Lilith as Sexual Liberator by Joey Morris

Art by Arna Baartz

Long have I walked in darkness, spoken of in hushed whispers, demonized and betrayed, 
a sultry solemn vow of sexuality sucked off honeyed fingers and bitten into. 

Wander into my temple, that exists after cataclysm, the Volcanic eruption; 
a visualisation of inky black earthy harvested into a circle enriched by disaster. 
All that once was vile has been burnt to ash, decay has been cleared away 
and all that remains is the dark fertile rich soil at My feet. 

Here I kneel, never submitting, never subservient,
but by choice, hands bloody from the trauma but
clawed deep into rich fertile soil, now infused with the energies
of Death and Rebirth! 


From my being is gifted sensual
and sexual energy and the promise that anything can grow from this joining.



Lilith chose Herself.

In the Jewish mythos, the Goddess Lilith, who was diminished into the guise of a mortal woman, was given an abominable choice: Submit and be dominated, or reject and rebel against man, and, supposedly, God.

A simple shift in perspective reveals the truth; it becomes clear that Lilith rebelled against a life of servitude, she broke her chains and utterly refused to be degraded and used.

In the aftermath, Lilith was labelled as evil for her disobedience – another act of slander and shaming from her captors, but eternally Lilith refuses to submit – not to any man, and certainly not to their powerless words.

By Her actions, Lilith became a liberator, even though She would be eternally “damned” for doing so.
In a sense, She was damned; to be mislabelled throughout human history, to have her divinity warped into perhaps the oldest ‘slut-shaming’ story on record, and yet, Her energy has never wavered.

In the face of onslaught from Her captors, She rose throughout history in defiance, liberating not only Herself but all of those that came after Her.

The old stories claim she murdered Her children, but as with the rest of this clear warping of older myth, it seems to wish to pervert Her standing as a female and so takes what it claims to be a venerated position of motherhood and slanders that too.

In the history of magick this lie was perpetuated, in times of pregnancy and childbirth women felt they needed protection against malicious spirits and even against the Goddess Lilith, as a Talisman found in Syria from the 8th Century proclaims; “O you who fly in (the) darkened room(s), / Be off with you this instant, this instant, Lilith. / Thief, breaker of bones.”[1]

In the Sumerian version of the mythology, Lilith was unable to produce children and presumably, this led to the idea of her jealously attacking other women at certain stages of their sexual development and reproductive cycles.

Given that Lilith is also shown to indulge in sexuality and is labelled as temptress and succubi (sexual demon) in the Sumerian, we can once again see that the mythology is indecisive in how it wishes to besmirch the Goddess.

The motive behind the mythology, however, is apparent – to drive fear into the hearts of mortal women that they will be harmed by the Goddess Lilith and everything that She represents.
As a ‘breaker’ of bones, Lilith is associated with all forms of release.

Her mythology paints her as seductress and links her energy to both Sexuality and Death, and to illustrate this point we will take a quote from the Zohar and seek to eke out wisdom from beneath the insults.

She adorns herself with many ornaments like a despicable harlot and takes up her position at the crossroads to seduce the sons of man. When a fool approaches her, she grabs him, kisses him, and pours him wine of dregs of viper's gall. As soon as he drinks it, he goes astray after her. When she sees that he has gone astray after her from the paths of truth, she divests herself of all ornaments which she put on for the fool. Her ornaments for the seduction of the sons of man are: that her hair is long and red, and from her ears hang six ornaments, Egyptian chords and all the ornaments in the Land of the East hang from her nape...her tongue is sharp like a sword, her words are smooth like oil, her lips are red like a rose and sweetened by all the sweetness in the world...yon fool goes astray after her and drinks from the cup of wine and commits fornications with her...that fool awakens...[and] she stands before him clothed in garments of flaming fire, inspiring terror and making body and soul tremble...and she kills that fool and casts him into Gehenna.” Zohar I 148a-b Sitre Torah

The very first line of this description is illuminating about the nature of Lilith beyond the slander, as we see a Goddess in charge of her own actions for “She adorns herself.”

