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Shem HaMephorash

2026-05-19T02:59:32Z

Ava: I added a Satanic detail.

[[File:72 Fold Name of God.png|300px|thumb|The 72-fold name of God written according to the art of grammar]]
'''Shem HaMephorash''' (Hebrew: שם המפורש, alternatively '''Shem ha-Mephorash''' or '''Schemhamphoras'''), meaning "the explicit name," is an originally Tannaitic term describing a hidden name of [[Yahweh|God]] in [[Kabbalah]] (including Christian and Hermetic variants), and in some more mainstream Jewish discourses. It is composed of either 4, 12, 22, 42, or 72 letters (or triads of letters), the latter version being the most common.

The phrase "Shem HaMephorash" is shouted alongside "Hail [[Satan]]!" during the [[LaVeyan Satanism|LaVeyan Satanic]] [[Black Mass]].

==12-, 22-, and 42-letter versions==
Maimonides thought the Shem ha-Mephorash was used only for the four letter [[Tetragrammaton]].

A 12-letter variant appears in the Talmud, though it was unknown in later [[Kabbalah]] and completely absent from Jewish mysticism.

A 22-letter variant is first written down in ''[[Sefer Raziel HaMalakh]]'', without interpretation, as אנקתם פסתם פספסים דיונסים (Anaktam Pastam Paspasim Dionsim). Its origins are unknown, with no connection to Hebrew or Aramaic being found, and no agreement on any particular Greek or Zoroastrian origin. There are Geonic precedents for the name, indicating that the name is older than ''Sefer Raziel''.

A 42-letter variant was described by Hai Gaon as אבגיתץ קרעשטן נגדיכש בטרצתג חקבטנע יגלפזק שקוצית. He wrote "Although the consonants of this name are well known, its proper vocalization is not rendered by tradition. Some pronounce its first part ''Abgitaẓ'', and others ''Abigtaẓ'', and the last part is sometimes read ''Shakvaẓit'', and sometimes ''Shekuẓit'', but there is no definite proof." This variation in pronunciation was understood by Joshua Trachtenberg to indicate that this version is quite ancient, the vowels in Hebrew being easily lost over time. It is, by some means, derived from the first 42 letters of the Hebrew [[Bible]]. Like the 22-letter name, it is found in ''[[Sefer Raziel HaMalakh]]''.

קרע (kra), which begins the second part of this variant, translates to "tear out," and when combined with שטן (Satan), the conclusion of the second part, it demonstrates that invoking this Name helps one defend against Satan, or their ''yetzer hara'' (evil/selfish impulse), alongside other divine creative acts that incanting Divine Names can aid kabbalists in joining HaShem with. Perhaps in this self-improvement and mystical apotropaic vein, the 42-letter Name has been turned into the acrostic prayer ''Ana b'Koach'', which begs HaShem, with the power of His Right Hand, for freedom from captivity, sin, and impurity. Since this prayer is an extended incantation of this Name, it has an additional line spoken silently, as the acrostic implies secrecy: "''Barukh shem k'vod malchuto l'olam va'ed''." "Blessed be the name of the glory of the kingdom forever." This prayer has seven lines, which correspond to the seven [[Sefirot]] below the ''Mochin'', also known as the Supernal Triad (those being [[Binah]], [[Chokmah]], and either [[Keter]] or [[Da'at]]). All of the above is why the prayer is part of the liturgy for the Counting of the Omer, the seven-week period between the Jewish holidays of ''Pesach'' (Passover) and ''Shavuot'' (the Feast of Weeks) in which Jews are challenged to count and bless every day in between and ponder a system of Sefirotic permutations (each week has one Sefira, while the other six cycle through it, going from [[Chesed]] to [[Malkuth|Malkut]]. For example, the first day (which begins the second night of Passover) is ''Chesed b'Chesed'', the second is ''[[Gevurah]] b'Chesed'', etc., while the very last day before ''Shavuot'' will be ''Malkut b'Malkut''. These meditations on the Sefirot are meant to improve our personal attributes in this period. Besides particular farming and sacrificing practices, the Omer is meant to represent the first time Bnei Yisrael counted it: leaving ''Mitzraim'' ([[Egyptian religion|Egypt]]) and heading to Canaan. During the journey, they stopped at 42 locations, once more connecting to the importance of this particular Divine Name. Despite his staunch atheism and absurdism, this might be the true kabbalistic reason that Douglas Adams declared that number to be the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything in ''The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy''.
==72-fold name==
The "72-fold name" is highly important to ''[[Sefer Raziel HaMalakh]]''. It is derived from Exodus 14:19–21, read boustrophedonically to produce 72 names of three letters. This method was explained by Rashi, as well as in ''[[Sefer HaBahir]]'' (c. 1150~1200). Kabbalist legends state that the 72-fold name was used by Moses to cross the Red Sea, and that it could grant later holy men the power to cast out demons, heal the sick, prevent natural disasters, and even kill enemies.

According to G. Lloyd Jones,
<blockquote>
To overcome the problems posed by the doctrine of God's transcendence, the early Jewish mystics developed an emanation theory in which the alphabet played an important part. They taught that the universe was divided into ten angelic spheres each one governed by an intermediary or emanation of the divine. There were seventy-two inferior angels through whom the intermediaries could be approached. Contact with this celestial world was achieved by manipulating the letters of the Hebrew alphabet ... This invocatory technique may be traced through the works of Joseph Gikatilla to the famous thirteenth-century Kabbalist Abraham Abulafia.
</blockquote>

''Liber Semamphoras'' (aka Semamphoras, Semyforas) is the title of a Latin translation of an [[occult]] or magical text of Jewish provenance attributed to [[King Solomon]]. It was attested in 1260 by Roger Bacon, who complained about the linguistic corruption that had occurred in translating ''Liber Semamphoras'' into Latin from Hebrew. It is heavily indebted to ''Sefer HaRazim'' through its Latin versions, ''Liber Sepher Razielis idest Liber Secretorum seu Liber Salomonis'', and seemingly replaced the more explicitly magical text ''Liber magice'' in the ''Razielis''.

==The Kabbalistic angels==
Johann Reuchlin (1455–1522) considered these 72 names, made pronounceable by the addition of suffixes such as 'El' or 'Yah', to be the names of [[angels]], individuated products of God's will. Reuchlin refers to and lists the [[Kabbalistic angel|72 Angels of the Shem Hamephorash]] in his 1517 book ''[[De Arte Cabbalistica]]''. According to Bernd Roling,
<blockquote>
After deriving a Shem ha-mephorasch of the 72 angelic names from the biblical verses of Exodus 14,19ff., Reuchlin makes a statement concerning the [[metaphysics|metaphysical]] significance of the names. [...] The names of the angels are products of the will of God. They are substantially based on the tetragrammaton, and through this connection they illumine and enhance man's spiritual return to God. [...] With the insertion of divine names such as 'El' or 'Yah', angelic names become pronouncable, and God himself (being nature) is the basis of angelic individuation.
</blockquote>

Reuchlin's cosmology in turn influenced [[Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa]] and [[Athanasius Kircher]].

