Lilith

Lilith, in ancient Jewish and Kabbalistic traditions, is considered the first woman created from the same earth as Adam, making her his equal partner in creation. She refused to submit to him in intercourse, demanding equality, and pronounced the Greatest Name of God, which granted her supernatural power to fly away from the Garden of Eden toward the Red Sea of Demons. There, in dark caves, she joined demons and fallen angels, becoming a symbol of female rebellion and independence from patriarchal male authority, as recounted in the Alphabet of Ben Sira from the 8th century.

Lilith is typically depicted as a beautiful woman with long flowing black hair, piercing red or black eyes, and wings resembling bat or bird of prey wings, symbolizing her freedom and nocturnal movement. Often shown naked or in light garments, surrounded by snakes or owls, symbols of seduction, darkness, and forbidden knowledge. In Kabbalistic texts like the Zohar, she is associated with purple or black, portrayed as a succubus seducing men in dreams, causing nocturnal emissions that birth demons. Her cloven feet or hooves indicate her hybrid nature between human and beastly, while the crescent moon above her head reflects her connection to the new moon and wild feminine cycles.

Lilith became mother of the Lilim, an army of demons who attack newborns and sleeping men, especially during the new moon when her power peaks. In Ashkenazi Jewish folklore, amulets bearing the names of angels Senoy, Sansenoy, and Semangelof are used to ward off her assaults, inscribed on cradle posts. In Kabbalah, she represents the evil shell (Qliphoth) on the Tree of Life, embodiment of untamed desires and primordial chaos. Her worship in modern culture, especially in Wicca and feminism, celebrates female empowerment and sexual freedom, transforming her image from villain to liberation icon, with nighttime rituals involving nude dance and meditation on her fertile-destructive power.