Lilith and Eve ~ The Serpent in the Tree

[Zephonith Serpent Woman]

 

Many would immediately associate the serpent with notions of "evil", "temptation", and the supposed downfall of man from the grace of his God.

However, there are many Tree, Goddess and Serpent legends from all over the world which far pre-date the Biblical accounts, including those from ancient Sumer and Mayan tales relating to the World tree.  The ancient pre-Israelites worshipped the Great Goddess and the central symbol of this tradition was a snake or dragon wrapped around a pole. Does dancing around the Maypole remind one of something?

An interesting representation of the Mayan Sacred tree

This article aims to show how our ancient Goddess and Serpent Worship traditions which far preceded any male-dominated religion, have mistakenly come to be seen as evil, sinister and threatening in those areas of the modern world most affected by the patriarchy.  Let us begin, then, with the Book of Genesis~

In Genesis 1: 26-31; the first humans, Adam and Eve, are created and are living in a paradisical garden filled with songbirds and flowering, lush vegetation.

^"26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

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: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

²⁹ And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

³⁰ And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

³¹ And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."

 

All creation  here arises from the waters, which parallels other pre-patriarchal creation tales. There is no intrigue or implied mystery about this beautiful tale of creation, which in no ways denigrates women, implies inequality, or diabolizes a Serpent.

However it must be noted as an aside, that here, man is given dominion over the animals and plants. This is very different from previous Pagan traditions which worshipped and venerated Nature. Correctly, humans were meant to be the custodians and caretakers of Nature . This still marks a distinct difference between the theology of patriarchy and Pagan spirituality;  in that to the patriarchy, Nature is to be used, abused and “ruled over”, whereas Nature-based Pagans practice exactly the opposite, working with rather than against Nature and all living things.

 

In this first version,the serpent co-exists happily with the couple, who were created simultaneously by the Elohim, a plural Name indicating more than one or two Divinities.

(In earlier Jewish texts, which obviously form the basis for the Old Testament, and were derived from many various Pagan contemporary sources; Lilith and Samael are the first human created by the Elohim. They were created as an Androgyne, as it says of Eve and Adam; “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

This is a spiritual androgyny, and can be described as a harmonious fusion of polar opposites, as we see within the Yin-Yang symbol. 

Then, in the earlier pre-biblical version,  Jahweh literally saws the Androgyne in half and Lilith, the female half, is banished, while the other half, Samael, now becomes Adam, for whom a suitable, docile and subservient help-meet must be found.

(Here, the concept of Dualism, which is the unnatural separation of male and female energies and their division into a "good" and "evil", constantly opposed to one another, is introduced very early on in the Bible)

By the time that it was ready to go to press , the above tale had been completely wiped from the ingredients list of abridged Pagan tales that were to make up the Old Testament. However, unable to completely write Lilith out of their history, and needing a villain for the Biblical second version of the creation story; Lilith was made the Serpent in the Sacred Tree which was now known as “The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil”; “evil” of course being anything whatsoever not Jahwist or Christian.

Even later on in Biblical mythology, the Christians would associate Samael, or their Satan, as the serpent in the tree. I guess that even the villain had to be a strong, powerful male deity as to completely erase any notion of a previous Matrifocal society and the veneration of a more powerful female Divinity ?

Thus, a second tale had to be inserted into the text which would have the effect of completely demonizing women, establishing differences between sexes, entrenching inequality and creating a false misconception in the minds of the people, that anything associated with Pagan spirituality was as evil as their devil .

In this second and revised myth of creation; the order of creation is suddenly different. Land comes first, followed by water, followed by MAN. Then, after all and every creature had been created by a single, all-powerful male deity first, "the woman" was born.

This second version is a handed down, recounted tale from earlier Hebrew mythology in which Lilith and Adam were created first by Jahweh as male and female, not androgynous this time but separately, with Adam given preference. When Lilith will not obey Jahweh’s orders to  lie beneath Adam in the missionary position all the time while having sex, and insists on equality with Adam as they were created simultaneously, this is not acceptable to Adam or his creator.