==Earliest textual variant==
According to Valentina Izmirlieva, "The earliest extant text that documents a reconstruction of ''shem ha-mephorash'' on the basis of this passage (Exodus 14:19-21) is the classic Kabbalistic work ''[[Sefer HaBahir]]'', first made known in manuscript form in Provence between 1150 and 1200.

The complete reconstruction of the name is available in a number of sources in English; see, for example, the critical bilingual edition of Johannes Reuchlin's famous treatise ''[[De Arte Cabbalistica]]'' (1517).

The ''[[Sefer HaRazim]]'' was the earliest text which dealt with the magical properties of the divine names.

==See also==
* [[Kabbalistic angel]]

[[Category:Kabbalah]]

Shem HaMephorash

2026-05-18T12:57:01Z

Ava: I was apparently wrong about the 42 stations being between Mitzraim and Sinai, as it was apparently ending in Canaan instead. I deleted some information on Shavuot instead. I'm gonna look more into this to figure it out.

[[File:72 Fold Name of God.png|300px|thumb|The 72-fold name of God written according to the art of grammar]]
'''Shem HaMephorash''' (Hebrew: שם המפורש, alternatively '''Shem ha-Mephorash''' or '''Schemhamphoras'''), meaning "the explicit name," is an originally Tannaitic term describing a hidden name of [[Yahweh|God]] in [[Kabbalah]] (including Christian and Hermetic variants), and in some more mainstream Jewish discourses. It is composed of either 4, 12, 22, 42, or 72 letters (or triads of letters), the latter version being the most common.

==12-, 22-, and 42-letter versions==
Maimonides thought the Shem ha-Mephorash was used only for the four letter [[Tetragrammaton]].

A 12-letter variant appears in the Talmud, though it was unknown in later [[Kabbalah]] and completely absent from Jewish mysticism.

A 22-letter variant is first written down in ''[[Sefer Raziel HaMalakh]]'', without interpretation, as אנקתם פסתם פספסים דיונסים (Anaktam Pastam Paspasim Dionsim). Its origins are unknown, with no connection to Hebrew or Aramaic being found, and no agreement on any particular Greek or Zoroastrian origin. There are Geonic precedents for the name, indicating that the name is older than ''Sefer Raziel''.

A 42-letter variant was described by Hai Gaon as אבגיתץ קרעשטן נגדיכש בטרצתג חקבטנע יגלפזק שקוצית. He wrote "Although the consonants of this name are well known, its proper vocalization is not rendered by tradition. Some pronounce its first part ''Abgitaẓ'', and others ''Abigtaẓ'', and the last part is sometimes read ''Shakvaẓit'', and sometimes ''Shekuẓit'', but there is no definite proof." This variation in pronunciation was understood by Joshua Trachtenberg to indicate that this version is quite ancient, the vowels in Hebrew being easily lost over time. It is, by some means, derived from the first 42 letters of the Hebrew [[Bible]]. Like the 22-letter name, it is found in ''[[Sefer Raziel HaMalakh]]''.

קרע (kra), which begins the second part of this variant, translates to "tear out," and when combined with שטן ([[Satan]]), the conclusion of the second part, it demonstrates that invoking this Name helps one defend against Satan, or their ''yetzer hara'' (evil/selfish impulse), alongside other divine creative acts that incanting Divine Names can aid kabbalists in joining HaShem with. Perhaps in this self-improvement and mystical apotropaic vein, the 42-letter Name has been turned into the acrostic prayer ''Ana b'Koach'', which begs HaShem, with the power of His Right Hand, for freedom from captivity, sin, and impurity. Since this prayer is an extended incantation of this Name, it has an additional line spoken silently, as the acrostic implies secrecy: "''Barukh shem k'vod malchuto l'olam va'ed''." "Blessed be the name of the glory of the kingdom forever." This prayer has seven lines, which correspond to the seven [[Sefirot]] below the Supernal Triad (those being [[Binah]], [[Chokmah]], and either [[Keter]] or [[Da'at]]). All of the above is why the prayer is part of the liturgy for the Counting of the Omer, the seven-week period between the Jewish holidays of ''Pesach'' (Passover) and ''Shavuot'' (the Feast of Weeks) in which Jews are challenged to count and bless every day in between and ponder a system of Sefirotic permutations (each week has one Sefira, while the other six cycle through it, going from [[Chesed]] to [[Malkuth|Malkut]]. For example, the first day (which begins the second night of Passover) is ''Chesed b'Chesed'', the second is ''[[Gevurah]] b'Chesed'', etc., while the very last day before ''Shavuot'' will be ''Malkut b'Malkut''. These meditations on the Sefirot are meant to improve our personal attributes in this period. Besides particular farming and sacrificing practices, the Omer is meant to represent the first time Bnei Yisrael counted it: leaving ''Mitzraim'' ([[Egyptian religion|Egypt]]) and heading to Canaan. During the journey, they stopped at 42 locations, once more connecting to the importance of this particular Divine Name. Despite his staunch atheism and absurdism, this might be the true kabbalistic reason that Douglas Adams declared that number to be the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything in ''The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy''.

==72-fold name==
The "72-fold name" is highly important to ''[[Sefer Raziel HaMalakh]]''. It is derived from Exodus 14:19–21, read boustrophedonically to produce 72 names of three letters. This method was explained by Rashi, as well as in ''[[Sefer HaBahir]]'' (c. 1150~1200). Kabbalist legends state that the 72-fold name was used by Moses to cross the Red Sea, and that it could grant later holy men the power to cast out demons, heal the sick, prevent natural disasters, and even kill enemies.

According to G. Lloyd Jones,
<blockquote>
To overcome the problems posed by the doctrine of God's transcendence, the early Jewish mystics developed an emanation theory in which the alphabet played an important part. They taught that the universe was divided into ten angelic spheres each one governed by an intermediary or emanation of the divine. There were seventy-two inferior angels through whom the intermediaries could be approached. Contact with this celestial world was achieved by manipulating the letters of the Hebrew alphabet ... This invocatory technique may be traced through the works of Joseph Gikatilla to the famous thirteenth-century Kabbalist Abraham Abulafia.
</blockquote>

''Liber Semamphoras'' (aka Semamphoras, Semyforas) is the title of a Latin translation of an [[occult]] or magical text of Jewish provenance attributed to [[King Solomon]]. It was attested in 1260 by Roger Bacon, who complained about the linguistic corruption that had occurred in translating ''Liber Semamphoras'' into Latin from Hebrew. It is heavily indebted to ''Sefer HaRazim'' through its Latin versions, ''Liber Sepher Razielis idest Liber Secretorum seu Liber Salomonis'', and seemingly replaced the more explicitly magical text ''Liber magice'' in the ''Razielis''.

