I get an uneasy feeling that there's been a lot that's of dubious value to astrology written about Black Moon Lilith.
Black Moon Lilith is a mathematical point in an astrological chart - the point at which the Moon is at its farthest from the Earth - known as the Moon's "apogee". I can accept the notion that this may well be a sensitive point in a natal or other type of chart, in the same way the angles, Vertex and Moon's Nodes are sensitive points. Anything more than that, for me, is nebulous at best.
There are two ways of calculating BML - its True position and its Mean position. Some software uses one, and some the other. This adds further room for doubt about somewhat iffy cookbook type interpretations assigned to the Black Moon. Most of these seem to be based purely on mythology.
Even more confusion can arise unless it is realised that other celestial bodies also bear the name Lilith. There's an asteroid called Lilith, as well as a hypothetical and contraversial second Moon of Earth, often referred to as Dark Moon Lilith.
The astrological glyph for Black Moon Lilith (the Moon's apogee) is a thick black crescent Moon atop a cross. Asteroid Lilith has a different glyph which looks like a four-pronged fork with a tick at the right hand side of its base.
There's a brief and clear explanation of all three Liliths at Horoscopeschat
Astrologers who use BML seem to consider its significance to be somewhat negative, based purely on the mythical name it bears. "Lilith" - a storm demon, prostitute goddess.... name anything female and negative, and Lilith is it! I'm sticking to my theory that Black Moon Lilith is simply another sensitive point in the chart. Mythology? Bah humbug!
"Lilith is a female Mesopotamian night demon believed to harm male children. In Isaiah 34:14, Lilith is a kind of night-demon or animal, translated as onokentauros; in the Septuagint, as lamia; "witch" by Hieronymus of Cardia; and as screech owl in the King James Version of the Bible. In the Talmud and Midrash, Lilith appears as a night demon. She is often identified as the first wife of Adam and sometimes thought to be the mother of all incubi and succubi, a legend that arose in the Middle Ages ".
From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilith)
Black Moon Lilith in my own natal chart lies in Aquarius, with my Sun (early or late depending on True or Mean version). The early version is only 2* from my Sun, the later version is 1* from my relocated ascendant, so BML has followed me around! I'm not, and have never been, anything like a storm demon, night demon, femme fatale, or prostitute goddess, I promise! But the fact that BML is close to my natal Sun might have added to the intensity of effects I experienced when Uranus and Neptune visited my Aquarian Sun in the recent past.
There's an ephemeris showing True and Mean positions of Black Moon Lilith in the 20th century, courtesy of Chris Mitchell ........ ephemeris HERE
Illustration from: http://www.light1998.com/lilith-old.jpg
Black Moon Lilith is a mathematical point in an astrological chart - the point at which the Moon is at its farthest from the Earth - known as the Moon's "apogee". I can accept the notion that this may well be a sensitive point in a natal or other type of chart, in the same way the angles, Vertex and Moon's Nodes are sensitive points. Anything more than that, for me, is nebulous at best.
There are two ways of calculating BML - its True position and its Mean position. Some software uses one, and some the other. This adds further room for doubt about somewhat iffy cookbook type interpretations assigned to the Black Moon. Most of these seem to be based purely on mythology.
Even more confusion can arise unless it is realised that other celestial bodies also bear the name Lilith. There's an asteroid called Lilith, as well as a hypothetical and contraversial second Moon of Earth, often referred to as Dark Moon Lilith.
The astrological glyph for Black Moon Lilith (the Moon's apogee) is a thick black crescent Moon atop a cross. Asteroid Lilith has a different glyph which looks like a four-pronged fork with a tick at the right hand side of its base.
There's a brief and clear explanation of all three Liliths at Horoscopeschat
Astrologers who use BML seem to consider its significance to be somewhat negative, based purely on the mythical name it bears. "Lilith" - a storm demon, prostitute goddess.... name anything female and negative, and Lilith is it! I'm sticking to my theory that Black Moon Lilith is simply another sensitive point in the chart. Mythology? Bah humbug!
"Lilith is a female Mesopotamian night demon believed to harm male children. In Isaiah 34:14, Lilith is a kind of night-demon or animal, translated as onokentauros; in the Septuagint, as lamia; "witch" by Hieronymus of Cardia; and as screech owl in the King James Version of the Bible. In the Talmud and Midrash, Lilith appears as a night demon. She is often identified as the first wife of Adam and sometimes thought to be the mother of all incubi and succubi, a legend that arose in the Middle Ages ".
From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilith)
Black Moon Lilith in my own natal chart lies in Aquarius, with my Sun (early or late depending on True or Mean version). The early version is only 2* from my Sun, the later version is 1* from my relocated ascendant, so BML has followed me around! I'm not, and have never been, anything like a storm demon, night demon, femme fatale, or prostitute goddess, I promise! But the fact that BML is close to my natal Sun might have added to the intensity of effects I experienced when Uranus and Neptune visited my Aquarian Sun in the recent past.
There's an ephemeris showing True and Mean positions of Black Moon Lilith in the 20th century, courtesy of Chris Mitchell ........ ephemeris HERE
Illustration from: http://www.light1998.com/lilith-old.jpg
2 comments:
hi - yes, there's more and less going on with lilith than we're usually told - i encourage people to forget most of what they've heard from astrologers to date. recently i posted an article on my site that offers a different view, you may find it useful:
http://www.tdjacobs.com/articles.html
best,
tom jacobs
Hi Tom
Many thanks for commenting and for the link to your site, which is new to me. Your Lilith article is enlightening indeed, and highly recommended to anyone else who happens to read these comments.
I feel sure I'll enjoy your other articles too. I've saved your site to my Favourites file for future reference.
Thank you again..
Post a Comment