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Lilith - Adam's First Wife
Adam's first wife was a relic of an early rabbinical attempt to assimilate the Sumero-Babylonian Goddess Belit-ili, or Belili, to Jewish mythology. To the Canaanites, Lilith was Baalat, the "Divine Lady." On a tablet from Ur, ca. 2000 B.C., she was addressed as Lillake. Hebraic tradition said Adam married Lilith because he grew tired of coupling with beasts, a common custom of Middle-Eastern herdsmen, though the O. T. declared it a sin (Deuteronomy 27:21). Adam tried to force Lilith to lie beneath him in the "missionary position" favoured by male dominant societies. Moslems were so insistent on the male-superior sexual position that they said, "Accursed be the man who maketh woman heaven and himself earth." Catholic authorities said any sexual position other than the male-superior one is sinful. But Lilith was neither a Moslem or a Catholic. She sneered at Adam's sexual crudity, cursed him, and flew away to make her home by the Red Sea. God sent three angels to fetch Lilith back (Senoy, Sansenoy and Semangelof), but she cursed them too, ignored God's command, and spent her time coupling with "demon's" (whose lovemaking evidently pleased her better) and gave birth to a hundred children every day. So God had to produce Eve as Lilith's more docile replacement. Lilith's fecundity and sexual preferences show that she was a Great Mother of settled agricultural tribes, who resisted the invasions of nomadic herdsmen, represented by Adam. Early Hebrews disliked the Great Mother who drank the blood of Abel the herdsman, after his slaying by the elder god of agriculture and smithcraft, Cain (Genesis 4:11). Lilith's Red Sea was another version of Kali Ma's Ocean of Blood, which gave birth to all things but needed periodic sacrificial replenishment. There may have been a connection between Lilith and the Etruscan divinity Leinth, who had no face and who waited at the gate of the underworld along with Eita and Persipnei (Hades and Persephone) to receive the souls of the dead. The underworld gate was a yoni, and also a lily, which had "no face". Admission into the underworld was often mythologized into sexual union. The lily or lilu (lotus) was the Great Mother's flower-yoni, whose title formed Lilith's name.
The story of Lilith disappeared from the canonical Bible, but her daughters the lilim haunted men for over a thousand years. Well into the Middle Ages, the Jews were still manufacturing amulets to keep away the lilim, who were lustful she-demons given to copulating with men in their dreams, causing nocturnal emissions. Naturally, the lilim squatted on top of their victims in the position favoured by their ancient matriarchs. Greeks adopted the lilim and called them Lamiae, Empusae (Forces-In), or Daughtres of Hecate. Christians also adopted them and called them harlots of hell, or succubae, the female counterparts of incubi. Celibate monks tried to fend them off by sleeping with their hands crossed over their genitals, clutching a crucifix. It was said that every time a pious Christian had a wet dream, Lilith laughed. Even if a male child laughed in his sleep, people said Lilith was fondling him. To protect baby boys against her, chalk circles were drawn around cradles with the written names of the three angels God sent to fetch Lilith back to Adam - even though these angels had proved incapable of dealing with her. Some said men and babies should not be left alone in a house or Lilith might seize them.
Another name for the Daughters of Lilith was Night-Hag. This term didn't imply they were ugly; on the contrary, they were supposed to be very beautiful. As with their brothers the incubi, they were presumed so expert at lovemaking that after an experience with a Night-Hag, a man couldn't be satisfied with the love of a mortal woman.
Eve:
The biblical title of Eve, "Mother of All Living," was a translation of Kali Ma's title Jaganmata. She was also known in India as Jiva or Ieva, the Creatress of all manifested forms. In Assyrian scriptures she was entitled Mother-Womb, Creatress of Destiny, who made male and female human beings out of clay, "in pairs she completed them." The first of the Bible's two creation myths gives this Assyrian version, significantly changing "she" to "he" (Genesis 1:27).
The original Eve had no spouse except the serpent, a living phallus she created for her own sexual pleasure. Some ancient peoples regarded the Goddess and her serpent as their first parents. Sacred icons showed the Goddess giving life to a man, while her serpent coiled around the apple tree behind her. Deliberate misinterpretation of such icons produced ideas for revised creation myths like the one in Genesis. Some Jewish traditions of the first century B.C., however, identified Jehovah with the serpent deity who accompanied the Mother in her garden. Sometimes she was Eve, sometimes her name was given as Nahemah, Naama, or Namrael, who gave birth to Eve and Adam without the help of any male, even the serpent.