==The Kabbalistic angels==
Johann Reuchlin (1455–1522) considered these 72 names, made pronounceable by the addition of suffixes such as 'El' or 'Yah', to be the names of [[angels]], individuated products of God's will. Reuchlin refers to and lists the [[Kabbalistic angel|72 Angels of the Shem Hamephorash]] in his 1517 book ''[[De Arte Cabbalistica]]''. According to Bernd Roling,
<blockquote>
After deriving a Shem ha-mephorasch of the 72 angelic names from the biblical verses of Exodus 14,19ff., Reuchlin makes a statement concerning the [[metaphysics|metaphysical]] significance of the names. [...] The names of the angels are products of the will of God. They are substantially based on the tetragrammaton, and through this connection they illumine and enhance man's spiritual return to God. [...] With the insertion of divine names such as 'El' or 'Yah', angelic names become pronouncable, and God himself (being nature) is the basis of angelic individuation.
</blockquote>

Reuchlin's cosmology in turn influenced [[Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa]] and [[Athanasius Kircher]].

==Earliest textual variant==
According to Valentina Izmirlieva, "The earliest extant text that documents a reconstruction of ''shem ha-mephorash'' on the basis of this passage (Exodus 14:19-21) is the classic Kabbalistic work ''[[Sefer HaBahir]]'', first made known in manuscript form in Provence between 1150 and 1200.

The complete reconstruction of the name is available in a number of sources in English; see, for example, the critical bilingual edition of Johannes Reuchlin's famous treatise ''[[De Arte Cabbalistica]]'' (1517).

The ''[[Sefer HaRazim]]'' was the earliest text which dealt with the magical properties of the divine names.

==See also==
* [[Kabbalistic angel]]

[[Category:Kabbalah]]

Lilith

2026-05-18T05:20:54Z

Ava: I added "small" gematria.

[[File:Lilith Painting.jpg|350px|thumb|''Lilith'' by John Collier]]
::''This article is about the deity, for the [[qlippoth]], see [[Lilith (qlippoth)]]''
'''Lilith''' (Hebrew: לִילִית) is a female figure in Mesopotamian and [[Judaism|Judaic]] mythology, theorized to be the first wife of Adam or a primordial [[demon]]. She is thought to be mentioned in the [[Bible|Biblical]] Book of Isaiah, and in Late Antiquity in Mandaean mythology and Jewish mythology sources from 500 CE onward.

Lilith appears in various concepts and localities that give partial descriptions of her. She is mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud (Eruvin 100b, Niddah 24b, Shabbat 151b, Baba Bathra 73a), in the ''Book of Adam and Eve'' as Adam's first wife, and in the [[Zohar]] as "a hot fiery female who first cohabited with man."

Many traditional rabbinic authorities, including Maimonides and Menachem Meiri, reject the existence of Lilith.

==Name==
The name Lilith stems from ''lilû'', ''lilîtu'', and ''(w)ardat lilî)''. The Akkadian word ''lilu'' is related to the Hebrew word ''lilit'' in Isaiah 34:14, which is thought to be a night bird by some modern scholars such as Judit M. Blair. In the Ancient Mesopotamian religion, found in cuneiform texts of Sumer, Assyria, and Babylonia, Lilith signifies a spirit or [[demon]].

==History==
In some [[Judaism|Jewish]] folklore, such as the satirical ''Alphabet of Sirach'' (c. 700–1000 AD), Lilith appears as Adam's first wife, who was created at the same time and from the same clay as Adam. The legend of Lilith developed extensively during the Middle Ages, in the tradition of Aggadah (rabbinic texts that incorporate folklore and historical anecdotes), the ''[[Zohar]]'', and Jewish mysticism. For example, in the 13th-century writings of Isaac ben Jacob ha-Cohen, Lilith left Adam after she refused to become subservient to him and then would not return to the [[Garden of Eden]] after she had coupled with the [[Archangel]] [[Samael]].

Interpretations of Lilith found in later Jewish materials are plentiful, but little information has survived relating to the Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian view of this class of [[demon]]s.

Recent scholarship has disputed the relevance of two sources previously used to connect the Jewish lilith to an Akkadian ''lilītu'' – the Gilgamesh appendix and the Arslan Tash [[amulet]]s. In contrast, some scholars, such as Lowell K. Handy, hold the view that though Lilith derives from Mesopotamian demonology, evidence of the Hebrew Lilith being present is scant.

==Mesopotamian mythology==
[[File:Burney Relief Lilith.jpg|350px|thumb|"Burney Relief" showing a babylonian goddess from about 1800-1750 BC.]]
The ''ki-sikil-lil-la-ke'' in Tablet XII of the Epic of Gilgamesh dated c. 600 BC is associated with a serpent and a zu bird and was rendered as "Lilith" by early translators. In Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld, a huluppu tree grows in Inanna's garden in Uruk, whose wood she plans to use to build a new throne. After ten years of growth, she comes to harvest it and finds a serpent living at its base, a Zu bird raising young in its crown, and that a ''ki-sikil-lil-la-ke'' made a house in its trunk. Gilgamesh is said to have killed the snake, and then the zu bird flew away to the mountains with its young, while the ''ki-sikil-lil-la-ke'' fearfully destroys its house and runs for the forest.

Kramer's translation of the Gilgamesh fragment was used by Henri Frankfort and Emil Kraeling in 1937 to support identification of a woman with wings and bird-feet in the disputed Burney Relief as related to Lilith. Frankfort and Kraeling identified the figure in the relief with Lilith. Today, the identification of the Burney Relief with Lilith is questioned. Modern research has identified the figure as one of the main goddesses of the Mesopotamian pantheons, most probably Ereshkigal. But the figure is more generally identified as the goddess of love and war.

The Arslan Tash [[amulet]]s are limestone plaques discovered in 1933 at Arslan Tash, the authenticity of which is disputed. William F. Albright, Theodor H. Gaster, and others, accepted the amulets as a pre-Jewish source which shows that the name Lilith already existed in the 7th century BC but Torczyner identified the amulets as a later Jewish source.

==Hebrew Bible==
The word ''lilit'' (or ''lilith'') only appears once in the Hebrew [[Bible]], among a list of animals as part of a prophecy regarding the fate of Edom animals in Isaiah 34.

