For Judy Harrow, a 48-year-old Manhattan civil servant and coven leader, Jewish identity is a complex, painful issue. Lilith is first mentioned in ancient Babylonian texts as a winged female demon that attacks pregnant women and infants. Lilith, as ‘hand of Inanna,’ would gather men from the streets and lead them to the temples of the sacred prostitutes.

Both were seen as diabolical beings by the terrified medieval men who saw in everything the presence of an absolute principle of evil, especially when they could not dominate what was opposed to their usual place of security. Today, we understand that witches as portrayed by media and by the Inquisition were never real, and many people have come to seek the guidance of Lilith to raise a figure of resistance to patriarchal society and oppression. Some embrace her because they find women or goddesses that do not have her fierce power to be too weak, too white lighting, lacking in sexual power and prowess. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience.

Satrinah, Lilith, Avitu, Amiz Raphi, Amizu, Kakash, Odem, ‘ik, Pods, ‘ils, Petrota, Abro, Kema, Kalee, Bituah, Thiltho, Partashah. The resulting Lilith legend is still commonly used as source material in modern Western culture, literature, occultism, fantasy, and horror. Like Circe, She turns men into beasts or pigs by opening the doorways to their deep and primal sexual desires.

So when i found out about the great Goddess, i know she was the one i would like to learn from and be enlightened by her. None the less, if ever I see your three names or likenesses displayed in an amulet above a newborn child, I promise to spare it. She is just more like the Cenobytes of Hellraiser than like a sweet-hearted bi*ch like Inanna of the Sumerian myths. For your listening enjoyment, I had to add this song into this entry that I came across a few days ago. Generally, retrieval affords practitioners more self-assurance than does invention (and consequently often leads to better art).As a child, Marion Weinstein dressed her dolls up as witches, watched TV ministers, requested lessons in kabbalah, and studied religion on her own. Today, she characterizes her open-house community celebrations as “disorganized, gregarious fellowships” that she shares with her Jewish husband, Michael, her children, who have been raised Pagan, and a circle of friends that can number from fifteen to fifty.