This was enough for Jahweh to want to banish Lilith from the garden. Somehow, though, in an as yet unexplained twist to the tale, Lilith comes to possess the Name of Power or Ineffable Name, which seems to be similar to the Tablet of Destiny once possessed by Jahweh’s distant archetype, the Annunaki God Enlil.

 Lilith, as Anzu did in a much earlier patriarchal tale, flies away with the Words of Power. Powerless to stop Lilith from leaving in defiance of his chauvinist policies, Jahweh sends his angels to attempt unsuccessfully to bring the Goddess back, to kneel at his feet and meekly accept male dominance . The rest is his-story!

It is an undeniable fact that much of the Old Testament was taken from ancient mythology and reworked to suit the new religion. For example (and there are many such examples); Enlil is one of the most powerful of the First Gods and is wed to the Goddess Ninlil. The Name Ninlil is very close to the Name of Lilith, and this seems to have been carried through to the very early pre-Israelite legends which infer that Jahweh, who was directly modelled on the said characteristics of Enlil, was wed to Lilith.

Although Enlil was taken as the model for the new patriarchal deity, only the more supposed destructive and vindictive character traits attributed to Enlil are highlighted and greatly over-exaggerated, to “make” Jahweh.

Enlil is actually the Enforcer of the Ruling Council’s decrees; and is a good example of Pagan Divinities being “tailored” to suit the new religions. Thus, Enlil became Jahweh, the jealous and cruel deity of the Bible. Lilith, the Great Goddess of Death and Love was “altered” by these selfsame patriarchal authors and editors of the Old Testament to become the evil woman who is supposed to be intent on ruining all men’s lives and murdering their babies. ~

 

Anyhow, back to the revised, official second tale of creation.

^“4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,

⁵ And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.

⁶ But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

⁷ And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

⁸ And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

⁹ And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁰ And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

¹¹ The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

¹² And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

¹³ And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

¹⁴ And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

¹⁵ And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

¹⁷ But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

¹⁸ And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

¹⁹ And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

²⁰ And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

²¹ And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

²² And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

²³ And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

 

The reader will note that in this second version, not only has the order of creation changed, placing Adam third only in order and Eve stone last; but instead of being created simultaneously as in the first version, Eve is fashioned from one of Adam’s spare ribs.

This was done to disguise the original Divine status of Eve and Lilith and to thereby reinforce the concept of male superiority over women on all levels, which goes hand in hand with the supposed domination of these new religions over the Goddess. Let’s have closer look at how this false and twisted story continues in the Bible in the Book of Genesis, Chapter 3 :

“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die. ”

 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

 

 Note : Originally, the Serpent is the gateway to spiritual initiation amongst Pagan Traditions. Suddenly, this ancient spiritual practice was to be avoided at all costs, out of fear, because “god” says so.

 

So when the woman saw that the tree was  good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

 

Note : Skyclad worship of the Goddess is an ancient Pagan tradition, which now becomes “shameful” according to this story. The allegory of being naked refers to a state of innocence and purity, of being at one with Nature. This the patriarchal writers want to destroy as to remove people from Source and our ancient ancestral traditions.

 

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

And He said, “Who told you that you were  naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”

Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said,“The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

 

Note : Fear begets fear. This devastating passage firstly implies that Adam is the “innocent” deceived by the “bad” woman, and thus infers that Adam is weak-willed and easily influenced against his will. Secondly, the blame is put squarely on Eve, suggesting the inherent “weakness and deceit” of women from that time onwards. And the Serpent, the Goddess and Pagan symbol of Wisdom and spiritual enlightenment?

 

So the Lord God said to the serpent:

“Because you have done this,

You are cursed more than all cattle,

And more than every beast of the field;

On your belly you shall go,

And you shall eat dust

All the days of your life.

 And I will put enmity

Between you and the woman,

And between your seed and her Seed;

He shall bruise your head,

And you shall bruise His heel.”

 

Note: Thus, the Patriarchs tried to create a lasting enmity between Women and themselves, the Inner Kundalini ; and a fear-based barrier between people and our Ancient Pagan spirituality.

To the woman He said:

“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;

In pain you shall bring forth children;

Your desire shall be for your husband,

And he shall rule over you.” (Shades of Grey?)

