We dunno what you've heard. You could have heard Lilith is a model for Oppressed Womanhood. You could have heard she's a succubus who gives men wet dreams. You could have heard that she's a demoness who murders babies. You could have heard that she's a goddess, the wife of Death.
Showing posts with label Religion/Spirituality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Religion/Spirituality. Show all posts
Lilith: From Demoness to Dark Goddess
Lilith: Queen of the Night, Mother of Demons, First Wife of Adam, and one of my own patron Goddesses. Unfortunately, I have found that modern authors often leave much to be desired on the subject of Lilith. Modern interpretations of Her nature are presented as historical, and the historical facts themselves are regularly misrepresented. Does She originate in ancient Sumeria, a maiden connected to the Temple of Inanna? Was She once a benevolent Mother Goddess Herself, later demonized by patriarchal religious leaders? Is it female strength She embodies, or has She persecuted women for centuries via birth complications and crib death? Was she actually deleted from the story of Eden? These are some of the questions, myths, facts, and errors that will be covered in this essay- hopefully laying to rest the many misconceptions that surround this ancient and powerful figure.
Christianity and Vampirism
Long before the Christian church began to unfold its wings throughout Europe, the vampire was an established myth. Vampire-like creatures had been a part of superstition since ancient Greece. The roots of the vampire were Pagan in nature, and the beliefs were widespread. The relationship that eventually formed between vampires and the Christian God is a tale riddled with irony.
In The Blood: A serious look at vampire-myth origins
Part One
For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you for making atonement for your lives on the altar; for, as life, it is the blood that makes atonement. (Leviticus 17:11)
Any broad exploration of pre-Industrial European society cannot help but touch upon the plethora of peasant tales that both served to entertain the populace and teach morality to the children of Europe. On surface examination, at least, this function of folklore seems apparent enough. It is a perfectly valid assessment of the function of common fable--but in many respects, it is inadequate. Peasant tales served, in many cases, as more than simple fables. The fact that the vast bulk of European humanity remained illiterate in pre-Industrial Europe should stimulate questions about the more complex and subliminal purposes of this entirely oral form of literature.
For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you for making atonement for your lives on the altar; for, as life, it is the blood that makes atonement. (Leviticus 17:11)
Any broad exploration of pre-Industrial European society cannot help but touch upon the plethora of peasant tales that both served to entertain the populace and teach morality to the children of Europe. On surface examination, at least, this function of folklore seems apparent enough. It is a perfectly valid assessment of the function of common fable--but in many respects, it is inadequate. Peasant tales served, in many cases, as more than simple fables. The fact that the vast bulk of European humanity remained illiterate in pre-Industrial Europe should stimulate questions about the more complex and subliminal purposes of this entirely oral form of literature.
Vampire Hunter's Guide
Over the ages, certain artifacts have gained a reputation among popular cultures as ways to ward off, or even kill, vampires. This guide takes you through the historical meaning and reasoning behind the ways we've found to hunt the vampire. So grab your crucifix, and wade on in!
Coffins
Early mythological vampires did not sleep in coffins. Up until the 19th century, only the very rich could afford coffins, and so much of the history of vampires did not include a 'secured' burial - indeed, it was the very precarious nature of medieval burial that fostered the fear that vampires could very easily rise from their final resting place in the earth.
Coffins
Early mythological vampires did not sleep in coffins. Up until the 19th century, only the very rich could afford coffins, and so much of the history of vampires did not include a 'secured' burial - indeed, it was the very precarious nature of medieval burial that fostered the fear that vampires could very easily rise from their final resting place in the earth.
Vampire Creation Myths
Cain and Lilith
This myth begins at the very creation of man. Lilith, according to Hebrew/Jewish texts, was the first woman created for Adam.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it.
Genesis 1:27-28
This myth begins at the very creation of man. Lilith, according to Hebrew/Jewish texts, was the first woman created for Adam.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it.
Genesis 1:27-28
The Vampire and Holy Symbols
Did you know?
