Seeking the Goddess - Lilith

The word ‘occult’ simply means ‘hidden’ and in general, refers to hidden spiritual knowledge. The Church argues that this is a mystery, which mankind is not meant to know, but those of us who want to know; argue that knowledge cannot harm the truth. The truth will stand whatever light is shone in its direction. Only the lie fears exposure for what it is.

This hiding of the truth begins with the story of Adam and Eve. Whether you believe they truly existed or that the story is simply an analogy representing one aspect of mankind’s relationship with the gods. The principle of the story has to remain valid, yet it also contains a hidden twist many people remain unaware of.

The Genesis account of Adam and Eve makes no mention of Lilith, yet Lilith appears in the Jewish Zohar and it was from the Hebrew account that Genesis comes. The Alphabet of Ben Sira and The Book of Splendor, both elements of the Jewish Zohah, describe Lilith as being Adam’s first wife, created at the same time as Adam and in the same manner, from the dust of the ground, Genesis 1:27, some translations describe this event. Eve was created later, Genesis 2:18 onward.

According to Hebrew mysticism, Lilith refused to submit to Adam’s supposed authority. She then “pronounced the divine name,” thus gaining great power after which she flew away to heaven.

The account continues describing how three angels were dispatched to bring her back.

“Said the Holy One, ‘if she agrees to come back, it is good. If not she must permit one hundred of her children to die every day.’ They told her God’s word and she did not wish to return.” So far so good, but a number of serious questions remained unanswered.

Scripture claims that the God of Moses is the only God and is, all powerful, all knowing and the ruler of heaven, yet Lilith pronounced some divine name that granted her the power to defy God and fly away. What name was this? Then Lilith flew away to heaven. How could she refuse to return if God is the only God and ruler of heaven? Then there is the issue of the punishment. She must permit one hundred of her children to die every day. But the basis of this story is that Lilith refused to submit to Adam’s authority and lay under him so as to have children and anyway, one hundred children a day? There is obviously something more going on here.

Lilith is subsequently denigrated throughout Jewish mythology as an evil figure who causes death among young children, though not her own.

Moving to an alternative story, Lilith equates to the Egyptian Serpent Goddess Anat. 15th to the 12th century BC inscriptions discovered in Memphis describe her as “Bin Ptah” (the daughter of Ptah), one of the Egyptian creator gods. She is also sometimes referred to as the “Queen of Heaven.”

While Ptah is one of the Egyptian creator gods, this is not on a physical level. Ptah is viewed as a thinking, intellectual god who creates by thinking things into existence, which equates to the Genesis account of God saying ‘Let there be light.’ Yet Ptah is clearly not the ‘God’ of Genesis but one of the Egyptian creation pantheon.

This points to another small problem with the Genesis account. Where Genesis Chapter 1: 26 states: ‘And God said, Let us make man in our image,’ The word God is a translation of the word Elohim, but the Elohim is the plural form and should be correctly translated, ‘And the gods said, Let us make...’ Of course bible scholars excuse and justify this small problem, as they do every other so it is for the reader to decide.

Interestingly, the Ugarit Ba’al/Hadad cycle, tells that the goddess Anat countered the actions of the seven-headed serpent El. The word El in the ancient form means ‘deity’ or ‘the god,’ specifically a God in the monotheistic sense. The phraseology of El, when the context of its use is taken into account, would more correctly be translated as: ‘the god (as one of many) who would be God (singular). ‘

The only creation account promoting a monotheistic God is the Genesis account of Moses. This, in many ways, corresponds to a Sumerian account, only that was written at an early date than Genesis and like all others, provides a polytheistic view of there being many gods. Moses, who according to scripture, was raised as an Egyptian prince and would therefore have access to the Egyptian libraries containing such accounts.

Which brings us back to the beginning. Truth has no fear of knowledge because whatever that knowledge, it can only reveal the truth. Alternatively, the lie fears such revelation and like all lies, one begets another as they seek to cover whatever truth is revealed. So who brought knowledge to Adam and Eve?

Scripture mentions Lucifer, the Devil and Satan, but all names have a meaning. Lucifer means, light bringer, with light equating to knowledge. The words ‘Devil’ and ‘Satan’ mean slanderer and accuser and are therefore insults. Anyone who calls themselves a Devil worshiper or Satanist should bare this in mind. As for Lucifer, we have the question of gender. The Church is male orientated and so Lucifer is always painted as a male figure, yet Hebrew iconography contains an interesting image of Adam and Eve standing by the Tree of Knowledge with, of course, the ubiquitous serpent, only this serpent is pictured with the female face of Lilith.

In addition, a Sumerian/Assyrian terra cotta relief of Lilith depicts a female figure holding an Ankh, the symbol of life in her left hand with an owl at her feet. Lilith’s familiars, if you want to call them that, are owls, a bird connected by tradition to wisdom and knowledge.

Lilith - Anat therefore becomes a goddess of more interest than may be previously credited. She at least bids us to take in knowledge, to pick fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, by which as scripture reveals, we can come to know the truth. The truth can do no harm, except to those who lie.