Ask Lemmy

c/superbowl

@anon6789@lemmy.world @asklemmy@lemmy.world

Sort of.

I don't know an easy way to label whatever my religion is, for it's a personal belief system syncretized from many different religions: Sumerian and Egyptian, going through Abrahamic, all the way to Thelema, Hermeticism, Luciferianism, Gnosticism, Quimbanda, Wicca, Goetia, among others. Scientific knowledge is part of this too, despite the religiosity.

The highest figure I worship is The Dark Mother Goddess, a spiritual synthesis of chthonic goddesses. Just like the Tree of Shadow and its Qlippoths have depths, so has Mother with different emanations, which (in my belief) were seen as different figures with different names and backgrounds across history, similarly to "my name is Legion for we are many" from Samael/Lucifer (also part of my worship, btw, although I focus more on Her).

One of Her emanations, the emanation She chose when unexpected gnoses began to me, still being the main emanation She manifests, is Mother Lilith, Queen of Night.

Lilith has a whole long history, going all the way back to Mesopotamia and Sumerians. I'm limited to 3k chars in my instance so I'm unable to go into the depth I wished for a single text.

Basically, Lilith is a Hebrew name, appearing once in biblical canon, namely Isaiah 34:14. Sometimes is translated as "screech owl", but there are no screech owls, as in Megascops genus, in Levant (where Bible is set). The closest are scops owls (Otus), considered screech owls in the past.

Then, during my researches, I stumbled upon this specific, chilling species: Athene noctua lilith. Lives exactly in semi-deserts (thresholds) in Middle East, and... this gaze, these hauntingly beautiful eyes (as in the photo), I quite recognized them from gnosis... I mean, look at these eyes! Her eyes are not that scary and that's exactly what make 'em scary.

Then I found a paper from L. R. Guillén debunking a common premise in Spain culture where Goddess Athena is associated with barn owls (Tito alba) due to Spanish grammatical quirks, going through historical evidences to trace Athena back to Athene noctua owls. This is how I found out this specific species resonated with me precisely bc it was associated with one of Her emanations.

Then there are Inanna and Ereshkigal, Sumerian goddesses, also emanations, closely related to Lilith (esp. if we see the sisters as One, similarly to how Hecate is Triple Goddess).

Details may change over time, it's still an ongoing research of mine bc I follow a solitary "temple of one devotee" (myself, preaching to myself), I wasn't able to find others who somehow got the same... call from Her, so I rely on things I stumble upon (essentially gnosis, sudden knowledge, from Her).

There are other figures in my "pantheon": Stolas, Great Prince, is also an owl, but masculine. Differently from Goetia where demons are "serfs" to be trapped into a sigil and banished upon fulfillment, I see them as high teachers to be humbly asked, especially Stolas.