Because Jehovah arrogantly pretended to be the sole Creator, Eve was obliged to punish him, according to Gnostic scriptures. Though the Mother of All Living existed before everything, the God forgot she had made him and had given him some of her creative power. "He was even ignorant of his own Mother... It was because he was foolish and ignorant of his Mother that he said, 'I am God; there is none beside me.'" Gnostic texts often show the creator reprimanded and punished for his arrogance by a feminine power greater and older than himself.
The secret of God's "Name of Power," the Tetragrammaton, was that three-quarters of it invoked not God, but Eve. YHWH, yod-he-vah-he, came from the Hebrew root HWH, meaning both "life" and "woman" - in Latin letters E-V-E. With the addition of an I (yod), it amounted to the Goddess's invocation of her own name as the Word of creation, a common idea in Egypt and other ancient lands.
Gnonstic scriptures said Adam was created by the power of Eve's word, not God's. She said, "Adam, live! Rise up upon the earth!" As soon as she spoke the word, her word became reality. Adam rose up and opened his eyes. "When he saw her, he said, 'You will be called "the mother of all the living," because you are the one who gave me life.'"
Adam's name meant he was formed of clay moistened with blood, the female magic of adamah or "bloody clay." He didn't produce the Mother of All Living from his rib; in earlier Mesopotamian stories, he was produced from hers. His Babylonian predecessor Adapa (or Adamu) was deprived of eternal life not by the Goddess, but by a hostile God.
The biblical idea was a reversal of older myths in which the Goddess brought forth a primal male ancestor, then made him her mate - the ubiquitous, archetypal divine-incest relationship traceable in every mythology. The reversal was not even original with biblical authors. It was evolved by Aryan patriarchs who called Brahma the primal male ancestor. They claimed their god brought forth the Mother of All Living from his own body, then mated with her, so she gave birth to the rest of the universe. In the Hebraic versionm a wombless God made his offspring with his hands, and the actual birth-giving was left to Adam. The Bible as revised by patriarchal scribes said nothing about a divine birth-giving, since the scribes were determined to separate the concepts of "deity" and "mother" insofar as possible.
Gnostic scriptures however reverted to the older tradition and said Eve not only created Adam and obtained his admission to heaven; she was the very soul within him, as Shakti was the soul of every Hindu god and yogi. Adam couldn't live without "power from the Mother," so she descended to earth as "the Good Spirit, the Thought of Light called by him 'Life' (Hawwa)." She entered into Adam as his guiding spirit of conscience: "It is she who works at the creature, exerts herself on him, sets him in his own perfect temple, enlightens him on the origin of his deficiency, and shows him his (way of) ascent." Through her, Adam was able to rise above the ignorance imposed on him by the male God.
By the Gnostic route came the Midrashic assertion that Adam and Eve were originally androgynous, like Shiva and Shakti. She dwelt in him, and he in her; they were two souls united in one body, which God later tore apart, depriving them of their bliss of union. Cabalists took up the idea and said the paadise of Eden can be regained only when the two sexes are once more united; even God must be united with his female counterpart, the heavenly Eve called Shekina.
Shekina:
Jewish-cabalistic version of Shakti; the female soul of God, who couldn't be perfect until he could be reunited with her. Cabalists said it was God's loss of His Shekina that brought about all evils. The Hebrew Sh'kina meant "dwelling-place," a hint that God had no "home" without her. Like her tantric counterpart the Shakti, the Sh'kina was the source of all "soul" in the universe. Gnostic Christians of the 4th century spoke of the Sh'kina as a "spirit of glory" in whom Beings of Light live, as children in their mother's body or house. Mani referred to the Aeons as sh'kinas, or female spirits of the sacred year.
Cabalists taught that it was essential to bring male and female cosmic principles together again, which might be done by sexual magic, signifying union of the sun (man) and moon (woman). This was graphically expressed by the hexagram. Philosophy of the Cabala said the supernal Shekina is manifested in the earthly mother, with whom her husband should lie on the Sabbatyh, because "all the six days of the week derive their blessing" from this coupling. Rabbi Eliahu di Vidas said, "Who has not experienced the force of passionate love for a woman will never attain to the love of God."
Jewish mystics said the "outer garment" of the Shekina is Torah, "Holy Law." A man became a Bridegroom of Torah by study, symbolized in erotic imagery. He must court her like a beautiful maiden. "She begins from behind a curtain to speak words in keeping with his understanding, until very slowly insight comes to him." The Shekina as "Indwelling One" might be compared to the Latin I-dea, or Goddess Within. "She opens the door of her hidden chamber ever so little, and for a moment reveals her face to her lover, but hides it again forhwith... He alone sees it and he is drawn to her with his heart and soul and his whole being."
