The Temptation of Legitimacy: Lilith’s Adoption and Adaption in Contemporary Feminist Spirituality and Their Meanings

Abstract

Even thousands of years later, Lilith, the demonness, still tempts many. Her image, which appears in ancient tradition as a personification of the forbidden temptation, turns up and is manifest in our time in secular, religious, spiritual, and post-secular contemporary circles1 as an alluring and relevant character. What purposes or ends does her image serve nowadays? Why is she once again referred to and appropriated? What is there about her story that has had such wide appeal to so many in the feminist movement and in various forms of alternative spiritual discourse over the past few decades? Does she represent a certain value, leadership, spiritual perception, or a certain feminist movement? To answer these questions, I would like to review how Lilith’s image is utilized in contemporary feminist spiritual discourse, and to analyze the values and ideas embodied in these appearances. I will present the different and varied ways in which Lilith’s image reappears, while attempting to understand what today’s admirers view as her unique contribution to their spiritual and/or feminist purposes. I will begin with a short review of Lilith’s image in ancient traditions, particularly the Judeo-Christian tradition.