In the late 1400s, Pope Innocent VIII released a treatise recognizing the phenomena of incubi and succubi, male and female nocturnal demons. In the mid-1700s, Christian Monks wrote about various beliefs in the Undead that had developed in Western Europe, with hopes of dispelling the stories as superstition. These books of accumulated tales were available to the population at large, and the Undead within - previously known by any number of terms - were systematically named 'vampire'. As a result, the term vampire, vampyr, vampyre, wampire or wampirus - and all it's other translations - has become a household name (probably not the Monks' initial intention ...).
In the late 1400s, Pope Innocent VIII released a treatise recognizing the phenomena of incubi and succubi, male and female nocturnal demons. In the mid-1700s, Christian Monks wrote about various beliefs in the Undead that had developed in Western Europe, with hopes of dispelling the stories as superstition. These books of accumulated tales were available to the population at large, and the Undead within - previously known by any number of terms - were systematically named 'vampire'. As a result, the term vampire, vampyr, vampyre, wampire or wampirus - and all it's other translations - has become a household name (probably not the Monks' initial intention ...).
Belief systems and vampyrism
I've met Christian vampires, Buddhist vampires, Atheist vampires; I've met individuals who have worked their entire world view completely around their vampirism and others who refuse to acknowledge that it even manifests in their lives. The majority of individuals I've met (both through the internet and otherwise) fall into a different category though. They are unsure of how vampirism and their belief system can ever mesh.
Jewish Vampirology
The Blood Is the Life
"The blood is the life", states the Torah, and also declares "the life-force of all creatures resides in the blood" (Leviticus 17:11). Eating blood is strictly forbidden by the Torah. Yet if one were to do so, he would acquire some measure of the semi-spiritual nature of the demons. They are not truly spiritual, since they must eat blood to live; yet they are not strictly bound to physical matter, insofar as they possess the power of invisibility, and the ability to travel great distances quickly. These are precisely the attributes ascribed to vampires! As the Sforno explains (Leviticus 17:7):
"The blood is the life", states the Torah, and also declares "the life-force of all creatures resides in the blood" (Leviticus 17:11). Eating blood is strictly forbidden by the Torah. Yet if one were to do so, he would acquire some measure of the semi-spiritual nature of the demons. They are not truly spiritual, since they must eat blood to live; yet they are not strictly bound to physical matter, insofar as they possess the power of invisibility, and the ability to travel great distances quickly. These are precisely the attributes ascribed to vampires! As the Sforno explains (Leviticus 17:7):
Creatures of the Night
There is no known culture on this planet that has not at one time or another cowered in fear because of the savage attacks of a nocturnal predator known as a therianthrope, a human-animal hybrid such as a werewolf, "werebear," "werelion," or a "were-something." Such creatures were painted by Stone Age artists more than 10,000 years ago and represent some of the world's oldest cave art—and they probably precipitated some of the world's first nightmares.
Vampyric Myths and Christian Symbolism: The Love Story of Bram Stoker's "Dracula"
For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror we are still just able to bear
Rainer Maria Rilke: "The Duino Elegies"
In this paper, I will present my reflections and thoughts on the myth of Dracula in particular, and the vampyre in general, as a love story and show the deeply rooted links between the two myths and Christianity, as refracted through the prism of Francis Ford Coppola's film Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992).
Lilith, the first Eve
According to Rabbinical mythology, the Talmudists say that Adam had a wife before Eve, whose name was Lilith. Refusing to submit to Adam, she left Paradise for a region of the air. She still haunts the night as a spectre, and is especially hostile to new-born infants. Some superstitious Jews still put in the chamber occupied by their wife four coins, with labels on which the names of Adam and Eve are inscribed, with the words, “Avaunt thee Lilith!” The fable of Lilith was invented to reconcile Genesis i with Genesis ii. Genesis i represents the simultaneous creation of man and woman out of the earth; but Genesis ii represents that Adam was alone, and Eve was made out of a rib, and was given to Adam as a helpmeet for him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)