As man required his Shekina for enlightenment, so God required His Shekina for wisdom and creativity. This crucial tenet of cabalistic doctrine is seldom emphasized - or even mentioned - today.
From The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets
Lilith and Eve:
In the beginning, Eve and Lilith were joined together, the image of the Supernal Woman, a pure emanation. Some say that Adam was overwhelmed by the glory and grace of the perfect woman. Thus, her power and luminosity was reduced, Lilith being divided from Eve, and Adam received the submissive woman.
Others say that Lilith, alone, was Adam's first wife, but that she was not submissive enough. When they made love, Adam always demanded to be on top. Therefore, Lilith left him, finding the lack of equality unacceptable. Lilith was pure supernal emanation, but Eve was created to replace her.
In any case, Lilith and Eve were divided, and the glory of womanhood was incomplete. On account of this, there was strife between Eve and Lilith, and Lilith stalked the sons of Adam born of Eve. Cain and Abel fell by way of Lilith's enchantments, but because of this, the Great Seth arose.
Now, Eve and Lilith were reunited in Mary Magdalene, and she was a whole woman. When the Lord banished the seven demons from Magdalene, he did not bannish Lilith. Rather, receiving the Holy Bride, he redeemed Lilith and Eve, and in Mary Magdalene, womanhood was restored to its rightful place, for in her was the Divine fullness of the Supernal Woman.
Jesus was called the Son of Adam, which is to say the son of the human one, and the fullness of the Great Seth was in him, the image and likeness of the Supernal Man. Thus, united with the Holy Bride, who is the embodiment of the Supernal Woman, he and she became the Second Adam, exalted above the first Adam who was incomplete. Our Lord was not overwhelmed by the fullness of true womanhood. Therefore, in the Holy Bride he was made whole and complete, and in the Bridegroom she was fulfilled and made complete, In the Groom and Bride, a new and supernal humanity was created, and all who receive the Light-transmission are of the new race of the Second Adam.
Sophia Nigrans (Lilith):
The masters of the tradition have said that we may contemplate the Song of Solomon as a prophecy of the sacred dance of the Bridegroom and Holy Bride (Jesus and Mary Magdalene). Therein, we find it written, "I am black and comely, my Beloved..." There is a mystery concerning this.
Many sought out the Lord but fell away because of the Bride. In truth, the Lord was shameless with her. He caressed her and kissed her in public, and everyone knew she had been a harlot. He put her forth as a priestess-queen, coequal and co-preacher with him. It is said that she is the woman in the Gospels who lets down her hair in public and anoints the body of the Lord in front of one and all in the house. Even many of his close disciples were greatly troubled on account of the Lord's behaviour with her, so much so that they would not record her life with him after he departed the world. Yet those who fell away did not understand the nature of Sophia Nigrans.
On the one hand, it is she who leads the soul into the dark nights and mystical death, through which rebirth in the Spirit and unification is attained. On the other hand, because she is the Queen of Demons, she knows how to liberate holy sparks bound in darkness, yet is pure wrath against the evil-doer. In essence, Sophia Nigrans is the contradiction of every preconception, precondition, or expectation of enlightenment. Yet she is the very spirit of enlightenment itself, shattering all illusions of the self-righteous ones. She liberates from every kind of bondage!
It was always the intention of the Lord to outrage, shock, and to challenge religious dogma. Only thus can a spiritual revolution occur and the path of enlightenment actually be revealed. Thus, the Lord took Sophia Nigrans as his Bride, so that all sentimentality and delusions of dogma might be shattered. Although the Lord taught by way of crazy Wisdom, he was ever without sin and walked in perfect beauty and holiness, for in Sophia Nigrans he died and in Sophia Stellarum he was reborn. Such is the true nature of the Bride, Dark and Bright Sophia.
The masters of the tradition have said, "Sophia Nigrans is black to the blind, but white brilliance to the seers." Likewise, they have said that one cannot know the Bright Mother unless one first knows the Da\rk Mother. This proves a powerful contemplation of the very heart of the Sophian teachings.