 

Note: In a few words, the Equality between men and women was broken. Men were now to RULE over women, and , the age-old bond between women and the Serpent, which especially included the knowledge required to give birth painlessly, was severed. (At least, some women still know that practising the sacred Art of Belly Dancing prepares the body for a painless birth process and a speedy recovery )

 

Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:

“Cursed is the ground for your sake;

 In toil you shall eat of it

All the days of your life.

Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,

And you shall eat the herb of the field.

In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread

Till you return to the ground,

For out of it you were taken;

For dust you are,

And to dust you shall return.”

And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living."

 

Note : At least Adam still saw that Eve, Hawwah, is the Mother of all Living. The slavery and cursed part? Now just look around you at how the world is run nowadays. No more do the vast majority of people work for Divinity, which is how our ancestors worshipped the Goddess and God; man has become a virtual slave to the Church and State. A slave animal, tricked into a lifetime of bondage to controlling religious interests.

 The first words from Jahweh’s mouth are a lie, as the Serpent quite correctly points out ; as if anyone eats of the “forbidden” Tree of Knowledge they would not die but receive spiritual enlightenment in the Ways of the Ancestors. This sacred knowledge is at the very root of the problem, as Jahweh does not wish for Adam to have access to the magical knowledge which would make him God’s equal. He places Adam as a guard , to keep the Tree’s innermost secrets  from  being exposed to anyone else .

This jealous reserve on ancient wisdom is a characteristic of the male Gods throughout historical mythology. First, Enlil is threatened by Anzu’s appropriation of the Tablets of Destiny. Even Enki is waylaid by a resourceful Inanna who lifts his secret formulas for Her own use, and both Isis and Lilith obtain through various means, the Name of Power from the corrupt male Gods.

 (Now who will be able to open up the secret Vatican libraries to the public for all to see? What is so jealously guarded within those secure and guarded walls, one has to wonder, for these plundered Pagan Sacred Texts to be so vociferously hidden away from the people? )

The death which is so feared by patriarchy, was originally meant to symbolize a spiritual ascension after an initiation into the mysteries. In ancient initiation ceremonies, the applicant had to die a symbolic death before being admitted, thus shedding her/his “skin”, ie the superficial outer attachments which impede spiritual advancement before becoming  a full member of the cult or tradition and walking the road to enlightenment. The serpent says to Eve, , “Thou shalt surely not die, but your eyes will be opened”

 

 It must be remembered that the Serpent was central to Goddess worship, which these religionists wanted to stamp out at all costs..

It is interesting to note that the Serpent in the Tree was thought of by the early Jewish writers to have been a Winged Serpent.

The Winged Serpent, or Dragon is first a symbol of the Goddess and of Nature-based Pagan spirituality.

 

So, who exactly is the Serpent in the Tree?

 

In ancient times, the Agathadaemon, or beneficial, guiding Spirit equivalent to the Guardian Angel or Djinn of every single human being, was depicted as a snake.

Thus, the snake that inhabits the Sacred Tree, Eve,  is Lilith! And Lilith is Eve’s Agathadaemon Herself.

The Name Eve comes from the Semitic Name Hawwah, which is the same as the Greek word, Hokhmah, the term for Wisdom, or Sophia. Further to this, the early Gnostics equated the instructor serpent(Genius, Djinn, Agathodaemon) with the words, hewya or hawa.

Lilith is known as the Jenneia of Jenneias, the Mother of all Genii and thus of Wisdom.

Thus Lilith the Serpent is the Inner Eve; and Eve or Hawwah is the creator of Jahweh.

In other words, the whole of Genesis story is a propaganda attempt by the Patriarchy to cover-up for Jahweh’s rebellion against his Mother, Eve, and Her Holy Guardian Serpent, the Great Goddess Lilith.

Now we will notice that the Serpent is inextricably entwined within the Tree. The liars will tell you that the serpent is evil, and tried to surpass God himself by ascending to the crown of the Tree.

Yet, if the truth be known, Eve, or Sophia, IS the Tree, and Lilith, Her Higher Self and Guardian Spirit! Also inseparable despite all the lies to the contrary; and ONE and the Same.

