I‘m going to post a few of your past reader comments over these last few days of April as a way of putting the X ray onto Lilith. I’ll do that for Y as well, and Z.  They will be short excerpts.

Jean Raffa: ‘Lilith seems to personify the risks one takes when choosing this path away from duality and conformity toward becoming oneself, or as Jung called it, individuation’.

Susan E. Schwartz: ‘When Lilith was banished she still exerted an influence. Even though turned into a negative figure, or they tried to distort her into this, she persisted. It speaks to the value of the one on the edge, the sidelines and the power they have nonetheless. It is a hard place to be’

Deborah Gregory: ‘Yes, I know ‘exile’ of the wild feminine well and resonate deeply as I wandered myself (allegorically) through T.S. Eliot’s Waste Land, alone, shunned, abandoning all my faith and hope … and yet without such a vexing experience I wouldn’t have felt the liberation and joy of ever entering the second half of my life. In pure synchronicity within the poem he writes, “April is the cruellest month.” ‘

Gwynn Rogers: Sadly, we see that mindset in parts of the Middle East and among some religions. Actually, if I think about it, women really have not been able to speak out for centuries.

Silvia (writes): ‘A woman (is) painted negatively enough by the patriarchy, so much so the image was ingrained in our psyche, damaging as it is to women in general’.

Deborah Weber: ‘ She may have been banished, but such treatment was never met with meekness. Brandishing righteous fire is how I love to think of Beloved Lilith, and all the courageous women embodying her spirit in our world’.

Elaine Mansfield: ‘My first philosophic teacher introduced me to the idea of daemon around 1970 as we studied Greek philosophy. He had a positive view of daemon as the inner voice that leads us in the right direction. I’ve held on to that and listened for that quiet voice. I’m always searching for a compassionate response to my demons who get out of control when I ignore their whispered needs. Who doesn’t know that sense that all possible demons have invaded and are running the show?’

LB: ‘As part of her journey, a conscious, self-aware, and intuitively tuned-in Lilith is capable of deep grief and profound remorse, and is far less likely to personally project or be exploited by opportunistic collective movements’… and in another post: ‘At her best, Lilith’s pain acts a catalyst for transforming personal suffering into empathy and compassion for others’. 

Genevive: ‘I think we must learn to acknowledge the demon, address it as it is part of our lives to be able to deal with it’

Susan E. Schwartz: ‘I always find it so intriguing that daimon is so close to demon. We all have to sit and let both seep into our souls and deal with them’… and again in another post ‘It seems the feminine is most pervasive in this story and her search is what brings consciousness. But we also need the relational balance of the masculine and that seems to be also what the myth is telling us’…

Thank you for reading and thank you for your comments!

35 Comments on A-Z X X Ray on Lilith

  1. Thank you for the reader’s quotes, Susan. And for the rich discussion, Andrea, Deborah, LB, and everyone. As bits of Lilith become clearer and more conscious to me, she remains the Blessed Lunar Darkness. Veiled, elusive, and hidden like the moon. A Goddess of the Mysteries.

    • Thanks Elaine for your comment! I like what you say … ‘Veiled, elusive, and hidden like the moon – A Goddess of the Mysteries’ ..

  2. Oh God Susan I just admired the first image; X- ray a perfect word and how well you have x rayed it. The thought of bringing all of us together making us reflect, interact and evolve continuously interesting post day after day was a brilliant job. Thank you susan for your kindness and companionship… you did not leave any one person out and I have been privileged to be part of this journey for the last 26 days. Love and Hugs to you.

    • Thank you Genevive for your very kind comment and for coming along with me and us in this journey. It has been a privilege for me I assure you 🙂 Love to you … xxx

  3. I could explore the ZOOM Conference call option with you Susan, in an email. I use ZOOM for hosting webinars, so I already have an account. If this interests you, let me know. You could contact me via email: info@ravenessences.com to discuss this further. Obviously, we’re both cognizant of the synchronicity of ‘Z/Zoom/Zooming…’ How delightful.

    • a synchronicity indeed!! I’ll email you Andrea as soon as things settle down – public holiday tomorrow May Day: (Workers Day), the rest of the week is busy so we’ll be in touch from beginning next week?

  4. Hi Susan … these XX, ZZs and YYs … will help me when I re-read … thanks for putting them up – cheers Hilary

  5. I’ve been quietly reading and savouring this entire series, Susan… and letting the sense of ‘Lilith’s presence’ settle into me more consciously. For that reason, I’ve been somewhat reticent to dive into the discussion from a familiar stance but wanted to see what rose in me as you continued to stir the pot each day.

    What has been emerging in me is a somewhat more transpersonal sense of Lilith’s role, and a less-explored dimension of our feminine role and responsibility in these times. Why is Lilith appearing in consciousness now? What is she saying? What is she signalling in each of us that is part of the emergence occurring through all of us, men and women? You have been articulating this throughout these weeks, along with all the wonderful comments so many woman have also shared.

