Dare to Say Her Name by Susan Morgaine

''Wind dancer wind'' by Elisabeth Slettnes

When my children were small, I was good friends with a woman whose birth family practiced Orthodox Judaism. We had known each other many years, our children were close, and we had each been to many family gatherings. One summer, we were attending a pool party at her house and her parents were in attendance. I went to say hello to her father and then asked him about Lilith, as the first wife of Adam. His response was to look at me, say nothing, then turn to walk away. He never really spoke to me afterward.

THAT is the power of Lilith.

Who was this powerful woman? Was she a demon? Was she a woman that refused to be subservient to a man? Did she leave Eden on her own? Was she kicked out?

Her origins seem to be rooted in Babylonian demonology. In Sumerian, her name is expressed as “lilitu,” which means “female demon” or “wind spirit.”

In the Sumerian tale of Gilgamesh, the hero (Gilgamesh) goes to help the Goddess Inanna, who was being beset by demons, one of which was Lilith. This part of the tale was added some 600 years after the original, which to my mind was just another way to demonize her.

In Jewish tradition, Lilith is a dark demon, but others see her as a dark Goddess. Either way, she is ancient and powerful. In the Talmud, she was described as being sexually wanton and the stealer of men’s sperm from which she gave birth to demons. The Talmud, the book of civil and ceremonial law, states, “It is forbidden for a man to sleep alone in a house, lest Lilith get hold of him.”

It is in the Genesis Rabba, religious texts with rabbinical interpretations of Genesis, that we first hear of Lilith as the first woman, created at the same time as Adam.

Adam demanded that she lie beneath him and she refused. Adam wanted her to be subservient to him and she refused. She stated, “We are equal because we are both created from the earth.”

This myth was included to The Alphabet of Ben Sira, which added that Lilith then fled into the desert. Adam complains to God that the woman that was given to him has left. Three angels are sent after her. The angels tell her that she must return but she refuses and says, strangely, that she knows that she was made to harm children, but that if she sees the names of these angels on amulets, then that child will be saved. Again, this is a way to demonize her, as our children are sacred to us and what worse than to be a murderer of children?

Some would say that when she refused to lie beneath Adam, that she was turned into a demon, a succubus, and banished from Eden. For some, she became a sacred whore, beautiful and dangerous, who would seduce men and kill them.

Eve was then created from Adam’s rib, rendering her "made" from him—re-enforcing her submission by lying beneath him. Of course, Eve would bear the brunt of bringing original sin into the world, and cursing women forevermore with pain and bloodshed—the first woman to become scapegoat for man’s weakness.

Lilith has been an influence in literary characters, such as in The Coming of Lilith by Judith Plaskow, among many other stories, novels and poems. It is said that in C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, the White Witch was influenced by Lilith. There is also Lilith Fair, which raises money for battered women’s shelters and breast cancer awareness.

Girl God Publications offers the “My Name is……” series, written for children, where Goddesses who have been demonized have their stories told in a positive, affirmative manner. The third in this series is My Name is Lilith, by Monette Chilson, which I highly recommend.

Lilith has become an icon for feminists who see her refusal to lie beneath Adam as a call to freedom, a rallying cry to break away from the bonds of patriarchy.

She can be looked to for inspiration in being and accepting who we are – strong, empowered, independent women, making our own choices and living the lives we choose.

An excerpt from the upcoming Girl God Anthology, Original Resistance: Reclaiming Lilith, Reclaiming Ourselves.


Susan Morgaine is a Daughter of the Goddess, Priestess, Witch, Writer, Healer, Yogini. Her writings can be found on PaganPages.org, and MysticalShores.wordpress.com/blog, along with The Girl God Anthologies, Whatever Works: Feminists of Faith Speak, Jesus, Muhammad and the Goddess and Inanna's Ascent—as well as Mago Publications She Rises, Volume 2 and Celebrating Seasons of the Goddess. She has also been published in Jareeda and SageWoman magazines. She is the author of My Name is Isis, the Egyptian Goddess, the fourth of the “My Name Is………” series of children’s books published by The Girl God. She is currently co-editing On the Wings of Isis: A Woman's Path to Sovereignty, which is scheduled for Summer 2021.

Susan is a Certified Women’s Empowerment Coach/Facilitator through Imagine A Woman International founded by Patricia Lynn Reilly. She has long been involved in Goddess Spirituality and Feminism, teaching Kundalini Yoga classes, Goddess Spirituality workshops and Priestesses a local Red Tent. She is a member of the Sisterhood of Avalon. She can be reached at MysticalShores@gmail.com and her website is www.mysticalshores.com