According to the Bible, God created Adam in his image and likeness, and Eve from a rib of this first man. However, there are passages that invite us to think that Eve was not Adam's first wife, and that is when the figure of Lilith comes in, which over the years has become a feminist symbol (and one of the names of the most popular female demons).
Who was Lilith, Adam's first wife?
According to tradition, especially to legends linked to the Talmud, the book that contains the compilation of the Jewish oral tradition on religion and laws, Lilith would have been created at the same time as Adam, and would have been united to him at the back. Although they had different organs in their bodies, the reproductive organs, in general terms, the first woman of Adam would have the same strength and character as her husband.
Lilith lived in the garden of Eden with Adam, but she rebelled against him; she was a woman with a firm, intelligent character, and seemed to be superior to Adam, who was more dominant and had a greater carnal appetite.
In intimacy, Lilith demanded that Adam be with her, and that she could be with him, but the man refused. An apocryphal book in Genesis says that Lilith said, "Why should I lie under you?" I was also made with dust, and that's why I'm your equal. "Then, when Adam tried to force her to obey, Lilith, angrily said the name of God and went away, which supposed her exile, and was persecuted by the angels to become a demon.
The Bible (except some Hebrew versions) does not mention the name of Lilith. Her name does appear however in poems related to Gilgamesh, she was worshiped as a goddess by the Assyrians and her name is translated (Isaiah 34,14) by Lamia, which is how a fabulous being is concocted with the head of a woman and body of dragon. When Adam found himself alone in Paradise, it was when God took a rib from him and created Eve, his second wife. Of the children of Adam and Eve we only know the names of the first three: Cain, Abel and Seth. And maybe Lilith was linked to the death of one of them
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Lilith, the most well-known female demon name
Once she was expelled from the Garden of Eden for pronouncing the secret name of God, it is told that she settled on the shores of the Red Sea; there she looked for humans, but only found animals and demons.
Thus, she became a lover of Satan and other demons. She would be the mother of thousands of demons that would populate a world parallel to that of humans. The Hebrew word for these creatures is Nephilim (demons of the human race).
Some authors point out that Lilith was condemned to see all her children die at birth, to languish in the underworld and to devour the offspring of her rival. She became the first child devourer, the first succubus or the first vampire; hence, she is linked with the names of female demons. She is associated with the serpent that tempts Eve, and is said to have pushed Cain to kill his brother Abel when he was seized with jealousy for not having satisfied God with the sacrifice he offered.
Finally, God throws Lilith, the first woman of Adam, from the surface of the Earth into the abyss at the bottom of the oceans and forces her to live in underwater caves. There she procreates with aquatic and infra-terrestrial demons, which makes her the woman of the three worlds, although only the celestial one is closed to her.
Sometimes, Lilith is cited as the second is the wife of Asmodeus, prince of the underworld, and there she would reign with all majesty next to the other three queens of demons: Igrat, Mahalath and Nahemah, and all their cohorts, who give birth to their legions of children.
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Lilith as a contemporary symbol in feminism
By not allowing herself to be subjugated by men, the figure of Lilith has become an emblem of contemporary feminism, and many associations that fight for real equality between men and women are called Lilith in honor of her, the first wife of Adam.
The legend of Lilith tells us that she refused to see her body deformed by pregnancies, and that she did not want to practice sex only in traditional positions such as that of the missionary who give superiority to man during the sexual encounter.
Lilith would be the first woman to rebel, despite losing privileges, and became a wanderer, who gave the message that if you do not obey the man you would end up like her. It is the archetype of those who refuse to limit themselves to the domain of the home and let themselves be governed by a man. Lilith embodies the anger and fire that awakens the male ego that repudiates and demonizes her just for daring to say no.
In popular culture, Lilith has appeared in numerous works of art, series books, movies and comics; in Goethe's 'Faust' she appears in the descent into hell, in the video game 'DmC: Devil May Cry' Lilith is a powerful demon, and also has importance in 'Sabrina', the Netflix series, to name a few examples.
Also, now that you know his story, you can better understand the meaning of 'Mother!', the film starring Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem.
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Meaning of Lilith astrology
In astrology there is the so-called Black Moon or Lilith, and it is considered an immaterial, mathematical or fictitious point. It is the opposite of the lunar perigee, the place where the moon is closest to the earth.
On a purely astronomical level, it is not a planet, but it is widely used in Western astrology, and its position in a natal chart as a sign, in a house but also in appearance, or when passing through a key point, it's often very rich in teaching.