The Guises of Lil (Lillith Mythology)

The Mythology of Lil

Before there was Coera, Lil was a trickster goddess. Along with Adam, she was among the countless children of Zhen-Mehr (she was actually a second generation – her grand-daughter). She was a mind of minor power and output, but because of her unusual quality of inscrutability and her practice of both gifting and stealing from other minds with apparently casual promiscuity, she had a reputation which was much larger than her mentality.

During the War of Consumption, even as a child of Zhen-Mehr, she was not known to support one side. Her actions were no less capricious than before the war, though she became more bold, and seem to derive some pleasure or personal honor from grifting the more well-known minds. In this circumstance, she offered herself for Adam’s gambit of the lesser minds of Patar-Ori’s army. Though few trusted her faithfulness to the cause, and even Baod’s generals intended to easily turn her to their side with promises of greater power, Lil was true to Adam. It was Lil who gained audience with Baod, and Lil who let Adam in through the defenses to strike at Baod’s heart.

Lil had long desired Adam, the warrior-poet and her half-brother, as a formal mate. As a reward for her assistance and fidelity to the cause, Adam became her consort (a very large social leap for her, as he bound himself to her as a lover/helpmate, not the other way around), and she was given a favored position in Patar-Ori’s court .

When Coera was populated, she took Adam down to the planets innards, where she delighted in the many forms of life and took the shapes of each, for a time. She was a darling of the underworld – a favorite of the creatures she imitated – and was quite despondent when the renewed war forced her to the surface.

Of course, in the age of the Garden, Lil and Adam fused with the bodies of men to make them Man. But being trapped in a single form did not sit well with a trickster goddess, and while Adam tended to their children, she would often spend time alone.

It was while she was in solitude that Baod’s mind found her. He told her that Adam was becoming chief among men, supplanting her position of primacy. Though Lil argued for Adam, Baod convinced her to test for herself, and thus was born the argument of sexual position, where Lil and Adam both wished to be on top (Lil had always before considered the bottom position to be more leisurely and suited to a queen).

After the spat, Baod came to Lil again and convinced her that she needed greater power. He offered the flesh of the creature whose mind he had sieze: a small snake. The choice was perfect, as Lil was able to swallow whole, as all food was eaten at that time. In the process of taking the creature’s essence, she learned its form. This was a delight to the trickster, who had always been fond of impersonation. But when she returned to Adam with the body of a snake, he rebuked her. In the course of their argument, he learned of her eating of another creature, and thus her communication with Baod and her betrayal. He rebelled from under her rule, and she, confronted by a warrior, fled from the Garden.

After leaving the Garden, Lil retreated to the shores of the sea. At Baod’s prompting, she grew in power and knowledge by studying the ways of Coera (Baod’s own “flesh”) and by consuming the creatures she was able to capture. She became commonly associated with four forms other than her own voluptuous body: the serpent or dragon, the shark or leviathan, the owl or raptor, and the hind or goat. She would often retain the upper body of a woman, and the lower body of the creature she required at the moment. Each form had its own advantages and suited particular purposes, but the snake, above all, was her totem.

While Baod tutored her, Lil would sneak into the edges of the garden and abduct her own children, now under the care of Adam’s new wife, Eva. Those loyal to her she would raise as her own, and those less loyal she would devour and gain their power. Lil and her slowly growing brood explored the shoreline where they lived, and one day discovered a sea cave that led her into them Underworld. It was not difficult for Lil to establish herself as Queen of the Underworld, even when she demanded occasional living sacrifices.

One day, while Lil is slithering through the Garden in search of food, she came across Eva. Eva didn’t know Lil’s story – she was created expressly for the purpose of Adam’s companionship by Chomir and Sensihr, after Lil had left. Lil tells Eva about her original supremacy over Man, about the power she has, which Adam knows about and will not teach her. Eva is intrigued, and agrees to meet Lil again. She promises Lil not to tell Adam, and thus lies for the first time to Adam. Lil and Eva meet several times more, while Lil tries to seduce Eva to her side, but Eva at last realizes that Lil has been eating her babies! She is enraged.