The Isaiah 34:14 Lilith reference does not appear in most common [[Bible]] translations such as KJV and NIV. Commentators and interpreters often envision the figure of Lilith as a dangerous demon of the night, who is sexually wanton, and who steals babies in the darkness. In the Dead Sea Scrolls 4Q510-511, the term first occurs in a list of monsters. [[Judaism|Jewish]] magical inscriptions on bowls and [[amulet]]s from the 6th century CE onward identify Lilith as a female [[demon]] and provide the first visual depictions of her.

The Septuagint translates both the reference to Lilith and the word for jackals or "wild beasts of the island" within the same verse into Greek as ''onokentauros'', apparently assuming them as referring to the same creatures and omitting "wildcats/wild beasts of the desert" (so, instead of the wildcats or desert beasts meeting with the jackals or island beasts, the goat or "satyr" crying "to his fellow" and lilith or "screech owl" resting "there", it is the goat or "satyr", translated as ''daimonia'' "demons", and the jackals or island beasts "onocentaurs" meeting with each other and crying "one to the other" and the latter resting there in the translation).

The early 5th-century Vulgate translated the same word as "lamia."

==Dead Sea Scrolls==
The Dead Sea Scrolls contain one indisputable reference to Lilith in Songs of the Sage (4Q510–511) fragment 1:
<blockquote>
And I, the Instructor, proclaim His glorious splendour so as to frighten and to te[rrify] all the spirits of the destroying angels, spirits of the bastards, demons, Lilith, howlers, and [desert dwellers] ... and those which fall upon men without warning to lead them astray from a spirit of understanding and to make their heart and their ... desolate during the present dominion of wickedness and predetermined time of humiliations for the sons of lig[ht], by the guilt of the ages of [those] smitten by iniquity – not for eternal destruction, [bu]t for an era of humiliation for transgression.
</blockquote>

As with the Massoretic text of Isaiah 34:14, and therefore unlike the plural ''liliyyot'' in the Isaiah scroll 34:14, ''lilit'' in 4Q510 is singular, this liturgical text both cautions against the presence of supernatural malevolence and assumes familiarity with Lilith; distinct from the biblical text, however, this passage does not function under any socio-political agenda, but instead serves in the same capacity as An Exorcism (4Q560) and Songs to Disperse Demons (11Q11).

Joseph M. Baumgarten (1991) identified the unnamed woman of The Seductress (4Q184) as related to the female demon. However, John J. Collins regards this identification as "intriguing" but that it is "safe to say" that (4Q184) is based on the strange woman of Proverbs 2, 5, 7, 9:
<blockquote>
Her house sinks down to death, 
And her course leads to the shades. 
All who go to her cannot return 
And find again the paths of life. 
:— Proverbs 2:18–19
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Her gates are gates of death, and from the entrance of the house 
She sets out towards Sheol. 
None of those who enter there will ever return, 
And all who possess her will descend to the Pit. 
:— 4Q184
</blockquote>

==Jewish incantation bowls==
[[File:Incantation bowl Lilith.jpg|350px|thumb|Incantation bowl with an Aramaic inscription around a demon]]
An individual Lilith, along with Bagdana "king of the lilits", is one of the demons to feature prominently in protective spells in the eighty surviving Jewish [[occult]] incantation bowls from Sassanid Empire Babylon (4th–6th century AD) with influence from Iranian culture. These bowls were buried upside down below the structure of the house or on the land of the house, in order to trap the [[demon]]. Almost every house was found to have such protective bowls against demons.

The center of the inside of the bowl depicts Lilith, or the male form, Lilit. Surrounding the image is writing in spiral form; the writing often begins at the center and works its way to the edge. The writing is most commonly scripture or references to the Talmud. The incantation bowls which have been analysed, are inscribed in the following languages, Jewish Babylonian Aramaic, Syriac, Mandaic, Middle Persian, and Arabic. Some bowls are written in a false script which has no meaning.

The correctly worded incantation bowl was capable of warding off Lilith or Lilit from the household. Lilith had the power to transform into a woman's physical features, seduce her husband, and conceive a child. However, Lilith would become hateful toward the children born of the husband and wife and would seek to kill them. Similarly, Lilit would transform into the physical features of the husband, seduce the wife, she would give birth to a child. It would become evident that the child was not fathered by the husband, and the child would be looked down on. Lilit would seek revenge on the family by killing the children born to the husband and wife.

Key features of the depiction of Lilith or Lilit include the following:
*The figure is often depicted with arms and legs chained, indicating the control of the family over the demon(ess).
* The demon(ess) is depicted in a frontal position with the whole face showing.
* The eyes are very large, as well as the hands (if depicted).
* The demon(ess) is entirely static.

One bowl contains the following inscription commissioned from a [[Judaism|Jewish]] [[occultist]] to protect a woman called Rashnoi and her husband from Lilith.

==''Alphabet of Ben Sira''==
The pseudepigraphical 8th–10th centuries ''Alphabet of Ben Sira'' is considered to be the oldest form of the story of Lilith as Adam's first wife. Whether this particular tradition is older is not known. Scholars tend to date the Alphabet between the 8th and 10th centuries AD. The work has been characterized by some scholars as satirical, but Ginzberg concluded it was meant seriously.

In the text an amulet is inscribed with the names of three angels (Senoy, Sansenoy, and Semangelof) and placed around the neck of newborn boys in order to protect them from the lilin until their circumcision. The amulets used against Lilith that were thought to derive from this tradition are, in fact, dated as being much older. The concept of Eve having a predecessor is not exclusive to the Alphabet, and is not a new concept, as it can be found in Genesis Rabbah. However, the idea that Lilith was the predecessor may be exclusive to the Alphabet.

The idea in the text that Adam had a wife prior to Eve may have developed from an interpretation of the Book of Genesis and its dual creation accounts; while Genesis 2:22 describes [[Yahweh|God]]'s creation of Eve from Adam's rib, an earlier passage, 1:27, already indicates that a woman had been made: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." The Alphabet text places Lilith's creation after God's words in Genesis 2:18 that "it is not good for man to be alone;" in this text God forms Lilith out of the clay from which he made Adam but she and Adam bicker. Lilith claims that since she and Adam were created in the same way they were equal and she refuses to submit to him.

Although the image of Lilith of the Alphabet of Ben Sira is unprecedented, some elements in her portrayal can be traced back to the talmudic and midrashic traditions that arose around Eve.

==Kabbalah==
[[File:Medieval amulet Lilith.jpg|400px|thumb|Medieval amulet to protect mother and child]]
[[Kabbalah|Kabbalistic]] mysticism attempted to establish a more exact relationship between Lilith and God. With her major characteristics having been well developed by the end of the Talmudic period, after six centuries had elapsed between the Aramaic incantation texts that mention Lilith and the early Spanish Kabbalistic writings in the 13th century, she reappears, and her life history becomes known in greater mythological detail. Her creation is described in many alternative versions.

The ''[[Zohar]]'' contains 48 references to her in numerous passage. It explicitly mentions her creation as being before Adam's, on the fifth day, because the "living creatures" with whose swarms God filled the waters included Lilith. A similar version, related to the earlier Talmudic passages, recounts how Lilith was fashioned with the same substance as Adam was, shortly before. A third alternative version states that God originally created Adam and Lilith in a manner that the female creature was contained in the male. Lilith's soul was lodged in the depths of the Great Abyss. When God called her, she joined Adam. After Adam's body was created a thousand souls from the Left (evil) side attempted to attach themselves to him. However, God drove them off. Adam was left lying as a body without a soul. Then a cloud descended and God commanded the earth to produce a living soul. This God breathed into Adam, who began to spring to life and his female was attached to his side. God separated the female from Adam's side. The female side was Lilith, whereupon she flew to the Cities of the Sea and attacked humankind.

Yet another version claims that Lilith emerged as a divine entity that was born spontaneously, either out of the Great Supernal Abyss or out of the power of an aspect of God (the Gevurah of Din). This aspect of God was negative and punitive, as well as one of his ten attributes ([[sefirot]]), at its lowest manifestation has an affinity with the realm of evil and it is out of this that Lilith merged with [[Samael]]. The [[gematria]] of Samael (131) and Lilith (480) is 611, which is the same Torah, implying that adherence to and study of the holy books defends against demonic attack and internal struggles. In "small" gematria, Samael (14) and Lilith (12) is 26, which is the value [[Tetragrammaton]], showing both HaShem's power to defeat these demons and the presence and power of the Qlippoth.

An alternative story links Lilith with the creation of luminaries. The "first light," which is the light of Mercy (one of the Sefirot), appeared on the first day of creation when God said "Let there be light." This light became hidden and the Holiness became surrounded by a husk of evil. "A husk (klippa) was created around the brain" and this husk spread and brought out another husk, which was Lilith.

The western mystery tradition associates Lilith with the [[qlippoth]] of [[Kabbalah]]. [[Dion Fortune]] writes, "The Virgin Mary is reflected in Lilith," and that Lilith is the source of "lustful dreams." She is the ruler over [[Gamaliel]], but there is also a sphere on the [[Tree of Death]] named [[Lilith (qlippoth)]].

==Renaissance magic==
Lilith is found in very few [[grimoire]]s of [[King Solomon|Solomonic]] magic. The most well-known is the 15th century manuscript known as the ''[[Munich Manual of Demonic Magic]]''. This book contains a ritual called the [[First Mirror of Lilith]] which allows a magician to gain hidden knowledge by means of a mirror engraved with sacred symbols and texts. This mirror is consecrated to Lilith and used as part of an invocation to summon her in a cemetery or at a crossroads.

Some scholars believe her name may be simply a misspelling of the [[Goetic demon]] [[Berith]], but references to her as the "matron of night" and her "avian friends" seem to confirm that the ritual is intended to invoke Lilith.

==As an occult figure==
The depiction of Lilith in Romanticism continues to be popular among [[Wicca]]ns and in other modern [[occult]] traditions. Many early occult writers who contributed to modern day Wicca expressed special reverence for Lilith. [[Gerald Gardner]] asserted that there was continuous historical worship of Lilith to present day, and that her name is sometimes given to the goddess being personified in the coven by the priestess. This idea was further attested by Doreen Valiente, who cited her as a presiding goddess of [[the Craft]]: "the personification of erotic dreams, the suppressed desire for delights."

In some contemporary concepts, Lilith is viewed as the embodiment of the Goddess, a designation that is thought to be shared with what these faiths believe to be her counterparts: Inanna, [[Ishtar]], Asherah, Anath, Anahita and [[Isis]]. According to one view, Lilith was originally a Sumerian, Babylonian, or [[Judaism|Hebrew]] mother goddess of childbirth, children, women, and sexuality. A few magical orders dedicated to the undercurrent of Lilith, featuring initiations specifically related to the arcana of the "first mother", exist. Two organisations that use initiations and [[ritual magic|magic]] associated with Lilith are the ''Ordo Antichristianus Illuminati'' and the ''Order of Phosphorus''.

Lilith appears as a succubus in [[Aleister Crowley]]'s ''De Arte Magica''. Lilith was also one of the middle names of Crowley's first child, Nuit Ma Ahathoor [[Hecate]] Sappho Jezebel Lilith Crowley (1904–1906), and Lilith is sometimes identified with the goddess [[Babalon]] in [[Thelema|Thelemic]] writings.

Many [[LaVeyan Satanism|theistic Satanists]] consider Lilith a goddess. She is considered a goddess of independence by those Satanists and is often worshipped by women, but women are not the only people who worship her. Lilith is popular among theistic Satanists because of her association with [[Satan]]. Some Satanists believe that she is the wife of Satan and thus think of her as a mother figure. Others base their reverence for her on her history as a succubus and praise her as a [[sex magic|sex goddess]]. A different approach to a Satanic Lilith holds that she was once a fertility and agricultural goddess.

[[Occultist]] [[Travis McHenry]] announced he is creating a [[tarot]] deck based on Lilith mythology drawing on sources from ancient times to the modern era. The deck, scheduled to be released in late 2025 or early 2026, is titled the [[Lilith Tarot]].

[[Category:Deities]]
[[Category:Demons]]
[[Category:Featured Articles]]

Samael

2026-05-18T05:19:13Z

Ava: I moved the gematria comments. I also restated the Treatise's title for clarity.

[[File:Samael.png|400px|thumb|The Archangel Samael as depicted in the [[Angel Tarot]]]]
::''This article is about the deity, for the [[qlippoth]], see [[Samael (qlippoth)]]''
'''Samael''' (Hebrew: סַמָּאֵל, Sammāʾēl, "Venom/Poison of God") is an [[archangel]] in Talmudic and post-Talmudic lore; a figure who is the accuser or adversary ([[Satan]] as mentioned in the Book of Job), seducer, and destroyer (''Mashhit'' as mentioned in the Book of Exodus).

Although many of his functions resemble the [[Christianity|Christian]] notion of Satan, to the point of being sometimes identified as a [[fallen angel]], he is not necessarily evil, since his functions are also regarded as resulting in good, such as destroying sinners.

As guardian [[angel]] and prince of Rome, he is the archenemy of Israel. By the beginning of Jewish culture in Europe, Samael had been established as a representative of Christianity, due to his identification with Rome. Samael is also depicted as the angel of death and one of the seven archangels, the ruler over the Fifth [[Heaven]] and commander of two million angels such as the chief of all the destroying angels.

==Jewish holy texts==
Samael was first mentioned during the Second Temple Period and immediately after its destruction. He is first mentioned in the [[Book of Enoch]] along with other rebellious angels. In Enoch 1 he is one of the Watchers who descended to Earth to copulate with human women, although he is not their leader, this being Semyaza.

In the Greek ''Apocalypse of Baruch'', he is the dominant evil figure. Samael plants the Tree of knowledge, thereupon he is banished and cursed by [[Yahweh|God]]. To take revenge, he tempts Adam and Eve into sin by taking the form of the serpent.

He appears further as the embodiment of evil in the ''Ascension of Isaiah'', often identified as:

* Melkira (Hebrew: מלך רע, melek ra, 'king of evil, 'king of the wicked');
* Malkira / Malchira (מלאך רע, malakh/malach ra, 'messenger of evil' or 'angel of iniquity');
* Belkira (prob. בעל קיר, baal qir, 'lord of the wall'); or
* Bechira (בחיר רע, bachir ra, 'the elect of evil, chosen by evil').

The names [[Belial]] and [[Satan]] are also applied to him and he gains control of King Manasseh in order to accuse Isaiah of treason.

===Talmudic-Midrashic literature===
In Talmudic-Midrashic literature, Samael's role as an agent of evil is rather marginal, but from the fifth or sixth century onward, this name again becomes one of the most prominent among the [[demon]]ic entities. Samael has not been identified with the angel of death in the Talmud.

In the Exodus Rabbah, Samael is depicted as the accuser in the heavenly court and tempting to sin, while [[Archangel Michael]] defends Israel's actions. Here, Samael is identified with Satan. While Satan describes his function as an "accuser," Samael is considered to be his proper name. He also fulfills the role of the Angel of Death, when he comes to take the soul of Moses and is called the leader of satans.

The title of satan is also applied to him in the midrash Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer, where he is the chief of the [[fallen angel]]s, and a twelve-winged [[seraphim|seraph]]. According to the text, Samael opposed the creation of Adam and descended to Earth to tempt him into evil. Riding the serpent, he convinced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. His role here might be similar to the [[Islam|Islamic]] idea of Iblis, who refused to prostrate himself before Adam because he consists of fire and Adam merely from dust. The midrash also reveals Samael fathered Cain with Eve.

In the Midrash Konen, he is the ruler of the third [[hell]]. Several sources, such as Yalkut Shimoni (I, 110) describe him as the guardian [[angel]] of Esau relating him to Rome, the one who wrestled with Jacob, the angel who ordered Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, and a patron of Edom.

He is considered in Midrashic texts to be a member of the heavenly host with often grim and destructive duties. One of Samael's greatest roles in [[Judaism|Jewish]] lore is that of the main angel of death and the head of satans. Although he condones the sins of man, he remains one of [[Yahweh|God]]'s servants. He appears frequently in the story of the [[Garden of Eden]] and engineered the fall of Adam and Eve with a snake in writings during the Second Temple period. However, the serpent is not a form of Samael, but a beast he rode like a camel. In a single account he is also believed to be the father of Cain, as well as the partner of [[Lilith]]. In early Talmudic and Midrashic literature he is not identified with Satan yet. Only in later Midrashim he is entitled "head of satans."

==Kabbalah==
[[File:Samael Sigil.png|350px|thumb|Summoning [[sigil]] of Samael]]
In the [[Kabbalah]], Samael is described as the "severity of God," and is listed as fifth of the archangels of the world of Briah. Among his portions are Esau, the people who inherit the sword and bring war; the goats and ''se'irim'' ([[demon]]s); and the destroyer angels.

Although both Samael and [[Lilith]] are major demons in earlier Jewish traditions, they do not appear paired until the second half of the thirteenth century, when they are introduced together. Lilith is a demon created alongside Adam, originally created for the role Eve would fill, who then becomes Samael's bride. With her, Samael created a host of demon children, including a son, the "Sword of Samael" (or of [[Asmoday]]).

In the Kabbalistic work ''Treatise on the Left Emanation'', Samael is part of the Qliphoth, prince of all demons, and spouse of Lilith. The two are said to parallel Adam and Eve, being emanated together from the Throne of Glory as a counterpart. The [[gematria]] of Samael (131) and Lilith (480) is 611, which is the same Torah, implying that adherence to and study of the holy books defends against demonic attack and internal struggles. In "small" gematria, Samael (14) and Lilith (12) is 26, which is the value [[Tetragrammaton]], showing both HaShem's power to defeat these demons and the presence and power of the Qlippoth. Asmodeus is also mentioned to be subservient to Samael and married to a younger, lesser Lilith. According to ''Treatise on the Left Emanation'', [[Yahweh|God]] castrated Samael in order not to fill the world with their demonic offspring, this being the reason why Lilith seeks to fornicate with men.

In the [[Zohar]], one of Kabbalah's main works, Samael is described as a leader of the divine forces of destruction, being part of the Qliphoth. He is mentioned again as the serpent's rider, and is described as having mated with Eisheth Zenunim, Na'amah, and Agrat bat Mahlat, all being "angels" of sacred prostitution. Notably, the same work later calls him [[Azazel]], which might be a case of mistaken identity, as Azazel may be himself in Zoharistic lore a combination of the angels Aza and Azrael.

It is also said that the Baal Shem Tov once summoned Samael to make him do his bidding.

==Gnostic thought==
In [[Gnosticism|gnostic]] texts, Samael is one of three names of the demiurge, whose other names are Yaldabaoth, Saklas and [[Yahweh]].

In some [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] cosmologies, Samael's role as source of evil became identified with the Demiurge, the creator of the material world. Although probably both accounts originate from the same source, the Gnostic development differs from the Jewish development of Samael, in which Samael is merely an angel and servant of God.

After Yaldabaoth claims sole divinity for himself, the voice of Sophia comes forth calling him Samael, due to his ignorance. In ''On the Origin of the World'', his name is explained as "blind god" and his fellow Archons are said to be blind, too. This reflecting the characteristics of the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[the Devil|devil]], making people blind, as does the devil in 2 Corinthians 4. Also Samael is the first sinner in the Hypostasis of the Archons and the First Epistle of John calls the devil as sinner from the beginning. These characteristics combined with his boasting conflates the [[Judaism|Jewish]] god with the devil. His appearance is that of a lion-faced serpent. Although the Gnostics and Jewish originally used the same source, both depictions of Samael developed independently.

Samael is sometimes confused in some books with [[Camael]], who appears in the Coptic Gospel of the Egyptians also as an evil power, whose name is similar to words meaning "like God" (but Camael with a waw missing). The name might be explained, because in Jewish traditions, the snake had the form of a camel, before it was banished by God.

[[Category:Archangels]]
[[Category:Angels]]

Samael

2026-05-18T05:18:10Z

Ava: I added "small" gematria.

[[File:Samael.png|400px|thumb|The Archangel Samael as depicted in the [[Angel Tarot]]]]
::''This article is about the deity, for the [[qlippoth]], see [[Samael (qlippoth)]]''
'''Samael''' (Hebrew: סַמָּאֵל, Sammāʾēl, "Venom/Poison of God") is an [[archangel]] in Talmudic and post-Talmudic lore; a figure who is the accuser or adversary ([[Satan]] as mentioned in the Book of Job), seducer, and destroyer (''Mashhit'' as mentioned in the Book of Exodus).

Although many of his functions resemble the [[Christianity|Christian]] notion of Satan, to the point of being sometimes identified as a [[fallen angel]], he is not necessarily evil, since his functions are also regarded as resulting in good, such as destroying sinners.

As guardian [[angel]] and prince of Rome, he is the archenemy of Israel. By the beginning of Jewish culture in Europe, Samael had been established as a representative of Christianity, due to his identification with Rome. Samael is also depicted as the angel of death and one of the seven archangels, the ruler over the Fifth [[Heaven]] and commander of two million angels such as the chief of all the destroying angels.

==Jewish holy texts==
Samael was first mentioned during the Second Temple Period and immediately after its destruction. He is first mentioned in the [[Book of Enoch]] along with other rebellious angels. In Enoch 1 he is one of the Watchers who descended to Earth to copulate with human women, although he is not their leader, this being Semyaza.

In the Greek ''Apocalypse of Baruch'', he is the dominant evil figure. Samael plants the Tree of knowledge, thereupon he is banished and cursed by [[Yahweh|God]]. To take revenge, he tempts Adam and Eve into sin by taking the form of the serpent.

He appears further as the embodiment of evil in the ''Ascension of Isaiah'', often identified as:

* Melkira (Hebrew: מלך רע, melek ra, 'king of evil, 'king of the wicked');
* Malkira / Malchira (מלאך רע, malakh/malach ra, 'messenger of evil' or 'angel of iniquity');
* Belkira (prob. בעל קיר, baal qir, 'lord of the wall'); or
* Bechira (בחיר רע, bachir ra, 'the elect of evil, chosen by evil').

The names [[Belial]] and [[Satan]] are also applied to him and he gains control of King Manasseh in order to accuse Isaiah of treason.

===Talmudic-Midrashic literature===
In Talmudic-Midrashic literature, Samael's role as an agent of evil is rather marginal, but from the fifth or sixth century onward, this name again becomes one of the most prominent among the [[demon]]ic entities. Samael has not been identified with the angel of death in the Talmud.

In the Exodus Rabbah, Samael is depicted as the accuser in the heavenly court and tempting to sin, while [[Archangel Michael]] defends Israel's actions. Here, Samael is identified with Satan. While Satan describes his function as an "accuser," Samael is considered to be his proper name. He also fulfills the role of the Angel of Death, when he comes to take the soul of Moses and is called the leader of satans.

The title of satan is also applied to him in the midrash Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer, where he is the chief of the [[fallen angel]]s, and a twelve-winged [[seraphim|seraph]]. According to the text, Samael opposed the creation of Adam and descended to Earth to tempt him into evil. Riding the serpent, he convinced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. His role here might be similar to the [[Islam|Islamic]] idea of Iblis, who refused to prostrate himself before Adam because he consists of fire and Adam merely from dust. The midrash also reveals Samael fathered Cain with Eve.

In the Midrash Konen, he is the ruler of the third [[hell]]. Several sources, such as Yalkut Shimoni (I, 110) describe him as the guardian [[angel]] of Esau relating him to Rome, the one who wrestled with Jacob, the angel who ordered Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, and a patron of Edom.

He is considered in Midrashic texts to be a member of the heavenly host with often grim and destructive duties. One of Samael's greatest roles in [[Judaism|Jewish]] lore is that of the main angel of death and the head of satans. Although he condones the sins of man, he remains one of [[Yahweh|God]]'s servants. He appears frequently in the story of the [[Garden of Eden]] and engineered the fall of Adam and Eve with a snake in writings during the Second Temple period. However, the serpent is not a form of Samael, but a beast he rode like a camel. In a single account he is also believed to be the father of Cain, as well as the partner of [[Lilith]]. In early Talmudic and Midrashic literature he is not identified with Satan yet. Only in later Midrashim he is entitled "head of satans."

==Kabbalah==
[[File:Samael Sigil.png|350px|thumb|Summoning [[sigil]] of Samael]]
In the [[Kabbalah]], Samael is described as the "severity of God," and is listed as fifth of the archangels of the world of Briah. Among his portions are Esau, the people who inherit the sword and bring war; the goats and ''se'irim'' ([[demon]]s); and the destroyer angels.

Although both Samael and [[Lilith]] are major demons in earlier Jewish traditions, they do not appear paired until the second half of the thirteenth century, when they are introduced together. Lilith is a demon created alongside Adam, originally created for the role Eve would fill, who then becomes Samael's bride. With her, Samael created a host of demon children, including a son, the "Sword of Samael" (or of [[Asmoday]]).

In the Kabbalistic work ''Treatise on the Left Emanation'', Samael is part of the Qliphoth, prince of all demons, and spouse of Lilith. The two are said to parallel Adam and Eve, being emanated together from the Throne of Glory as a counterpart. Asmodeus is also mentioned to be subservient to Samael and married to a younger, lesser Lilith. The [[gematria]] of Samael (131) and Lilith (480) is 611, which is the same Torah, implying that adherence to and study of the holy books defends against demonic attack and internal struggles. In "small" gematria, Samael (14) and Lilith (12) is 26, which is the value [[Tetragrammaton]], showing both HaShem's power to defeat these demons and the presence and power of the Qlippoth. According to ''Treatise on the Left Emanation'', [[Yahweh|God]] castrated Samael in order not to fill the world with their demonic offspring, this being the reason why Lilith seeks to fornicate with men.

In the [[Zohar]], one of Kabbalah's main works, Samael is described as a leader of the divine forces of destruction, being part of the Qliphoth. He is mentioned again as the serpent's rider, and is described as having mated with Eisheth Zenunim, Na'amah, and Agrat bat Mahlat, all being "angels" of sacred prostitution. Notably, the same work later calls him [[Azazel]], which might be a case of mistaken identity, as Azazel may be himself in Zoharistic lore a combination of the angels Aza and Azrael.

It is also said that the Baal Shem Tov once summoned Samael to make him do his bidding.