The Tree and  Serpent Goddess sisters, one Dark and the other Light ~, Lilith and Eve, live on in the Caduceus symbol which has survived somehow as a lasting testament to the glorious Ophite past and the Divine Feminine despite centuries of interference .

The rod, or staff, represents the Tree. The Serpents wind around the central Tree, which branches into Wings of Enlightenment or spiritual ascension.

The Jewish religionists even stole the name of the Great Mother and made it masculine.

Hawwah thus became Jahweh, and with this, the illusion of male dominated religions became real in the minds of the people. In the same way, Zeus and even Jahweh himself were portrayed as Serpents; however, this was a clever patriarchal scheme , to take over the symbolism of the Goddess and justify their new-found authority over the spiritual life of human beings. And how it has worked!  The Tau cross has become an instrument of torture, let’s not forget.

By later on dropping the appropriated serpent symbolism attached to their new gods and diabolizing the serpent; these patriarchs did one very damaging thing.

As the beneficial guiding Spirit is a Serpent; and people have been brainwashed into seeing all serpents and by association the Divine Feminine as “evil”; they have removed these people completely from their Inner Selves and from the Truth. That is why the people were gradually removed from Goddess spirituality ~ to become helpless subjects to a religious mechanism which enslaves people and removes them from themselves and Mother Nature.

Note that the head of Medusa, her name deriving from Medha, meaning, “Wisdom”, is often shown with wings adjoining Her serpent hair.

If one replaces Medusa’s actual face from the picture with a Disc or Globe, what do we get?

The same as if one had to do this to some portrayals of Ereshkigal ~ yes, a Caduceus!

Now, how do we read the classic tale of Inanna, or Sophia, with our new-found knowledge? As Inanna descends through the Chakra gates, She reaches the Winged presence of Her SISTER, Ereshkigal, also known as Lilith; who does not “torture” Her, but assists her Sister and helps Her on the path to enlightenment. These tales have the common thread of initiation into the Mysteries woven through them all.

The moral of the story?

Never allow anyone to remove you from yourself.

We are the Tree; and so the Ancient Serpent Goddess lives within us All.

Namaste

 

[L. Love]

What a read!!! And so much of this just sits so right within me Zeph!  Thank you honey, thank you!  For taking time to share and write this for us all.  Love and blessings :)

[Zephonith Serpent Woman]

A pleasure, friends :)

The identification of the Serpent as totally evil only came about as a fundamental misinterpretation of the symbolism and true meanings of the Serpent. This was deliberate, as the Serpent and Dragon are prime Pagan Goddess symbols.

The easiest thing to do, to legitimise their new ideas of Dualism, was for the patriarchy to thoroughly demonise anything to do with the Goddess and the Serpent.

In ancient cosmologies, the Serpent is the Milky Way; and really symbolises the deep , "Dark" secrets of the Earth.

Chinese people still refer to the Dragon as simply, Mother Earth.

Thanks for the nice comments, it is really much appreciated :)

BB xxx

[Zephonith Serpent Woman]

Greetings, Anubis

Sincere apologies for not replying sooner. Those tattoos sound out-of-this-world;), and I wouldn't mind having similar ones done myself ~ because of the symbolism. I don't suppose you would show them off ?(I would love to see your work)

The Cobra is the symbol for Goddess. Actually, many Goddesses originally manifested as Cobras, including Wadjet; Isis; Serquet; Nephthys and Sekhmet.

Lilith, our Goddess ,  also manifests in Cobra form, or as with Ma'at or Isis, often with a serpentine lower body and is known as one of earliest Semitic snake spirits.

Snake fanged Goddesses were now to be classified as evil, bloodsucking demons, instead of being venerated as Serpent Spirits.Consequent to the rise of patriarchy  the Goddess was  associated with vampires. This was also done to Kali and Melusine, in similar fashion.

There is considerable meaning and deeper interpretations of the Cobra in metaphysical terms. The twin serpents , often shown entwined in ancient art, symbolise the DNA strand of humans, as well as the union between complementary polar opposites, the Yin and Yang energy currents which circulate within our bodies. So your wise choice of colours for the twin Cobras are based on the Yin and Yang; Goddess and God.