    This may seem like a side-track, but I’ll hopefully weave this in as I explain what I’m sensing, from my corner of the landscape…

    Recently, I submitted a workshop proposal for the upcoming Parliament of Religions to be held in Toronto this fall. I listened for what I felt guided to offer and this title came singing through very clearly: Women’s Role in Earth Restoration. I’m also working on a book with the working title ‘Women – Spirit and Earth’ and as a flower essence producer, I’ve been deeply engaged with the spirits of plants, stones, waters, and ecosystems for nearly thirty years. Alongside this fascination with earth-matter, I’ve explored the realm of the deep feminine, within myself and with clients; another thread in this story is my life-long relationship with snake-energy, from my first recurring dream as a child to numerous encounters throughout my life, always at significantly numinous times.

    Here’s how this weaves into my current thoughts about Lilith…

    I speculate that Lilith is emerging now in consciousness as part of the voice of the earth, the primal, earth-wisdom that informs all indigenous teachings and dreams of every aspect of creation, including our own earth-bodies. I wonder if Lilith is rising because there is finally some glimmer of humble openness within the hearts and minds of people who love and care for creation, and are beginning to listen for what to do with their concern.

    How do we listen to the earth? How do we recognize the voice of the ‘other’, the call of the living earth as it resonates in us? We have forgotten and lost these deep listening ways in our culture; we do not trust the intuitive impulses, the sensations of informing discomfort that are reveal our particular kinship with Gaia. Yet She speaks. Whether we call her Lilith and identify with her through the myths as aspects of our feminine nature, or listen with a broader lens to her as part of the voice of the earth that has been denigrated and ignored for so long, She is gaining respect. We are becoming conscious of parts of our shared earth-legacy that She represents, not just at the personal level but also within the very psyche of the earth itself. I sense that we are just beginning to ‘hear’ and ‘feel’ her presence. The time is ripe — She is no longer content to be silent in the background any more.

    This long conversation that you have initiated, Susan, is part of a larger restorative process; what I’m suggesting is that this opening is not just for personal growth. It is not a strictly human issue. I see Lilith’s presence emerging ever more strongly in our consciousness as part of the primal nature of the earth itself. Call this energy the wisdom of creation, the intelligence of nature, or the lumen naturae (light within matter) Lilith is reappearing and must be welcomed and integrated.

    As one of her many guises, I suspect Lilith is deeply aligned with serpent energy. You mentioned this in one of the discussions. I have struggled for years to understand why ‘snake’ has been so present in my psyche and experience. It was almost humorous how frequently actual snakes would appear whenever I attended high-frequency gatherings. Others did not see the snake, but I would, so clearly I was the one that needed to get some particular message(s.)

    I am still listening for the full significance of these encounters and dreams but one thing I do know: that which has been the most feared and reviled must be respected and re-integrated. For me, snake is the most provocative metaphor of this necessity for earth restoration, and this process falls upon us as women. This is the beautiful power, the banished, ancient wisdom that has been silenced within us along with the voice of the earth that can no longer remain unspoken, unsung.

    Thank you Susan for stepping courageously into this territory, welcoming our thoughts, and holding space for the emergence of this most essential energy. I know the earth sings a little brighter from this time we’ve shared. I am most grateful.

    • I am humbled Andrea at your response. Every word and sentence is poetic, and true. Your words: ‘I wonder if Lilith is rising because there is finally some glimmer of humble openness within the hearts and minds of people who love and care for creation, and are beginning to listen for what to do with their concern’. May this be so …that we listen deeply – feel and hear what Gaia in and with her primal energy is saying to us and respond – response-ably – so that restoration takes place.

      ‘…that which has been the most feared and reviled must be respected and re-integrated…’ Your words too – powerful.

      Thank you so much Andrea – I hope so much that others come by and read your wise words. I feel re-energised, more hopeful, affirmed and grateful – and privileged to have read this …

      • Thank you so much Andrea for adding to the richness, spice and splendour of this wonderful “Lilith” series. Your inspiring words are tasty treasure and divine food for the soul. Namaste

        • Thank you for your generous comments, Deborah… I wonder if there might be a way, perhaps through a ZOOM conference call or something similar, for those of us interested in having a ‘post-Lilith’ conversation where we could be in a virtual circle at the same time would be possible. I have the sense of such a beautiful wealth of feminine energy that has been generated through this time… Probably somewhat challenging, given our global spread, but perhaps not impossible…

      • Though I may not share your sense of an emerging opening and openness, Andrea ~based on what I see and hear all around me~ I do appreciate your thoughts on the anima mundi, or the “Soul of the World.” So often in our conversations we seem to get stuck on the material and spiritual aspects of earth (and nature) while denying our connection to the lives, loves and suffering of our fellow human beings.

