the darkness!
I invoke
you, mother of the night!
Let
your angels of inspiration open my heart,
Let
your angels of courage fly inside.
I
shall make a golden cradle
To make a place for courage.
I
shall make a place for courage.
I
shall make a golden fire
To warm courage inside.
I
shall put my hands in your lap
For you to bless and use.
I
shall put my heart in your lap
To
be caressed by your blessing hands.
To
grow courageous with your use
To put high purpose in my heart.
Inanna,
Lady of the evening star,
Inanna,
Lady of the morning star,
Study
my words.
May
courage dwell inside my soul.
As you have dwelt in the Great Above.
May
courage dwell my soul.
As you have dwelt in the Great Below.
May
courage dwell in my soul and in my destiny.
Make
it so.
Make
it so.
Make
it so.
§
During the
Waning Moon, take
further care to prepare by cleansing and purifying yourself. Eat well, drink plenty of water. Take warm, soothing, herbal baths. Get a massage or reiki if you can. Smudge yourself with sage. Perform the Self-Blessing. Free up your schedule from external
stressors. Make sure you have time to be alone one night of the Dark Moon (the
three days before it breaks into New).
Dark Moon Ritual to Invoke Lilith:
§
On one of the
three nights before the New Moon breaks, set aside time alone, in a safe, cozy,
dark space to carry out this ritual. For
instance, create a cozy nest of pillows and blankets in your ritual area in
which to lie or sit during the meditation.
§
Prepare
yourself a mug of hot, soothing herbal tea.
I recommend making a lavender, peppermint,
rosemary tea to alleviate anxiety and help clear your mind. You can also try Easy Now by Traditional
Medicinals. Any herbal tea you find
soothing and comforting is fine. Drink
your tea as you set up your space.
§
Creating
Sacred Space:
o Set up a small altar with a single tea light
candle, lotus incense and holder, and your item representing Lilith or your
Shadow Self.
o Purify the space and yourself with Sage or whatever
you normally use.
o Cast a circle and invite in elements, directions,
guardians, guides etc… in your normal manner.
§
Preparation:
o Light your incense and tea light candle. Dim or darken the lights so that your small
candle sheds light on the symbolic item on the altar.
o Finish your tea.
o Sit comfortably and set your gaze on your altar.
o Take 10 deep breaths, breathing in and out slowly,
until you are relaxed and focused.
o When you are ready, begin the ritual.
§
Invocation:
o “Tonight, on this darkest of nights, I am prepared
to journey into the darkness, into my Shadow self, to meet my Lilith and listen
to her story. Inanna, you who have given
me courage, guide my journey into the darkness and out of it again, as you have
done yourself. Lilith, ancient one, I
invoke you to guide me into my darkness tonight to meet my Shadow self.”
§
Guided
Meditation:
o Sit or lie comfortably. Look at your symbol. Take a few deep breaths
and feel your body connected to the earth.
Ground deeply. <long pause>
o Close your eyes. There is darkness all around
you. It is warm and inviting, like being
held close as a child, by a loved one.
Let it comfort you. <pause>
o Ahead of you, you see an opening to a cave, dimly
lit as if by candle or fire light. Walk
to the cave entrance, and enter it. <pause>
o The cave entrance leads right into a passageway,
lit softly as if by candle or firelight.
You will soon be walking down the passageway into the cavern below. Before you go, you may ask any of your guides
or guardians to join you on this journey.
<pause>
o When you are ready, begin to walk down the
passageway. <pause>
o The passageway curves gently to the left, and you realize that you are walking down a shallow
slope. The passageway is spiraling to
the left slowly towards the central cavern below. <long pause>
o As you reach the end of the passageway, you find
yourself in a comfortably warm, large cavern, softly lit as if by candle or
firelight. Ahead of you, you see a dark
pool, sparkling here and there with the reflections of the light. <pause>
o There is a stone bench near the pool. Go to it and remove your robes and
jewelry. Reach into your pocket, and
pull out the gift of offering you brought for Lilith. What is it?
What have you brought for Lilith? <long pause>
o You see a small stone altar next to the bench,
covered with lotus flowers and lilies.
Place your gift for Lilith on her altar. <pause>
o You say to the darkness, “Lilith, I have brought
you this gift. I am ready to see you. Please come and visit with me.” <pause>
o Now, walk to the shallow, dark pool, and wade into
it. The water is warm and comfortable,
and comes up to your knees. Kneel in the
water, it feels so good. You decide to
wash your face and smooth back your hair.
<pause>
o As you wipe the water away, you see a beautiful,
radiant, woman on the other side of the pool sitting on a bench. She beckons you to come to her. You realize that the woman is Lilith. Go to her and sit down next to her as she
indicates. <pause>
o As she reaches for your hand, wise Goddess that she
is, Lilith whispers to you and shows you parts of your Shadow Self, only that
which She knows you are ready to meet. <very long pause>
o When you have seen and heard all that you came to
discover, you find yourself in her warm embrace. There are tears in her eyes, running down
her face, as she understands where you have been and what you feel. Lilith offers you a gift, take it from
her. What is it? What has Lilith given you? <long pause>
o Lilith gives you a hug, and you find yourself back
in the pool, kneeling. This time, your
gift from Lilith is in your hands.
<pause>
o You get up, and go over to your robes and get
dressed. You don your jewelry. You see your guides or guardians standing
nearby ready to lead you out of the cavern.
<pause>
o The entrance
to the passageway is ahead of you, and you walk back up the spiral, in the
opposite direction, with your guides. <pause>
o In front of you is the cave entrance,
and you walk out. You find yourself back
in your own body. Right here, right
now.<pause>
o You feel your toes and feet, your legs and belly,
your chest rising and falling with your breath.
You feel your arms, your hands and wiggle your fingers. Take a deep breath, a big stretch, and slowly
sit up. <pause>
o Take time now to write out your experience with
Lilith in your journal.
§
Closing
o “Thank you Inanna for guiding me on this journey
through the darkness. Thank you Lilith
for showing me what I needed to see.”
o Give thanks and say goodbye to all elements,
directions, guardians and guides that you invited into your circle.
o Close or open circle in your manner.
o Be sure to ground more fully by having a snack.
o Take extra special care of yourself with the new
knowledge you have.
Follow
Up:
§
For the rest of
the moon cycle, follow up this ritual with daily reflection sessions on what
Lilith showed you. Write in your
journal. Keep track of your dreams. Treat yourself well by eating well, drinking
plenty of water, and taking, long, warm, herbal baths. Get a massage or reiki if you can.
§
If you feel
fear or anxiety about your emotions or the process of integrating all that
Lilith has shown you, invoke Inanna again during the New and Full Moon for
courage.
§
If you feel
that you want to speak with Lilith again, on the following Dark Moon, repeat
the ritual. Again, give yourself a month
to process all that she has shared with you.
May you always feel the
Goddess spark within you!
Many Blessings!
- Koltov,
PhD, Barbara Black. The Book of Lilith. 1986.
Nicholas-Hays, Inc.:
- Husain,
Shahrukh. THE GODDESS. 1997.
Little, Brown, and Company:
- George,
Demetra. Mysteries of the DARK MOON. 1992. Harper Collins:
- Meador,
Betty De Shong. Uncursing the Dark. 1992. Chiron Publications: