Healing Lilith Wounds

I have been including Lilith in chart interpretation this year, and I find that it is exceptionally helpful in healing people’s connexion to deep undiscovered parts of themselves. Lilith is a new dimension of experience that most of us live unconsciously. To give you some idea, two key elements of Lilith’s symbolism are being violated in one’s natural principles and being disconnected from our deep connexion to the natural world. These words feel insufficient as I write them, so I will try to explain their significance before suggesting how we may address them.

Natural Principles

Some of us are born rich and others poor, but those labels reflect social position; they do not afford difference in innate equality…

In popular culture, “principles” have become slogans, matters of persuasion and convenience, so it is difficult to explain their significance in terms of Lilith. In Lilith’s case, we are talking about the natural principle of equality: we are each incarnated, come to life on Earth, as equal beings. Yes, some of us are born rich and others poor, but those labels reflect social position and location; they do not afford difference in innate equality “in the eyes of god.”

The primates I’ve studied, namely chimpanzees and bonobos, understand fairness. You get a banana, I get a banana. There is something elemental about it. In Lilith’s mythology, she and Adam were made by god of the same clay. They were equal. However, Adam began asserting that he was superior, so Lilith appealed to their creator who sided with Adam. Lilith was confronted with accepting the situation or leaving. God and Adam were immovable. She left Eden. The main thing to keep in mind is that there was no compromise, and Lilith was confronted with violating her principle or standing up for it.

It is also important to recognize that Lilith, and all astrological symbols, applies equally to women and men although social conditioning gives women a more obvious connection: men are conditioned to repress vulnerability or anything considered “weak.” Lilith wounds often involve paternalistic societies’ subjugation of woman.

The Wild

Lilith’s placement indicates where one is shamed in one’s connexion to “the wild”…

Humans’ connexion to the natural world predates our modern mentality. Babylonian, Egyption, and Greek mythology I’ve studied is full of references to our dual nature, “man and beast.” I think that Lilith maps to Reptilian brain and the Limbic system. This natural connexion is beyond ancient, but it is grounded in the core meaning of life. Reptilian brain is preoccupied with dominance as it directly correlates to survival, to better food and mating opportunities. 

Practically speaking, Tom Jacobs emphasizes that Lilith’s placement indicates where one is shamed in one’s connexion to “the wild.” The wild involves raw creativity, powerful, original, outside modern social boundaries. As with other symbols, Lilith’s house shows where the violation is, and the sign shows the vibration, the “color,” of Lilith’s expression.

Lilith in Charts

We might think of Lilith as being similar to Chiron…

I have been including Lilith in chart interpretation for the last year or so, and it has had profound significance. We might think of Lilith as being similar to Chiron in that it is overlooked, profound, and involves a wounding and healing cycle having to do with our deep inner world. Note that Chiron is part man and part beast.

I don’t include Lilith in interpretation unless my client wants to go deep into her/his psyche. Lilith represents a particular challenge because Lilith issues relate to our pre-verbal parts, our “wild” (animal if you will) natures. It requires the desire to know and to heal. However, people with Lilith wounds often feel relieved because they have been living with their violation (Lilith is in our charts whether astrologers include it or not), so interpreting it validates their sense and feeling. It is the first step in healing.

Healing Lilith Wounds

A key part of healing is experiencing an early childhood wound while you are an adult…

As with Chironic healing, the first step is recognizing and examining the wound. Take your time; part of you may want to start the healing process as soon as possible. I love Robert Bly’s metaphor of “smelling the old wound” because it captures the primal element (smell predates language). Contact it, go with the pain, experience it as it presents.

When you create a container in which you can experience Lilith’s wound, you are also honoring your self. For years, we have repressed things that were too painful to deal with when they happened. One part of you probably doesn’t want to experience the pain, but it is crucial to healing. A key part of healing is experiencing an early childhood wound while you are an adult and recognizing that you have more maturity, understanding, and emotional resources now. You can observe and feel the wound as an adult.

Practically, dream interpretation can be a great enabler because Lilith wounds are buried in one’s unconscious. Experiment with communicating with your unconscious using nonverbal means like music, painting, singing, dancing, movement, hiking, camping, etc.

As much as you can, allow yourself to experience the range of responses, which probably run the gamut: pain, sadness, rage, anger. These probably present in cycles. Honor the wound, go with the cycle, let it lead you. Your head is more likely an impediment, follow your gut.

At some point, you may realize that you have survived, that as horrible as the wound was, you have experienced it and survived. And you are free to express your Lilith energy. When you are experimenting, be patient with your self; you have repressed this your whole life, and you must overcome your own resistance. You may then experience sublime gratitude.

More Information

• Also see Chiron’s Wound and Healing Journey. Its section, Cultural Barriers to Working with Chironic Wounds, also applies to Lilith.
• For more on Lilith, regale yourself in these other Lilith posts on Practiced Ignorance.
• Also see my public Lilith library.