        There’s a one-legged homeless man who lives in my neighborhood. He grew up here and once taught at the local school, so he’s remained here, even as rising housing costs and gentrification have made it impossible for him (and many others) to find affordable housing.

        Neighbors bring him food and socks, warm jackets and clean clothes that never stay clean very long. His hair is matted and wild, his skin darkened by the sun. When it rains, we bring him tarps and rain gear. Sometimes he sleeps and relieves himself in our doorways, and we clean it up. I was sick and hadn’t been out and about for a few months. When our paths crossed again the other day, and in spite of all this, he was genuinely happy to see me, eager to ‘catch up.’

        I’m fortunate to live by the ocean. I feel God and spirit in the waves and sand, wind and rain, and in the soft rustling sound of trees swaying in the breeze. I’m emptied out and filled up by the warm scent of flowers and soft earth beneath my feet, and in the cawing of crows and the pigeons that sometimes follow me. All these bring comfort and calm. They feed and balance me and I’m blessed.

        But I also feel the pain of those who are denied these blessings, forced to live with war and bombs and in prisons, detention facilities, slums, brothels and under freeways, with violence, toxic air, soil, paint, water and words, caused and perpetuated by empire and capitalism, under oppressive conditions perpetuated by collective and personal apathy and denial. I suspect my homeless neighbor is also (unconsciously) tuned in to this disease of spirit and copes as best he can. His life and continued existence serve as a constant reminder of what it is we value.

        We keep doing the same things and supporting the same systems that got us here, always hopeful they’ll somehow bring a different result; my observations, small efforts, and conversations consistently confirm this. People want to feel good about themselves, to be happy. Most aren’t trying to hurt anyone, they’re just busy living their lives and either don’t care or don’t care enough to risk shattering their comfortable lives and illusions. Some are too busy just trying to survive.

        Sadly, I don’t share your faith in women as bringers of change, not when so many have been conditioned to believe in the false heroes and *heroines* of capitalism and empire.

        • How thoughtful of you to write, LB, with such vivid stories… Everything you say is true, and you are right in the midst of a lot of suffering. I am, I realize, in a very privileged place where I tend to attract women who are moving beyond the necessary self-centred perspective of ‘personal growth’ into a larger world view of service and interconnectedness with the anima mundi. I have been exploring this realm of ‘animate earth’ for many years in a mostly private way and what I am noticing is an increased appetite for a deeper vein of emergent wisdom…

          That said, there is much to do…

          I just read a poem by Denise Levertov called Beginners. The last lines are beautifully pertinent:

          We have only begun to know
          the power that is in us if we would join
          our solitudes in the communion of struggle.

          So much is unfolding that must
          complete its gesture,

          So much is in bud.

          Thank you for sharing your thoughts; I can feel the fullness of your heart through them.

          • We’re all called to make a difference within our small sphere of influence and to take it out into the wider world as well. Too many of us remain ‘trapped’ in our privileged worlds and don’t want to get involved. This morning my husband was listening on the radio to Imtiaz Sooliman, founder of the Gift of the Givers, talking about his approach to life and the why’s and wherefore’s. I didn’t hear him say so myself, but I gather he was saying is that love is stronger than fear or hate and to treat people as human beings – race religion nationality has nothing to do with anything – Love is the strongest force.

            The animate world or the anima mundi is what animates us – step by step –

  6. I totally love your x-ray idea Susan – and what a brilliant way to frame this entire exploration. Very nice job indeed. Your posts engender contemplation and I love how engaged your readers always are in both deepening and widening each discussion. So much goodness here!

  7. Lilith *is* the x-ray, showing us what lies beneath the surface if we dare to see. Thanks, Susan.

  9. Dear Susan, Thank you so much for sharing more rich X ray reflections and insights from the magical Garden of Eden. I agree with many of your readers, the wealth and wisdom from these wise and wonderful souls who have journeyed along has been awe-inspiring! For me this is your best EVER A-Z Challenge yet! Warm and wild blessings, Deborah xx

    • Thank you dear Deborah – the comments of those who’ve journeyed along with us have been rich, wise and wonderful indeed. I’VE learned do much – Lilith is a huge topic – now maybe a little less daunting. Warm wild wonderful wishes to you .. Susan

  13. It is interesting the insight that others have. Thank you for sharing. You are nearly done! Congratulations on the great posts for this A – Z Challenge.

  14. Thank you, Susan. This ‘x-ray’ is a wonderful way to understand Lilith more. It also precisely pinpoints what enthralls me most about blogging. It is the shared discussion that leads to a richness of understanding that we could never have reached alone.

    • I agree Donna that sharing the discussion enlarges it all so much for me as I believe it does for others.. have a great weekend and thank you!

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