Lilith and the Archons:
It is not surprising that Lilith would act against the demiurgos and archons, for as is reflected by male domination in the world, the demiurgos is male and so also are the majority of the archons. Merely consider the nature of pride and arrogance, or lust and greed, or anger and hate, these powers of war and conquest. Although the heart of Sophian Nigrans (Lilith) emanates as Naamah, the Queen of Demmons, and her inmost dark essence emanates as Iggaret, the Hag of Chaos, nevertheless Sophia Nigrans is not among the dark and hostile forces nor is she counted among the archons. She seeks to redress the balance in the play of cosmic forces. So it is said that, when the Shekinah is in exile, she is the Divine Consort of the Most High, for she who seeks to restore the union of the Father and Mother and to transcend male and female, as was her state in Adam Ha-Rishon at the outset. Thus, entering into Mary, Lilatu wove her web to snare the demiurgos and archons and to cast down male domination. If you can glimpse the inner and secret meaning of this, you will be called wise. Is she not the Dark Wisdom of God through which rebirth in the Spiritt comes to pass?
Lilith at the Crucifixion:
It has been said that, when Our Lady (Mary Magdalene) anointed the body of the Lord, preparing him as a holy priest-king for his final journey, Lilith leapt out of her and into the Lord. When the Lord was on the cross, Lilatu leapt out of him and she danced around the Lord upon the cross. Then, she made the top of his skull into a cauldron. Putting his body in it, she made heavenly ambrosia, which she served up to the hosts of heaven.
Then, once again, the Lord appeared on the cross. Lilith leapt out and danced, as before, and again made his skull into a cauldron. However, this time sje brewed a strange concoction oout of his body, mixing in bitter herbs and all manner of different things. Then, she let out a yell and called all of the archons and unclean spirits to drink, and so they did.
One final time, the Lord appeared on the cross. Lilatu leapt out screaming and screeching and dancing wildly about, tore his body from the cross, ripped it into pieces, and threw straight into the mouths of evil creatures and demons.
Thus, Lilith made an offering of the body and blood of the Lord three times, feeding all spirits and appeasing all spirits. Then the Lord appeared above the cross as a great Light-presence in the Jeweled Wisdom Body of Rainbow Glory. The Light poured out upon all living spirits and souls and upon the whole world, and all were satisfied and all were blessed. Thus could the Lord pass through all domains above, below, and inbetweenm gathering the sparks into his Mystical Body.
In this way, masters of the Gnostic tradition have indicated the Mystery of the Crucifixion, and they have generated a special practise for the adepti (an advanced Gnostic initiate or elder) who seek gnosis of this Mystery. Thus, many teachings and practices have been generated from this legend among Gnostic Christians of the Sophian Tradition. It is said to have been a legend begun by St. Mary of Magdal.
(From: "St. Mary Magdalene - The Gnostic Tradition of the Holy Bible" By Tau Malachi)
Lilith Becomes God's Bride:
After God dismissed His Bride, the Shekhinah, from His presence, at the time of the destruction of the Temple, God brought in a maidservant to take Her place. Who is this maidservant? She is none other than Lilith, who once made her home behind the mill, and now the servant is heir to her mistress, as it is said, a slave girl who supplants her mistress (Prov. 30:23). She rules over the Holy Land as the Shekhinah once ruled over it. Thus the slave-woman has become the ruler of the House, and the true Bride has been imprisoned in the house of the slave-woman, the evil Lilith. There the Bride is held in exile with her offspring, whose hands are tied behind their backs, wearing many chains and shackles. That is a bitter time for the exiled Bride, who sobs because Her husband, God, does not throw His light upon Her. Her joy has fled because She sees her rival, Lilith in her house, deriding Her. And when God sees His true Bride lying in the dust and suffering, He, too, will become embittered and descend to save Her from the stranglers who are violating Her.
So it is that in the days to come news will come to God's consort, Lilith, that the time has come for her to go. Then she who plays the harlot will flee from the sanctuary, for if she were to come there when the woman of worth was present, she would perish.
Then God would restore the Shekhinah to Her place as in the beginning, and God and His true Bride will again couple with each other in joy. As for the evil slave-woman, God will no longer dwell with her, and she will cease to exist.
and the children of Israel sent into
This startling myth describes the ascent of the demoness Lilith, in which she bebcomes God's consort after His separation from His Bride. It is based on an interpretation of the verse A slave girl who supplants her mistress (Prov. 3o:23). The identification of Lilith as once living behind a mill is based on the verse about the slave girl who is behind the millstones (Exod. 11:5). In folk tradition, Lilith especially likely to be found in places such as a ruin or behind a mill. Here a strong contrast is made between her low beginnings and her ascent to become God's consort.