If ever a sentiment could describe Lilith it would be that She is utterly dominant, in complete control of her own fate, for even within the extended mythology surrounding her, She ascends from wife of Adam to the bride of the Demon King Samael, ruling as a Queen of Zemargard and Sheba, and rose to become a consort of God himself.[2]

The use of harlot and the association of taking pride in one’s appearance equating to prostitution is clear; it seeks to take the sexual liberation of Lilith and force her back into service to men.

Even when insulting a female’s sexuality, it appears ‘necessary’ to realign it back to belonging to someone else (a male someone else) even though it is the absence of the ownership that the author wishes to deride.

Within this text, Lilith is also associated with the crossroads, linking her to other Dark Goddesses such as Hecate, and the liminal space of Otherness.

The Crossroads have incredible magical and spiritual significance, and it is telling that this one mention of this location is seemingly ‘throwaway’ in its nature – as it is mentioned only once and in passing.

Traditionally, the crossroads is depicted as an “X” with four directions stemming from the midpoint and is symbolic for all creation and possibility, as well as the process of decision.

When at the crossroads, a choice for direction must be made, and in that process, all potential futures are considered; anything is possible in the spark of creative thought.

The numerology of four is that of making something physically manifest, so all seeds planted here are thought to be cosmically aligned for success.

Further, the two paths intersect, a union between the ‘legs’ or ‘bones’ of two paths that intertwine; a sexual analogy for the embrace, the planting of seeds, and then the fruit of that union becoming manifest.

Further, the ‘X’ Chromosome in our DNA is female; and as the universe intersects on a macrocosmic level with our inner microcosm, it can be suggested that this is a divinely female energy running through the Crossroads.

Such a setting is certainly worthy of the Dark Goddess Lilith.

Men seduced by Lilith are claimed to be ‘fools’ here, which is interesting given the original etymology of ‘harlot’ was applicable to males:

Usually male in Middle English and Old French. Used in positive as well as pejorative senses by Chaucer; applied in Middle English to jesters, buffoons, jugglers, later to actors.”[3]

It is also interesting to note that the Goddess Lilith was described as a demon of the air, which ties to the root of the word ‘fool’:  

Fool… PIE root *bhel- (2) “to blow, swell.”

Compare also Sanskrit vatula: “insane,” literally “windy, inflated with wind.”[4]

There is a definite sexual undertone here as elated erotic pleasure is often described as a kind of madness or even a state of almost death; both of which are felt deep in the bones. Wine and viper poison are additionally mentioned as substances that induce altered states of perception alluding to a form of sexual surrender; perhaps it is this submission which causes such fear in the masculine ruling body seeking to subdue the power of Lilith (and the sexual freedoms of all women).

Art by Arna Baartz

The snake is a further symbol of transformation that became demonized; it was often connected to Goddesses of antiquity who were free from considering the sexual needs of men, such as the Greek ‘Serpentine’ War Goddess Athena and her ‘monstrous’ priestess Medusa.[5]

The serpent symbolism is also tied to wisdom through Athena, healing knowledge through the staff of Asclepius and knowledge.

These are just three examples in an incredibly rich body of folklore and mythology surrounding the snake which would be an essay unto itself.

Returning to the text on the Goddess Lilith, “When she sees that he has gone astray after her from the paths of truth” is certainly somewhat of an ironic line, given that the varied body of work surrounding Lilith cannot seem to make its mind up about who She is, what She is, and what her exact powers or abilities and motivations happen to be.

Evaluating its meaning beyond the bias of the material though, this harkens back to the crossroads, as a ‘path’ which is ‘true.’ 

Although the Zohar determines Lilith’s sexuality to be a falsehood (with the cost of death attached), it seems that Lilith values choice and truth.

Nowhere within this particular quote is the man forced, only seduced, which tends to be true within the entirety of the mythos surrounding Lilith.

She is blamed, of course, for the temptation, and the supposed weakness of men choosing to engage with her sexually, as is the case for all women branded by hypocrites in this fashion.

