The Western Gate

Lilith:A Novel
Nikki Marmery
Legend Press

I don’t tend to read much ‘fiction’, though I don’t include folk tales, nor Fae, or myths and legends in that category, to be fair I guess my whole library of esoteric and occult tomes could all be considered in some quarters as ‘fiction.’

Lilith:A Novel, could be called a contemporary Myth/Legend/Tale, though based on a much older premise.
Lilith appears in oft overlooked and forgotten Biblical texts, she was the first ‘wife’ of Adam, who in terms most repeated refused to lie beneath him, and disobeyed! Seen as a dominatrix type figure for us drooling men, though more point of fact a matriarch.
This book begins, and displays her, more as a non threatening, likeable and amicable woman, no red headed firebrand towering over the cowering Adam as she grinds herself into the quivering subservient slave beneath her. Lilith, in this book, becomes dissatisfied with Adam, who wants to make silly weapons and wants to lay down the law and believes ‘she’ should be more obedient and know her place.
I could summarise each passage of the tale but I’m not going to, it’d be an injustice. It’s a book I wasn’t expecting much of, maybe a browse here, a little flick through and return at a later date, instead I found myself reading the whole thing in one sitting (distractions and necessities aside).
The story of Lilith passes through the Garden of Eden, to meeting Samael- Angel of Death, onto the search for Innana- Ashera, to Noah and then King Ahab and onwards! It would spoil if I gave you the map of what’s happening.
If there was nuclear oblivion on Earth and some survivors sought to recall the old religions, and why would they? lets hope this book finds its way into the new Bible, even as apocrypha. It deserves to be, it really does.
Is it another of those ‘feminist’ man hating books? Feminism is about being equal and I’m of the opinion we are not equal, in fact I believe we should live in a matriarchy, mum knows best. The Abrahamic faith of course views this opinion as an abomination, it’s last prophet declaring “cursed is he that places woman above a man”, as long as the patriarchy, boardrooms and phallic missile waving bullies reign, this viewpoint will stand. In many respects it is a shame that books become labelled as feminist therefore leftfield therefore alternative/woke/protest etc but that’s more the fault of the ignorant than the weight of the content.

The world needs our feminine, we need the Goddess.

I never understood or felt the God we learnt at school, this beast who toyed with mankind like a child with toy soldiers, testing, trials, subject to laws and eternal damnation for an eyeblinks existence, an existence which may not have panned out due to environment or situation. It is a cruel God, a vile concept. I trusted my mother, my sisters, my daughter, my wife.

Lilith: A. Novel, does more than guide you through the life of the archetypal ‘fallen feminine’ which itself is a beautiful read, it conjours images and thoughts, and more, raises those words that can crush empires, ‘why’ and ‘if’.
I feel Lilith, I understand Asherah, I side with the serpent. There is another side to the Goddess which is known as nature, it exists in equilibrium and balance, some call her Lakshmi or Maat, nothing is higher or can subject her to his will for she exists as harmony, to oppose will only bring chaos to bear for the traveller who would wield the whip to tame her. Others call this ‘equilibrium and balance’ by another name- love. Love demands naught. It does not test or lay down laws, condemn or belittle. Which God do you serve? What does your heart say ? Yes! Defy him ! take from the tree, for its fruit is bound by the kiss of the sun and the nurturing of the moon. You shall not die, and eternity lies in the blink of the eye.

The book ends with Lilith and Mary Magdalene. I am reminded of the time I visited a huge religious store in Sicily, it sold every type of regalia, reliquary and saint statue this or that. A grovelling salesman approached me, rubbing his tax collecting hands together like Uriah heap and knowing soon I was English asked if there was anything he could help me with. “Yes”, I said,” I’m looking for a statue of Mary Magdalene.” He stood bolt upright and offended, and told me in no uncertain terms they did not sell ‘that’ in this shop.

The problem with man and woman is eternal as dynamism and peace, of God and the Devil. Where Woman seeks to multiply in the interests of all being as one, Man seeks to divide until there is only one, himself. There is universal dynamism…..And peace be unto our Goddess, that this analogy is only a blanket judgement.

Lilith (1887) Oil On Canvas ~ John Collier