The Cobra is the Protector Goddess, the Serpent of Wisdom, and a profound symbolic expression of the very life force of the living Universe .

One of the symbols for the ancient Cobra Goddess Wadjet, the Green One; is a serpent entwined around the stem of a papyrus plant. 

 

)O(<O>>>)O( 

[Zephonith Serpent Woman]

Lilith is the first Snake Spirit, while Na'amah and Al'lat are aspects of Lilith in the Middle Orient.

The Caduceus of Owl and Cobras usually signifies Wisdom gained through knowledge of the shadow, or Inner Self. This is balanced by the solar symbolism of Eagle and Serpent.

The union of Serpent and Winged bird is the ancient symbol of Enlightenment, the Dragon, or Feathered, Winged Serpent.

Blessings and Namaste

[Zephonith Serpent Woman]

Thank you, Anubis.

The Tree of Wisdom and the Owl, or Zu bird ~ Phoenix and Serpent that live in the crown of the tree and by it's deep roots respectively are central to the Divine Feminine and Lilith herstory.

Namaste and Blessed Be )O( 

[Daniel Mantis]

I’m enjoying this again for another read. Belly dance for aiding pregnancy is really fascinating, whether not always as known of and neat for those to get into. – For being raised with the unkind views against serpents and the feminine, this is immensely enlightening to reflect on again, reclaiming the divine wisdom in love and beauty, and without those old religious troubles. Thanks for the great posts Zephonith! ~ Daniel

[Zephonith Serpent Woman]

Thanks for referring to them as old Religious troubles, Daniel.

One must remember that the individuals who wrote these texts identified the Divine Feminine and Pagan spirituality as evil. Nowadays, even though the stigma and bias against the Goddess and Serpents has lessened because people are exposed to the Truth and can make up their own minds, having access to all the free information on the www; there are a lot of people who still very much associate the Goddess and especially the Dark Goddesses and Crone Goddesses as being evil, on the Devil's side, and somehow anti- against - somehow- the Christ! 

These associations come from being taught from a formative stage of childhood onwards that the Goddess, the Dragon and Serpent, and all that has to do with the old Goddess religions is of the Devil. The deliberate confusion of Pagan Deities and Divinities with the Devil by the Churches has caused much unnecessary pain and suffering wherever in the world these teachings were accepted by the majority of people.

When one mentions the Name of Lilith, Medusa, Hekate or Lucifer- what happens?

Yet, these are our Divinities and DO NOT BELONG elsewhere.We reclaim Lilith and we reclaim all Ten Thousand Names of the Great Mother!

 I always make myself crystal clear on this point. There was no concept of a Devil in Goddess thealogy, ever, nor will there ever be .

The God of Nature, of the Sun and The Moon, is not the Biblical Devil.

Now everyone is entitled to their own beliefs- the Goddess does not choose between her children; however all that we ask is that all discriminatory passages - rather, specific naming, such as the words, "Pagan"; Witch and any and all specific Names of our Divinities be removed from these Holy Books; and that the Devil, if it has to still feature so prominently within these Religions, be completely and publicly dissociated from Goddess spirituality in the official view of these Religions. We do not dispute the right of anyone to freedom of religion and spirituality, nor the validity of all Paths and Traditions.If people want the Devil, then they are welcome to their rights too, and no-one can dispute that choice.

All the Divine Feminine asks is equal billing; and an end to totally unnecessary discrimination against Women's spirituality and the sacred creatures of the Goddess. Is this too much to ask?

Because the time has come for false teachings to be stopped and the people want the Truth, instead. We truly need to be reclaiming our lost ancestral heritage so that we can have future worth living for. .

The main cardinal values of Goddess are easy to remember.

Love, Joy, Peace, Truth, Compassion, Forgiveness and Understanding.

No-one can be blamed for what people did centuries ago. To hold bitterness and vengeance in one's heart is like poisoning oneself, and as Nature lovers of all types we definitely have priorities considering the state the environment is in rather than practicing the same discrimination which was invented by a few to control the many through fear..

The Truth is higher than any Religion and must be revealed for all to experience in their own way. In this way, healing can occur among formerly divided peoples and we can all move forward and focus on what is actually very important - more so than many realize..