Weird Mythology for Weird People

One of the earliest definite mentions of Azazel was in the Book of Enoch, particularly in what is known as The Book of the Watchers. This text, written between the 3rd and 1st century BCE, is a part of the Dead Sea Scrolls and is not considered canon by most modern day denominations but the characters and stories in this text remain a popular source of intrigue even to this day. In Enoch, we are told of the Grigori (Watchers) who were a group of 200 angels in charge of, you guessed it, watching mankind. In the process of watching humanity, they began to notice the “beautiful and comely daughters” of mankind and were overcome with lust for these women. Collectively, they agreed to take wives and father children but their leader Semjaza expressed concern that some of his men would back out. In an effort to guarantee that he would not be the only one commit this great sin, they all took an oath on Mt. Hermon, binding themselves ‘by mutual imprecations.’ Of the 200 Grigori, there were 20 leaders, with Semjaza holding the highest rank. The second highest rank went to Azazel who taught mankind how to make weapons and use cosmetics (get yourself an angel who can do both!)

Each of the Watchers taught humanity different ‘secrets of heaven’, which ended up being subjects like astrology, meteorology, and various practices considered ‘witchcraft’ in those times. However, some of them taught subjects still considered taboo in certain cultures. Tamiel, also called Kasdeja, for instance, was said to have taught women about abortion. Each of the Watchers also slept with mortal women and fathered monstrous giants called Nephilim. The Nephilim were said to be 3000 ells high, which is a little more than 2 miles tall. They were ravenous, even cannibalistic. When the labors of humanity could no longer keep up with the Nephilim’s appetites, the Nephilim turned on humanity, devouring man, animal, and each other. Those who were killed by the deeds of the Watchers arrived in heaven and brought God’s attention to destruction on Earth. To combat the devastation brought on by the Watchers, God sent he archangels. Uriel was told to warn Noah of the upcoming flood. Gabriel was in charge of killing the “bastards and the reprobates” as well as the Nephilim. He was instructed to pit them against each other while Michael bound Semjaza and the rest of the Watchers so that they could see their son’s rip each other apart. But God specifically set out an individual punishment for Azazel. “The Lord said to Raphael: 'Bind Azazel hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dudael, and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there forever, and cover his face that he may not see light. And on the day of the great judgement he shall be cast into the fire.” He further adds “the whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin.'

Art: Azazel by Peter Mohrbacher ( @bugmeyer ) for his work, Book of the Watchers. 

This is the last and final post on the wives of Samael!

 Before, in the post about Eisheth Zenunim, I mentioned how she wasn’t always mentioned with her fellow Queens and I think that might be because some of these myths DON’T consider her as one of the Queens. Instead, They list Mahalath as a wife of Samael. In the last post I said that Moses Cordovero listed Mahalath as a consort of Samael and possibly as the younger Lilith character. So, who is she? In the bible, she is the daughter of Ishmael (the first son of Abraham) and a wife of Esau. Kabbalist texts expand on her story. Ishmael’s mother, Hagar, married him to the daughter of Kasdiel, an Egyptian sorcerer. Ishmael’s father objected to this marriage and they were soon divorced, but not before they conceived a child. The wife was sent back into the desert where she gave birth to a daughter named Mahalath. They roamed the desert for years until Mahalath, now a beautiful woman, caught the eye of the demon Igrathiel. She became pregnant by this demon and gave birth to her daughter, Igrat (Agrat). She then marries Esau but it’s assumed that didn’t work out either and she became a Queen of Hell. (#goals ) Which brings us to my favorite segment: Making Connections That May or May Not Have Any Relevance But Are Fun Anyway! (We’ll come up with a catchier title later). If Mahalath is “Lilith the Younger”, that would make her the wife of Asmodeus. Asmodeus, as mentioned before, was captured by King Solomon. King Solomon’s heir was his son Rehoboam. Rehoboam had a wife named Mahalath (possibly the same character). The mother of Rehoboam was named Naamah, the same name as the 2nd wife of Samael, the mother of Asmodeus! 

(I’ll be doing a few posts about Lilith.)

Let me start off my saying that not only is t(I’his in no way the entirety of information on Lilith but that, with such a vast amount of myths that cross and often blur the borders of belief systems, it wouldn’t be possible to go into detail about every aspect of this mythological character. But lets see if we can’t still discuss a few things about this badass (yet horrendous) woman. Lilith is connected to numerous beings throughout mythology, including Lamashtu (Mesopotamian), Ninlil (Sumerian), and Kali (Hindu). She is also associated with/possibly originates from the incubi and succubi classes of ancient Middle Eastern religions which were known as Lillu, Lilitu, Ardat Lili, and Irdu Lili. A lot of these associations deal with illnesses and death caused to expectant mothers and young children which is a theme that is often touched upon in later folklore involving Lilith. I’ve seen many different interpretations of her name but all have something to do with “night”. It could mean “Night monster”  or “of the night”. The general idea here is that she is a seductress that is active at night. 

Many people come to understand Lilith as Adam’s first wife. This belief, though not actually found the Bible, the Talmud, or the Midrash, comes from the Alphabet of Ben Sira (dated between 800-1000 CE). The text is considered satirical and plays on the creation story of the Bible where it’s stated that god created man and woman simultaneously (Gen 5:2). In the story, Lilith is made from the same dirt in which Adam was made. Adam, wanting her to be subservient, demanded that Lilith be on the bottom during love making. Lilith rejects this idea saying “We are both equal because we come from the earth.” In their disagreement, Lilith speaks God’s ineffable name and runs off. Adam turns to God who dispatches 3 angels (Sanoy, Sansenoy, and Samangelof) to return her to Adam along with the threat that 100 of her children will die each day as a consequence of her disobedience. When they find her, she refuses, saying “Leave me alone! I was only created in order to sicken babies: if they are boys, from birth to day eight I will have power over them; if they are girls, from birth to day twenty.” The angels threaten to drown her. Out of fear for her life, she agrees to do no harm to any child wearing an amulet with the names of the 3 angels on it. It’s possible that the term ‘lullaby’ comes from the phrase “Lilla abi” which means “Lilith begone” but most sources trace the word to “Lull”