I have been convinced for some time Lilith plays a larger role in Gnostic cosmology than is often assumed. But something which tends to happen fairly regularly if you inhabit a similarly controversial area of the occult and mythology that I do, is that you tend to run into frustrating dead ends and buried paper trails. In few places is this more true than when it comes to Gnostic thought.
Necessary to understanding the unknowns of this area of mythology is understanding exactly how aggressive the campaign against Gnosticism really was, particularly in increasingly Catholic Europe. Cathars, for example, were rounded up and put to death as readily as any pagan, and the vast majority of Gnostic writing was burned. One can only assume any controversial writing they created pertaining to Lilith would be torched even more aggressively. Keep in mind, even much of the writing we take for granted today, such as the Nag Hammadi and Ben Sira, was completely forgotten for hundreds of years, swept beneath the sands of time. Imagine all that has been forgotten that we have never re-discovered.
And so it is within that context that we are left reaching for clarity in the gaping chasm of all that has been lost. Nonetheless, I think there is a compelling case to be made that Lilith appears in Gnostic cosmology in some very unexpected ways.
Lilith appears many times in Gnostic writing in a variety of sects, often as more of a legion. Mandaeanism, for example, has a large variety of Liliths, each with their own name.
But one particular allusion to Lilith that has always been extremely debated, and often rejected, is in the stories of Norea and Eleleth popularized by Sethian and Nicolatian thought.
The Hypostasis of the Archons tells the story of heroine Norea calling up to the heavens to free herself from unjust subjugation — sound familiar? — and being answered by the luminary Eleleth, who informs her of her divine origin that does not answer to the authorities of this world, nor the corrupt Yaldabaoth who rules it.
But what does this have to do with Lilith?
There is an eery degree of similarity between Norea and Naamah. And Birger Pearson writes quite a compelling argument that they are one and the same.
For one, there is a reasonably clear etymological path, in which Naamah, meaning “Pleasant One” in Hebrew, is translated to the Greek Horaia, or Orea, both of which occur interchangably with Norea. And like Naamah, Norea is said to be the wife of Noah.
But Norea bares many other traits of the demonized Naamah, which are mentioned in his piece. In one tale, Norea speaks of the necessity of tricking the archons through seduction in order to reclaim the stolen divine seed. This is strikingly familiar, albeit villains reversed, to Kabbalistic tales of Naamah and Lilith seducing the Watchers.
Naamah is fiery, in some tales said to be made of fire herself from the waist down. Norea likewise has a fiery ability, setting the ark ablaze with merely her breath.
At this point, this is a connection that enjoys a reasonable degree of acceptance. But I’d like to cover something a little more controversial.
Academics have debated over the years about any connection between Eleleth and Lilith. Many, currently, dismiss the idea.
To summarize Hurwitz in “Lilith: the First Eve”: “I cannot side with the hypothesis that identifies Lilith with Eleleth, because Eleleth completely lacks the characteristics that are typical of Lilith.”
But is that true?
Records of Eleleth are frustratingly scarce, but even with what little remains, there are moments of clear parallel. In the Gospel of the Egyptians, Eleleth is a complicated figure, standing apart from the other Luminaries by commanding the rule of chaos and the underworld, and seemingly responsible for overseeing the more difficult aspects of worldly life. Within Eleleth is also the wisdom, sagacity — the Sophia. As always, Lilith appears alongside hidden knowledge.
And perhaps most intriguingly to me, Eleleth directly commands Gamaliel — just like Lilith does in the Qliphot. And importantly, Naamah is said to be the daughter, or perhaps younger sister of Lilith. In many places, she is in fact referred to as “Lilith the Younger.” Eleleth is clearly an elder guide, informing Norea that her spirit is the same as theirs.
Eleleth is assumed male in many academic papers, but this is a subject of some debate, with others believing Eleleth is either female or androgynous. And one must always keep in mind that the male-dominated fields of occultism and mythology have always had a well-known and stubborn bias towards wanting to project themselves wherever they look. We have seen such projections with the female Astarte being transformed into the male Astaroth by the writers of the goetia, for example. Even in the modern era, the slow process of cutting off Baphomet’s breasts continues. It would not be at all surprising for Eleleth to have been subject to a similar spaying.
And certainly, for one of the Luminaries to be Lilith would be an extremely sacrilegious statement, flying in the face of all Abrahamic cosmology up to that point. But then again, the same could be said of the similarly bedeviled figure of Naamah being held up as the greatest human heroine of all Gnostic mythology. And so, too, is re-casting Yahweh into Yaldabaoth, corrupt and unjust tyrant who is synonymous with the Satan. Clearly, Gnostic thought never had any problem with committing such sacrilege, even to the most extreme possible extent of literally demonizing the Abrahamic god.
Sadly, I don’t think we will ever know the answer to this with absolute certainty. Somewhere beneath the towers of the Vatican is a pile of ash with the answer, perhaps.
But Eleleth bares more resemblance to Lilith than a cursory first glance would show — serving as overseer of chaos, mother and answering liberator to the rebellious Norea-Naamah, as she ascends from the shackles of worldly tyranny in a blaze of destruction, just as Lilith did in the garden of Eden.
Food for thought.