This myth represents the apex of Lilith's ambitions, but it is also understood that her position is only temporary -until God's true Bride, the Shekhinah, returns at the time of the coming of the Messiah. The ruling presence of the demonic Lilith over the exile of the Jews that followed the destruction of the Temple and subsequent exile.
Note that in this version of the separation of God and the Shekhinah, God is described as having dismissed Her rather than an alternative version, also found in the Zohar (1:202b-203a), in which the Shekhinah and God have a confrontation about the fate of the Temple and the children of Israel sent into exile, and She descides to leave on Her own.
The Zohar (3:97a) adds a fascinating explanation for the link between Lilith and the Shekhinah: "The recondite mystery is that of two sisters." In kabbalistic mythology, the Shekhinah represents the female aspect of the side of holiness, while Lilith represents the feminine aspect of evil. Thus they are tied together, like two sisters.
The myth ends by predicting the reunion of God and the Shekhinah and the end of Lilith's existence. It is unstated but understood that this will take place of the coming of the Messiah.
(From: "Tree of Souls" - The Mythology of Judaism")
The story of Lilith disappeared from the canonical Bible, but her daughters the lilim haunted men for over a thousand years. Well into the Middle Ages, the Jews were still manufacturing amulets to keep away the lilim, who were lustful she-demons given to copulating with men in their dreams, causing nocturnal emissions. Naturally, the lilim squatted on top of their victims in the position favoured by their ancient matriarchs. Greeks adopted the lilim and called them Lamiae, Empusae (Forces-In), or Daughtres of Hecate. Christians also adopted them and called them harlots of hell, or succubae, the female counterparts of incubi. Celibate monks tried to fend them off by sleeping with their hands crossed over their genitals, clutching a crucifix. It was said that every time a pious Christian had a wet dream, Lilith laughed. Even if a male child laughed in his sleep, people said Lilith was fondling him. To protect baby boys against her, chalk circles were drawn around cradles with the written names of the three angels God sent to fetch Lilith back to Adam - even though these angels had proved incapable of dealing with her. Some said men and babies should not be left alone in a house or Lilith might seize them.
Another name for the Daughters of Lilith was Night-Hag. This term didn't imply they were ugly; on the contrary, they were supposed to be very beautiful. As with their brothers the incubi, they were presumed so expert at lovemaking that after an experience with a Night-Hag, a man couldn't be satisfied with the love of a mortal woman.
Eve:
The biblical title of Eve, "Mother of All Living," was a translation of Kali Ma's title Jaganmata. She was also known in India as Jiva or Ieva, the Creatress of all manifested forms. In Assyrian scriptures she was entitled Mother-Womb, Creatress of Destiny, who made male and female human beings out of clay, "in pairs she completed them." The first of the Bible's two creation myths gives this Assyrian version, significantly changing "she" to "he" (Genesis 1:27).
The original Eve had no spouse except the serpent, a living phallus she created for her own sexual pleasure. Some ancient peoples regarded the Goddess and her serpent as their first parents. Sacred icons showed the Goddess giving life to a man, while her serpent coiled around the apple tree behind her. Deliberate misinterpretation of such icons produced ideas for revised creation myths like the one in Genesis. Some Jewish traditions of the first century B.C., however, identified Jehovah with the serpent deity who accompanied the Mother in her garden. Sometimes she was Eve, sometimes her name was given as Nahemah, Naama, or Namrael, who gave birth to Eve and Adam without the help of any male, even the serpent.
Because Jehovah arrogantly pretended to be the sole Creator, Eve was obliged to punish him, according to Gnostic scriptures. Though the Mother of All Living existed before everything, the God forgot she had made him and had given him some of her creative power. "He was even ignorant of his own Mother... It was because he was foolish and ignorant of his Mother that he said, 'I am God; there is none beside me.'" Gnostic texts often show the creator reprimanded and punished for his arrogance by a feminine power greater and older than himself.
The secret of God's "Name of Power," the Tetragrammaton, was that three-quarters of it invoked not God, but Eve. YHWH, yod-he-vah-he, came from the Hebrew root HWH, meaning both "life" and "woman" - in Latin letters E-V-E. With the addition of an I (yod), it amounted to the Goddess's invocation of her own name as the Word of creation, a common idea in Egypt and other ancient lands.
Gnonstic scriptures said Adam was created by the power of Eve's word, not God's. She said, "Adam, live! Rise up upon the earth!" As soon as she spoke the word, her word became reality. Adam rose up and opened his eyes. "When he saw her, he said, 'You will be called "the mother of all the living," because you are the one who gave me life.'"