Again Lil flees the Garden and retreats to the caves. Eva, meanwhile, after admitting her lies to Adam, convinces him to raise an army against Lil in vengeance of her children, and to prevent her from stealing more. The army of Eva is met by Lil’s army of children and Underworlders, and in short time it is War.

Patar-Ori, who had already begun his retreat into meditation, visited the Garden one day to find it in a state of war. He is incensed that Adam did not tell him sooner about Lil’s betrayal. Patar-Ori joins the battle against Lil, but by this time she has admitted many of Baod’s allies through the soft edges of the Boundary.

In the course of the war, Lil abandoned her body and swelled with the power fed into her by Baod. But, while she might have easily crushed Adam – even with his assistance from Patar-Ori – and claimed Coera as her own, she was betrayed by one of Baod’s generals, Patchuzu. (This is the same Patchuzu who was later cast from Baod’s followings, and became an agent of pure destruction and pestilence – a Nihilist.) She was stilled, like Coera, and like so many others within the boundary around Patar-Ori, and became the many-faced moon.

Lil’s later return to form was marked by the features she chose for herself in her first life. She is said to always have the upper body of a beautiful woman (whatever woman she decides to possess and consume), but her lower half is always a serpent, a hind, a fish, or an owl. Some believe each of these four shapes is tied to a phase of the moon – the hind when the moon is waxing and she is at her most devious, the owl when the moon is full and she hunts with the full safety of night, the snake while the moon is waning, while she digests her prey and is at her greatest power, and the fish while the moon is new and she must hide from Patar-Ori under the sea.

Her greatest power is her trickster glamour, which can not only paralyze or hypnotize whomever she pleases, but can allow her to appear she pleases. Her most common apparitions are to hide her animal half behind the phantom legs of a woman, or to make the ghoulish body she inhabits appear to be young and full of life. Several things, like the direct light of Patar-Ori, the Light of Adam, or an incantation against her glamour can dispel the power, typically causing her to flee.

Her animalistic traits were passed on to her children, who were born mostly of her couplings with the people of the Underworld, or the seed stolen from the sons of Eva she seduced. Most of her children, though they live on Coera’s surface, seek refuge in the sea, or in caves, or in deep holes and wells, and may also know secret passages into the underworld. Some of them possess her power of glamour, and all of them possess her hunger for flesh and blood.

Her disciples – not the living Nephilim (half underworlders) and Lilim (half Man) but the revenants whom she has adopted as her children after mingling their blood – learn her talents for glamour, and the animal traits are added either as a method to the magic or as a stylist flair; their taste for flesh and blood are a necessity to sustain their bodies.

Lil’s continued war on Earth is much more with Eva than Adam. Lil’s relationship with Adam is a mixture of love and hate – she still desires him and his seed, and would above all things like to consume him to make him an integral part of herself. She feels no need to be faithful to him, but is driven to rage by at relations he has that aren’t with her. Still, she would not do him evil if she encountered him, though she would likely try to thwart his plans as being counter to her own.

Eva, however, she would undo at any possibility. Eva is very much an opposite to Lil – where Lil is fickle, Eva is staid. Where Lil is lascivious, Eva retains the appearance of a virgin. Eva is a homemaker, and Lil a homewrecker. Yet Lil has a case against Eva – she not only killed her Nephilim in war, but stole her children by Adam and supplanted her as Mother-Goddess. For Man was not Adam’s child, though he fathered them more than Lil ever mothered them – they were given to Lil as her project, and Adam came along as her consort. Further, she stole Adam himself.

Lil’s response to Eva has not been to target women, but to take revenge in kind and target children and men. So are infants, young children, and beautiful young men (the darlings of women – never the solitary men) Lil’s favorite food, and the most common food of her progeny. Blood sustains her best, since even an infant has it in great supply, but she has a taste for flesh, especially bowels and innards (livers, stomaches, intestines, and sometimes hearts). Any fluid of life is food to her and her kind, though, so saliva, or more commonly the seed of man (or even tears) become a meal if for whatever reason Lil or her child can not or will not kill their victim. In the less frequent cases where women are targeted, breastmilk or the womanly flow are common nourishment, though a woman who gives birth alone might lose the placenta, cord or even the infant to one of Lil’s get. Milk, or milk traced with blood, are the proper propitiation for any of Lil’s living offspring. Lil’s adopted children are also known to steal breath – the vehicle of the soul – as a way to sustain their own.

