Lilith, The Horned Goddess

Lilith’s origins, it is said, stem from the Great Mother Goddess of the settled agricultural folk of the Middle East. These were the tribes that resisted the advancement of the nomadic herdsmen invaders, later called the Israelites. As is customary throughout history, the gods and goddesses of many conquered regions are often twisted into devils and demons. Lilith is no exception. Because of their contempt for the Canaanites and those other agricultural tribes of the region, the ancient Hebrews turned this otherwise docile goddess into the mother of demons, one that drank the blood of Abel, the herdsman, after being slain by the elder “god” of agriculture and smithcraft, Cain.

Hebrew myth tells of Lilith being Adam’s first wife, which also has a relation to the Sumero-Babylonian Goddess Belit-ili, or Belili. Yahweh created Adam and Lilith as twins joined together at the back. Strong willed, Lilith demanded equality with Adam. Adam tried to make Lilith lie beneath him during sexual intercourse, but she would not meet his demands of male dominance. Lilith cursed Adam and left Eden to make a home by the Red Sea. While there Lilith became a lover to demons, producing 100 babies a day. It is said by experts in comparative mythology that Lilith’s Red Sea is but another version of Kali Ma’s Ocean of Blood, which gave birth to all things, but needed periodic sacrificial replenishment.