Adam's name meant he was formed of clay moistened with blood, the female magic of adamah or "bloody clay." He didn't produce the Mother of All Living from his rib; in earlier Mesopotamian stories, he was produced from hers. His Babylonian predecessor Adapa (or Adamu) was deprived of eternal life not by the Goddess, but by a hostile God.
The biblical idea was a reversal of older myths in which the Goddess brought forth a primal male ancestor, then made him her mate - the ubiquitous, archetypal divine-incest relationship traceable in every mythology. The reversal was not even original with biblical authors. It was evolved by Aryan patriarchs who called Brahma the primal male ancestor. They claimed their god brought forth the Mother of All Living from his own body, then mated with her, so she gave birth to the rest of the universe. In the Hebraic versionm a wombless God made his offspring with his hands, and the actual birth-giving was left to Adam. The Bible as revised by patriarchal scribes said nothing about a divine birth-giving, since the scribes were determined to separate the concepts of "deity" and "mother" insofar as possible.
Gnostic scriptures however reverted to the older tradition and said Eve not only created Adam and obtained his admission to heaven; she was the very soul within him, as Shakti was the soul of every Hindu god and yogi. Adam couldn't live without "power from the Mother," so she descended to earth as "the Good Spirit, the Thought of Light called by him 'Life' (Hawwa)." She entered into Adam as his guiding spirit of conscience: "It is she who works at the creature, exerts herself on him, sets him in his own perfect temple, enlightens him on the origin of his deficiency, and shows him his (way of) ascent." Through her, Adam was able to rise above the ignorance imposed on him by the male God.
By the Gnostic route came the Midrashic assertion that Adam and Eve were originally androgynous, like Shiva and Shakti. She dwelt in him, and he in her; they were two souls united in one body, which God later tore apart, depriving them of their bliss of union. Cabalists took up the idea and said the paadise of Eden can be regained only when the two sexes are once more united; even God must be united with his female counterpart, the heavenly Eve called Shekina.
Shekina:
Jewish-cabalistic version of Shakti; the female soul of God, who couldn't be perfect until he could be reunited with her. Cabalists said it was God's loss of His Shekina that brought about all evils. The Hebrew Sh'kina meant "dwelling-place," a hint that God had no "home" without her. Like her tantric counterpart the Shakti, the Sh'kina was the source of all "soul" in the universe. Gnostic Christians of the 4th century spoke of the Sh'kina as a "spirit of glory" in whom Beings of Light live, as children in their mother's body or house. Mani referred to the Aeons as sh'kinas, or female spirits of the sacred year.
Cabalists taught that it was essential to bring male and female cosmic principles together again, which might be done by sexual magic, signifying union of the sun (man) and moon (woman). This was graphically expressed by the hexagram. Philosophy of the Cabala said the supernal Shekina is manifested in the earthly mother, with whom her husband should lie on the Sabbatyh, because "all the six days of the week derive their blessing" from this coupling. Rabbi Eliahu di Vidas said, "Who has not experienced the force of passionate love for a woman will never attain to the love of God."
Jewish mystics said the "outer garment" of the Shekina is Torah, "Holy Law." A man became a Bridegroom of Torah by study, symbolized in erotic imagery. He must court her like a beautiful maiden. "She begins from behind a curtain to speak words in keeping with his understanding, until very slowly insight comes to him." The Shekina as "Indwelling One" might be compared to the Latin I-dea, or Goddess Within. "She opens the door of her hidden chamber ever so little, and for a moment reveals her face to her lover, but hides it again forhwith... He alone sees it and he is drawn to her with his heart and soul and his whole being."
As man required his Shekina for enlightenment, so God required His Shekina for wisdom and creativity. This crucial tenet of cabalistic doctrine is seldom emphasized - or even mentioned - today.
From The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets
Lilith and Eve:
In the beginning, Eve and Lilith were joined together, the image of the Supernal Woman, a pure emanation. Some say that Adam was overwhelmed by the glory and grace of the perfect woman. Thus, her power and luminosity was reduced, Lilith being divided from Eve, and Adam received the submissive woman.
Others say that Lilith, alone, was Adam's first wife, but that she was not submissive enough. When they made love, Adam always demanded to be on top. Therefore, Lilith left him, finding the lack of equality unacceptable. Lilith was pure supernal emanation, but Eve was created to replace her.