References to Lil and her progeny, either directly or in veiled or confused form, appear throughout mythology of all ages. The Modern age is no exception, though the advent of technology and pervasiveness of the written word make it easier to see similarities between myths and draw out common denominators. Note that the middle east, as the locus of Babylon, (the home of Lil’s past incarnation in this age, though she re-appears in South America during Riel’s lifetime), not only is a focus around which many of Lil’s offspring appear, but also is home to the most distinct references to Lil herself. To the West of Babylon, where Eva’s influence holds, Lil and her descendents appear as monsters. To the East, where Lil’s power was strongest, the references will appear less malevolent, if no less dangerous.

Lilith/Lilitu

In some Modern accounts of Lilith’s story, she is dismissed as little more than the first wife of Adam, who bickered with him over sexual dominance and became the whore-queen of demons. While this contains the seeds of accuracy, other accounts show a little more depth, though they are still somewhat confused.

Lil is called the first wife of Adam, though she is described as his helpmate, not the other way around. It is said she fled the Garden after refusing to submit to Adam’s sexual dominance and cursing the name of the Sun God (Patar-Ori). To justify Adam’s position and vilify Lil, these stories explain that Adam was created from the pure dust of the earth, while Lil was created from the filth and sediment as an afterthought. Once rousted from the Garden, Lil traveled to the banks of the sea, where she became the bride and mother of demons countless. Since she was propagating so quickly, Adam, Lord of the Sky, decided that 100 of her children must die each day. In return, Lilith began wreaking vengeance on the sons of Eve. In her commune with demons, she herself became the Night-demon, and her name in some languages means “Night”. As the “night hunter”, she became associated with the owl. (In older languages, her name means “wind”, which is a more proper association with Adam, the sky. These same stories state that Lil was raped by the Lord of the Sky, and thus swore vengeance upon the males of the race.) Lilith is later noted to have seduced Eva’s son Cain, who betrayed his brother Abel and was a father of Vampires.

While Adam became mortal with the rest of mankind, Lilith was immortal, and was later the Queen of many lands. Some include Sheba among those lands, though this last may be a scholarly confusion, because the Queen of Sheba, like Lil, had hairy legs, and Solomon is said to have sired the Djinni with Lilith. (Another story has Solomon – the root of whose name recalls the Sun God, Patar-Ori – resisting Lil’s advances and dragging her in front of a mirror, where her glamour cast no reflection and she was undone.)

Lil’s own children, the Lilim, were known to eat children and to seduce men. When engaged with the latter, they would without fail straddle their male lovers, never allowing themselves to be in the subservient position. The Nephilim, described as the children of the sons of gods and the daughters of men and of the Underworld, are also noted to be the children of Lilith.

Lamastu/Lamashtu/Labartu

Lamashtu was an Akkadian Demoness who menaced pregnant and recent mothers, and was especially fond of kidnapping children while they breastfed (so a mother best not fall asleep!). She is portrayed as having the upper body of a woman, with the ears, legs and feet of a hind (or ass, per some poor observations on the part of her victims), and long fingers and fingernails. Occasionally she is shown with the head of a lion or jackal, or with wings, but these are more symbolic of her nature than a part of her form. She is often portrayed handling snakes, or feeding beasts from her bare breasts. (Remember that Lil’s snake nature is her most powerful, and her own children would be considered beasts.)

