20 Days of Goddesses til’ Imbolc
Day 16 — Lilith (Goddess of feminine sexuality, of independence, liberation, Guardian of women’s mysteries)
Lilith represents the hidden, powerful, and instinctive feminine sexuality within us as well as the shadow parts of ourselves. Lilith is the voice within us that “demands absolute equality in whatever situation we find ourselves and she will not settle for anything less.
Lilith radiates strength, courage, and passion, and she takes a stand for independence and freedom from tyranny. She is an unapologetically powerful and sexual Goddess and within many women, her energy lays dormant. Her myth teaches us to accept ourselves as divine, sacred, and sexual.
She helps us face the grief, pain, and shame held in our stories so we can be healed, released, and set free. Lilith helps us acknowledge the behaviors that hurt others and find the source so that they too can be healed and we can move to greater levels of emotional and spiritual maturity.
Lilith is the dark mother goddess of death, knowledge, sexuality, independence, liberation, free will, fertility/infertility, the wilds, animals, wind and witchcraft. She can be a trickster when she has to be. Likewise, she represents Queer people, genderfluidity, trans, intersex, and so forth. Lilith also helped women in childbirth and nursed infants.
Her origins go back to pre-biblical times, to ancient Babylon, as an owl woman of the deserts. She served the goddess Ishtar as her handmaiden. In Sumeria, She was portrayed as having both the wings and claws of a bird. Some reliefs show Her lower half as being the body of a serpent or She is shown as a serpent with the head and breasts of a woman.
The origin of Lilith is obscure and varied. Her recorded story begins with Innana, the Queen of Heaven in early Sumeria. The legend of Innana told of sacred sexual customs that were a gift from Innana to the people of Erech. As the patriarchy moved in, they needed to sever the people from the Goddess’ power and did so by rejecting and suppressing the sexual rites of the Goddess religion. Women’s sexual power became demonized as a force of evil and the handmaid of Innana, Lilith, became the embodiment of everything evil and dangerous in the sexual realm.
Correspondences
- Element: Her main element is wind/air,
- Colors: Primary colors are red and black. Secondary, are white (for death), and orange. (Green to symbolize the Eden, may also work, and also sometimes purple for mystery.)
- Her symbols are the crossroad, owl, serpent, tree, and dark moon.
- Symbols: Crescent moon with a cross, dark/crescent moons, stars, apples, mirrors, poppy flowers, owls, snakes, nagas, bones, lions, goats, trees, and Anzu birds, crossroad.
- Herbs: Peony, rose, mugwort, belladonna, sandalwood, sage, and patchouli.
- Tools: Scrying mirror, quill pen, tarot, and feathers.
- Crystals: Carnelian, onyx, red jasper, obsidian, clear quartz, amythest, black moonstone, and nuummite.
References:
http://www.orderwhitemoon.org/goddess/lilith4/Lilith.htm
https://journeyingtothegoddess.wordpress.com/2012/02/29/goddess-lilith/
https://thespiralgrovecom.wordpress.com/2019/05/31/lilith-self-empowerment/