In any case, Lilith and Eve were divided, and the glory of womanhood was incomplete. On account of this, there was strife between Eve and Lilith, and Lilith stalked the sons of Adam born of Eve. Cain and Abel fell by way of Lilith's enchantments, but because of this, the Great Seth arose.
Now, Eve and Lilith were reunited in Mary Magdalene, and she was a whole woman. When the Lord banished the seven demons from Magdalene, he did not bannish Lilith. Rather, receiving the Holy Bride, he redeemed Lilith and Eve, and in Mary Magdalene, womanhood was restored to its rightful place, for in her was the Divine fullness of the Supernal Woman.
Jesus was called the Son of Adam, which is to say the son of the human one, and the fullness of the Great Seth was in him, the image and likeness of the Supernal Man. Thus, united with the Holy Bride, who is the embodiment of the Supernal Woman, he and she became the Second Adam, exalted above the first Adam who was incomplete. Our Lord was not overwhelmed by the fullness of true womanhood. Therefore, in the Holy Bride he was made whole and complete, and in the Bridegroom she was fulfilled and made complete, In the Groom and Bride, a new and supernal humanity was created, and all who receive the Light-transmission are of the new race of the Second Adam.
Sophia Nigrans (Lilith):
The masters of the tradition have said that we may contemplate the Song of Solomon as a prophecy of the sacred dance of the Bridegroom and Holy Bride (Jesus and Mary Magdalene). Therein, we find it written, "I am black and comely, my Beloved..." There is a mystery concerning this.
Many sought out the Lord but fell away because of the Bride. In truth, the Lord was shameless with her. He caressed her and kissed her in public, and everyone knew she had been a harlot. He put her forth as a priestess-queen, coequal and co-preacher with him. It is said that she is the woman in the Gospels who lets down her hair in public and anoints the body of the Lord in front of one and all in the house. Even many of his close disciples were greatly troubled on account of the Lord's behaviour with her, so much so that they would not record her life with him after he departed the world. Yet those who fell away did not understand the nature of Sophia Nigrans.
On the one hand, it is she who leads the soul into the dark nights and mystical death, through which rebirth in the Spirit and unification is attained. On the other hand, because she is the Queen of Demons, she knows how to liberate holy sparks bound in darkness, yet is pure wrath against the evil-doer. In essence, Sophia Nigrans is the contradiction of every preconception, precondition, or expectation of enlightenment. Yet she is the very spirit of enlightenment itself, shattering all illusions of the self-righteous ones. She liberates from every kind of bondage!
It was always the intention of the Lord to outrage, shock, and to challenge religious dogma. Only thus can a spiritual revolution occur and the path of enlightenment actually be revealed. Thus, the Lord took Sophia Nigrans as his Bride, so that all sentimentality and delusions of dogma might be shattered. Although the Lord taught by way of crazy Wisdom, he was ever without sin and walked in perfect beauty and holiness, for in Sophia Nigrans he died and in Sophia Stellarum he was reborn. Such is the true nature of the Bride, Dark and Bright Sophia.
The masters of the tradition have said, "Sophia Nigrans is black to the blind, but white brilliance to the seers." Likewise, they have said that one cannot know the Bright Mother unless one first knows the Da\rk Mother. This proves a powerful contemplation of the very heart of the Sophian teachings.
Lilith and the Archons:
It is not surprising that Lilith would act against the demiurgos and archons, for as is reflected by male domination in the world, the demiurgos is male and so also are the majority of the archons. Merely consider the nature of pride and arrogance, or lust and greed, or anger and hate, these powers of war and conquest. Although the heart of Sophian Nigrans (Lilith) emanates as Naamah, the Queen of Demmons, and her inmost dark essence emanates as Iggaret, the Hag of Chaos, nevertheless Sophia Nigrans is not among the dark and hostile forces nor is she counted among the archons. She seeks to redress the balance in the play of cosmic forces. So it is said that, when the Shekinah is in exile, she is the Divine Consort of the Most High, for she who seeks to restore the union of the Father and Mother and to transcend male and female, as was her state in Adam Ha-Rishon at the outset. Thus, entering into Mary, Lilatu wove her web to snare the demiurgos and archons and to cast down male domination. If you can glimpse the inner and secret meaning of this, you will be called wise. Is she not the Dark Wisdom of God through which rebirth in the Spiritt comes to pass?
Lilith at the Crucifixion:
It has been said that, when Our Lady (Mary Magdalene) anointed the body of the Lord, preparing him as a holy priest-king for his final journey, Lilith leapt out of her and into the Lord. When the Lord was on the cross, Lilatu leapt out of him and she danced around the Lord upon the cross. Then, she made the top of his skull into a cauldron. Putting his body in it, she made heavenly ambrosia, which she served up to the hosts of heaven.