It is an interesting side note that there are many examples of red hair within folklore denoting ‘Otherness’ and even deification. Vampires, with whom Lilith is associated, were thought to have red hair, as was Judas.[6]

In Celtic mythology, red was a colour associated with Otherworldly Goddesses, particularly of those associated with War and Death, such as the Morrigan, particularly red-mouthed Badb”[7] and they were, interestingly enough, also described as Demons of air:

“…hooded crows, or women from the síd; lying wolves, that is, the false demons, the morrígna. Or “falsehood,” so that they (the bansigaidhe and the hooded crows) are not demons; “falsehood,” so that they are not demons of hell but demons of the air.”[8]

Whilst it is possible that the many examples of red colouring being associated with Goddesses of blood and death from across varying cultures is unrelated to the Goddess Lilith, it seems unlikely. Instead, these are more tantalising hints of the divinity behind the mythos which is presented to lessen the Goddess.

The final point of note is that supposedly the consummation with the Goddess Lilith results in death for the human male; “that fool awakens...[and] she stands before him clothed in garments of flaming fire, inspiring terror and making body and soul tremble...and she kills that fool…”

There can be many interpretations here: that a mortal man was not able to partake in the pleasure with a female deity and was overcome; that Lilith took a note out of the preying mantis’s guide to relations; or that the death here is not a death of the physical incarnation but instead the death of who they used to be.

Whilst the text would vilify Lilith there are alternative perceptions to the image presented; that the fire is, in fact, the ‘fire in the loins’ – a raging inferno of sexual energy; the Kundalini rising is presented as a snake of flame awakening through the body, after all.

The trembling of soul and body could be a reaction to this, and the death could simply be orgasm, as it is often described as a temporary state of death energy.

These are some of the explanations that I have discerned from this one example, and I invite you to do the same.

Lilith is a reclamation of the desire that binds us to the energies of sexual life force and the bones that reveal themselves only after death.

She has stood in the shadows, condemned, a liberator of sexual freedom for women, harkening them back to themselves, inviting them to engage in acts of rebellion and to choose themselves, as a reflection of Goddess.

Many blessings,
Joey Morris 




Joey Morris is a Celtic Creatrix and UK-based daughter of The Morrigan. I am an author, creatrix CEO of Starry Eyed Supplies, and co-owner of the What the Flux podcast.

“To become a tempered blade of The Morrigan, one must be baptized in blood and fire. These struggles within my lifetime have led me to become a voice for the voiceless, to reach out to the broken, and to poke the shadows in others so that they might begin to heal. 

Such a path is dangerous. But so are we. This is the birth of a wild witch who sees with their 'other eyes' and treads the path of edges, sharp and unusual, but filled with adventure, magick of the liminal and the in-between spaces.”  – Joey Morris

Within the spiritual landscape, my soul mission is to deepen the understanding of our interconnectedness by both honouring the sacred and exploring the masks of the self through channelling relationships to the Divine through written work, poetry, videos, products, and services.


[1] Translated by Theodor H. Gaster in Siegmund Hurwitz, Lilith—The First Eve (Einsiedeln, Switzerland: Daimon, 1992), p. 66. Another translation does not mention Lilith’s name and reads, “Be off, terrifying ones, terrors of my night.”
[2] Patai, Raphael. ''Lilith.'' The Journal of American Folklore. Vol. 77, No. 306 (Oct. - Dec., 1964), pp. 295-314.
[3] https://www.etymonline.com/word/harlot
[4] https://www.etymonline.com/word/fool#etymonline_v_46851
[5] For more information, see my post ''Shadow work with Snake energy: The Gorgon’s mask'' - https:///www.starryeyedsupplies.com/single-post/2017/10/04/Shadow-work-with-Snake-energy-The-Gorgon’s-mask
[6] http://www.themythsandhistoryofredhair.co.uk/vampires.html
[7] Bruiden da Choga
[8] War Goddess: the Morrígan and her Germano-Celtic Counterparts thesis by Angelique Gulermovich Epstein

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