She could be turned away either by invoking the evil demon Pazuzu (a god of destruction and pestilence), who would come up from the Underworld to chase her back down beneath the earth, or by an incantation prayer which declared her true nature, thus dispelling any glamour and sending her fleeing. Here’s a sample incantation:

Great is the daughter of Heaven who tortures babies
Her hand is a net, her embrace is death
She is cruel, raging, angry, predatory
A runner, a thief is the daughter of Heaven
She touches the bellies of women in labor
She pulls out the pregnant women’s baby
The daughter of Heaven is one of the Gods, her brothers
With no child of her own.
Her head is a lion’s head
Her body is a donkey’s body
She roars like a lion
She constantly howls like a demon-dog.

Nu Gua

Nua Gua was the Chinese creatrix goddess responsible for the creation of people. Though herself half woman, half snake, she chose to make people with legs instead. She is also the goddess of childbirth, marriage, and sex.

Manasa Devi

Manasa Devi is a minor Hindu serpent goddess. Though she is identified with the cobra and bears much of its deadliness, she can also cure any snakebite or even most wounds. She is both dangerous and helpful – in a popular tale, she is shown visiting a man in his prison cell, where after drinking his offering of milk (both proper and euphemistic), she leaves, opening the cell door on the way out.

Lamia

Lamia was a Greek demoness or witch who famously had the body of a woman and the tail of a serpent. Though she was well-known for her own beauty, her charm, and her honeyed lying tongue, she would not hesitate to use her glamour to give her the appearance of womanly legs, or to hypnotize her victims (young men or children) with her bare breasts or her hissing voice. Once enthralled, her victims would be led to her cave home where Lamia would devour them (though she was known to keep some men as lovers for quite a long time without eating them). Less pleasantly, she might split a pregnant woman open to eat the baby inside.

The Greek myth is somewhat sympathetic to Lamia. According to the stories, she was a lover of the sky-God, Zeus (Adam), whose overbearing wife Hera (Eva) discovered their affair. As punishment Hera killed Lamia’s children, and she was cast out of her home to live in a sea cave. Righteous grief and rage were what drove Lamia to develop her own taste for children, though in time consuming blood and flesh became her path to immortality.

Though most Greek myths have her as the Queen of Libya, she was elsewhere described as being of the sea. She was a good friend (perhaps a relative) of the sea-monstress Keto, and she was the mother of Scylla, who of all of Lamia’s children survived Hera’s wrath when Lamia cast her into the sea.

Lamia became the progenetrix of the lamiae, a whole race of snakey women with a taste for the flesh of children and a lust for young men. They lived in deserts, in forests, in caves, in wells or sewers, and even in cemeteries, where they would devour corpses and leave only the bones. While lamiae were dangerous, they were not necessarily evil, and they would often grant their young lovers fame or nurture an artistic talent in exchange for their influx of genetic material or an occasional nibble.

Two famous lamiae are Mohini and Echidna.

Mohini (known from A.T Das’ Secrets of the Left-Handed Tantra) would offer to grant a wish in exchange for a contract of 12 years duration. The contractee, in exchange for his wish, agreed to satisfy her lusts 12 times a year (once each month). Like her mother Lil, however, Mohini was a trickster who might take 18 different forms and demand that each be satisfied that month. And if her lover could not perform – Woe to him! – she would devour him once he was spent.

Mohini had a particular weakness for semen and saliva, and might be distracted by white stones on which either had been deposited. Likewise, a man who drooled or discharged while he slept might attract her unwelcome attentions, and awaken to find himself half-way into her belly. Mohini, like Lil, used glamour to give herself the appearance of legs, but these are clearly apparitions only, and the careful observer would note that she appears to glide rather than walk.

Echidna was a particularly beautiful Lamia, though she was also particularly voracious and was the mother of a majority of famous Greek monsters. She lived in a sea cave, where she would catch and eat sailors, but she was also known to haunt crossroads and prey on unwary travelers.

Nagini

On the other side of the Fertile Crescent, the Hindus wrote of the Nagini (female form of Naga, meaning “cobra”). These were semi-divine creatures, and though they had an appetite for flesh, there were generally more sociable, and might even be helpful to travelers. They lived mostly underground or in forests.