Then, once again, the Lord appeared on the cross. Lilith leapt out and danced, as before, and again made his skull into a cauldron. However, this time sje brewed a strange concoction oout of his body, mixing in bitter herbs and all manner of different things. Then, she let out a yell and called all of the archons and unclean spirits to drink, and so they did.
One final time, the Lord appeared on the cross. Lilatu leapt out screaming and screeching and dancing wildly about, tore his body from the cross, ripped it into pieces, and threw straight into the mouths of evil creatures and demons.
Thus, Lilith made an offering of the body and blood of the Lord three times, feeding all spirits and appeasing all spirits. Then the Lord appeared above the cross as a great Light-presence in the Jeweled Wisdom Body of Rainbow Glory. The Light poured out upon all living spirits and souls and upon the whole world, and all were satisfied and all were blessed. Thus could the Lord pass through all domains above, below, and inbetweenm gathering the sparks into his Mystical Body.
In this way, masters of the Gnostic tradition have indicated the Mystery of the Crucifixion, and they have generated a special practise for the adepti (an advanced Gnostic initiate or elder) who seek gnosis of this Mystery. Thus, many teachings and practices have been generated from this legend among Gnostic Christians of the Sophian Tradition. It is said to have been a legend begun by St. Mary of Magdal.
(From: "St. Mary Magdalene - The Gnostic Tradition of the Holy Bible" By Tau Malachi)
Lilith Becomes God's Bride:
After God dismissed His Bride, the Shekhinah, from His presence, at the time of the destruction of the Temple, God brought in a maidservant to take Her place. Who is this maidservant? She is none other than Lilith, who once made her home behind the mill, and now the servant is heir to her mistress, as it is said, a slave girl who supplants her mistress (Prov. 30:23). She rules over the Holy Land as the Shekhinah once ruled over it. Thus the slave-woman has become the ruler of the House, and the true Bride has been imprisoned in the house of the slave-woman, the evil Lilith. There the Bride is held in exile with her offspring, whose hands are tied behind their backs, wearing many chains and shackles. That is a bitter time for the exiled Bride, who sobs because Her husband, God, does not throw His light upon Her. Her joy has fled because She sees her rival, Lilith in her house, deriding Her. And when God sees His true Bride lying in the dust and suffering, He, too, will become embittered and descend to save Her from the stranglers who are violating Her.
So it is that in the days to come news will come to God's consort, Lilith, that the time has come for her to go. Then she who plays the harlot will flee from the sanctuary, for if she were to come there when the woman of worth was present, she would perish.
Then God would restore the Shekhinah to Her place as in the beginning, and God and His true Bride will again couple with each other in joy. As for the evil slave-woman, God will no longer dwell with her, and she will cease to exist.
and the children of Israel sent into
This startling myth describes the ascent of the demoness Lilith, in which she bebcomes God's consort after His separation from His Bride. It is based on an interpretation of the verse A slave girl who supplants her mistress (Prov. 3o:23). The identification of Lilith as once living behind a mill is based on the verse about the slave girl who is behind the millstones (Exod. 11:5). In folk tradition, Lilith especially likely to be found in places such as a ruin or behind a mill. Here a strong contrast is made between her low beginnings and her ascent to become God's consort.
This myth represents the apex of Lilith's ambitions, but it is also understood that her position is only temporary -until God's true Bride, the Shekhinah, returns at the time of the coming of the Messiah. The ruling presence of the demonic Lilith over the exile of the Jews that followed the destruction of the Temple and subsequent exile.
Note that in this version of the separation of God and the Shekhinah, God is described as having dismissed Her rather than an alternative version, also found in the Zohar (1:202b-203a), in which the Shekhinah and God have a confrontation about the fate of the Temple and the children of Israel sent into exile, and She descides to leave on Her own.
The Zohar (3:97a) adds a fascinating explanation for the link between Lilith and the Shekhinah: "The recondite mystery is that of two sisters." In kabbalistic mythology, the Shekhinah represents the female aspect of the side of holiness, while Lilith represents the feminine aspect of evil. Thus they are tied together, like two sisters.
The myth ends by predicting the reunion of God and the Shekhinah and the end of Lilith's existence. It is unstated but understood that this will take place of the coming of the Messiah.
(From: "Tree of Souls" - The Mythology of Judaism")