One particularly interesting story describes an ancient Nagini princess (Lil) as the wife of the Sun Prince (Adam), son of the Sun God (Patar-Ori), but through the trickery of the white crow (or dove – Eva’s symbol), their marriage ended in hateful disaster.

Jaracara

Across an ocean, Jaracara were Brazilian women with a snaky body who would sneak into the homes to steal both the blood of infants and the breastmilk of the mother.

Rakshasi

Rakshasi (female form of Rakshasa) often inhabited Hindu cemeteries, but like the lamiae they were semi-divine and living, not revenants. They were often described as having half-woman, half-animal forms, and tended to have unkempt hair and long, poisonous fingernails, with which they attacked their victims before eating them.

Churel and Vetala

These, too, are Hindu, but are revenant vampires. Both are oddly marked with backwards feet or hands, though this defect appears to be a symbolic theme in Hindu mythology denoting their sinister nature, and is probably not meant to be literal description. The Churel were female ghosts who drained blood and “vitality” from men, and typically had a long, black tongue. Vetala more commonly preyed on children and infants.

Empusa

Back in Greece, the Empusae were hungry ghosts who preyed on travelers, especially men, by drinking their blood. They were often described as having the body of a woman and the legs of a hind, though they were shape-shifters and would use glamour to hide their beastly features. They could be reliably turned away with an insult describing their true form.

Hel

Hel was the Norse goddess of the underworld. Her upper half was that of a beautiful woman, but her lower half that of a rotting corpse.

Mara

Mara was another Norse goddess with the features of Lil’s get – she would ride the chests of sleeping men and produce nightmares while slowly smothering them and stealing their breath.

Upir

A kind of Russian vampire, upir preferred to eat children, and might occasionally move on to their male parent.

Striga/Shtriga/Strix

These East European witches (of Roman origin) took on the wings and legs of an owl fly through the night, hunting and feeding on babies and children.

Baobhan Sith

Also known as the “White Women”, the Sith were Scottish Vampire ghosts. They had the feet of hinds, but they would keep these hidden behind long, green dresses, and flee if their feet were revealed. The Sith would appear in small groups (three or four) to hunters, or other men caught out at night in the woods, and would invite them to dance. The dance would become rough, ending as the Sith used their long fingernails to draw blood, which they would drink until the hunter’s death.

Dearg-due

Dearg-due were an Irish equivalent to the Baobahn Sith, but they dressed in red.

Leanan sidhe/Liannon-Shee

These were another Irish/Manx variation on the vampiric fairy, but instead of being forest-dwelling predators, they were the muses of poets and artists. But their gift cam with a very high price – the life and vitality of the artist.

Glaistig

Like the Baobhan Sith, the glaistig were Scottish green-clothed vampires with the legs of a goat or hind. These, however, were residents of rivers and lakes instead of the forest, and though they would drink the blood of men, they were said to be friendly with children and could even be trusted with their daycare. They craved milk and might even tend cattle if properly propitiated.

Cihuateto

Cihuateteo were the hungry ghosts of Aztec women who died in childbirth and were often identified as being particularly pale and prone to lurking at crossroads. They would seduce men for their vitality and blood, like other succubi children of Lil, but they were not always evil, and might also trade what they took for a favor.

Azeman

The Azeman were another type of South American vampire woman. Like some Eastern counterparts, they would take on half-animal features, and were obsessed with counting, as far as to be stopped at doorways where rice was scattered.

Tlahuelpuchi

These were Mexican witches, the upper half of whose body would detach and merge with an owl to fly around and drink the blood of infants.

Many more similarities exist, but are too numerous and broad to detail. Kali, of course, bears a resemblance to Lil, and shares with her the totem flower of the rose. Tales of voracious mermaids and nixies, who would lure sailors to the depths or rocky shoals to be eaten, exist around the world. Harpies, likewise, are common themes. China and Japan have their Madame White and Lady of Snow – a beautiful and sensually-irresistible woman whose glamour hides her true form of a snake. Chinese mountain fairies, like the Celtic, would entice or seduce travelers to their ends.

It is enough to note that even in the Sixth Age of Gohira, Lil’s children are spread even unto the ends of the earth.