==Gnostic thought==
In [[Gnosticism|gnostic]] texts, Samael is one of three names of the demiurge, whose other names are Yaldabaoth, Saklas and [[Yahweh]].

In some [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] cosmologies, Samael's role as source of evil became identified with the Demiurge, the creator of the material world. Although probably both accounts originate from the same source, the Gnostic development differs from the Jewish development of Samael, in which Samael is merely an angel and servant of God.

After Yaldabaoth claims sole divinity for himself, the voice of Sophia comes forth calling him Samael, due to his ignorance. In ''On the Origin of the World'', his name is explained as "blind god" and his fellow Archons are said to be blind, too. This reflecting the characteristics of the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[the Devil|devil]], making people blind, as does the devil in 2 Corinthians 4. Also Samael is the first sinner in the Hypostasis of the Archons and the First Epistle of John calls the devil as sinner from the beginning. These characteristics combined with his boasting conflates the [[Judaism|Jewish]] god with the devil. His appearance is that of a lion-faced serpent. Although the Gnostics and Jewish originally used the same source, both depictions of Samael developed independently.

Samael is sometimes confused in some books with [[Camael]], who appears in the Coptic Gospel of the Egyptians also as an evil power, whose name is similar to words meaning "like God" (but Camael with a waw missing). The name might be explained, because in Jewish traditions, the snake had the form of a camel, before it was banished by God.

[[Category:Archangels]]
[[Category:Angels]]

Satan

2026-05-18T05:06:34Z

Ava: I added a detail on the gematria of Ha-Satan and how it fits into Yom Kippur traditions.

[[File:The Devil.png|500px|thumb|Four Tarot cards showing depictions of The Devil from the [[Major Arcana]].]]
'''Satan''', also known as [[The Devil]] is an entity in the [[Abrahamic religion]]s that seduces humans into sin or falsehood. In [[Judaism]], Satan is seen as an agent subservient to [[Yahweh|God]], typically regarded as a metaphor for the'' yetzer hara'', or "evil inclination."

In [[Christianity]] and [[Islam]], he is usually seen as a [[fallen angel]] that has rebelled against God, who nevertheless allows him temporary power over the fallen world and a host of [[demon]]s.

==Satan in Judaism==
[[File:Temptation.jpg|300px|thumb|The Temptation card from [[Hieronymus Bosch Tarot|The Hieronymus Bosch Tarot]] depicting the serpent in the [[Garden of Eden]]]]
The original Hebrew term ''śāṭān'' (Hebrew: שָׂטָן‎) is a generic noun meaning "accuser" or "adversary", which is used throughout the [[Bible]] to refer to ordinary human adversaries, as well as a specific supernatural entity. The word is derived from a verb meaning primarily "to obstruct, oppose". When it is used without the definite article (simply satan), the word can refer to any accuser, but when it is used with the definite article (ha-satan), it usually refers specifically to the [[heaven]]ly accuser: the satan.

The word with the definite article Ha-Satan (Hebrew: הַשָּׂטָן‎) occurs 17 times in the Masoretic Text, in two books of the Hebrew Bible: Job ch. 1–2 (14×) and Zechariah 3:1–2 (3×). A figure known as ha-satan ("the satan") first appears in the Tanakh as a heavenly prosecutor, a member of the sons of God subordinate to [[Yahweh]], who prosecutes the nation of Judah in the heavenly court and tests the loyalty of Yahweh's followers. The [[gematria]] of Ha-Satan is 364, which implies that he reigns with his harsh judgment for all days but one, that being (at least according to Jews) Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Not only does this make prayers and repentance more potent on that day, but it also inspires a tradition of Jews blowing the shofar in the days leading up to Yom Kippur, confusing Ha-Satan on when it actually is so he struggles to present his accusations against the Jews to HaShem.

During the intertestamental period, possibly due to influence from the Zoroastrian figure of Angra Mainyu, ha-satan developed into a malevolent entity with abhorrent qualities in dualistic opposition to God. In the apocryphal Book of Jubilees, Yahweh grants ha-satan (referred to as Mastema) authority over a group of fallen angels, or their offspring, to tempt humans to sin and punish them.

The [[Book of Enoch|Second Book of Enoch]], also called the Slavonic Book of Enoch, contains references to a Watcher called Satanael. It is a pseudepigraphic text of an uncertain date and unknown authorship. The text describes Satanael as being the prince of the Grigori who was cast out of heaven and an evil spirit who knew the difference between what was "righteous" and "sinful". In the Book of Wisdom, the devil is taken to be the being who brought death into the world, but originally the culprit was recognized as Cain. The name [[Samael]], which is used in reference to one of the fallen angels, later became a common name for Satan in Jewish Midrash and [[Kabbalah]].

===Modern beliefs===
Each modern sect of Judaism has its own interpretation of Satan's identity. Conservative Judaism generally rejects the Talmudic interpretation of Satan as a metaphor for the yetzer hara, and regard him as a literal agent of God. Orthodox Judaism, on the other hand, outwardly embraces Talmudic teachings on Satan, and involves Satan in religious life far more inclusively than other sects. Satan is mentioned explicitly in some daily prayers, including during Shacharit and certain post-meal benedictions, as described in Talmud and the Jewish Code of Law. In Reform Judaism, Satan is generally seen in his Talmudic role as a metaphor for the yetzer hara and the symbolic representation of innate human qualities such as selfishness.

==Satan in Christianity==
[[File:Codex Gigas devil.jpg|300px|thumb|Illustration of the Devil in the ''Codex Gigas'']]
The [[Book of Revelation]] represents Satan as the supernatural ruler of the Roman Empire and the ultimate cause of all evil in the world. In Revelation 2:9–10, as part of the letter to the church at Smyrna, John of Patmos refers to the Jews of Smyrna as "a synagogue of Satan" and warns that "the Devil is about to cast some of you into prison as a test, and for ten days you will have affliction." In Revelation 2:13–14, in the letter to the church of Pergamum, John warns that Satan lives among the members of the congregation and declares that "Satan's throne" is in their midst. Pergamum was the capital of the Roman Province of Asia and "Satan's throne" may be referring to the monumental Pergamon Altar in the city, which was dedicated to the Greek god Zeus, or to a temple dedicated to the Roman emperor Augustus.

In Revelation 20:1–3, Satan is bound with a chain and hurled into the Abyss, where he is imprisoned for one thousand years. In Revelation 20:7–10, he is set free and gathers his armies along with Gog and Magog to wage war against the righteous, but is defeated with fire from Heaven, and cast into the lake of fire. Some Christians associate Satan with the number [[666]], which Revelation 13:18 describes as the Number of the Beast. However, the beast mentioned in Revelation 13 is not Satan, and the use of 666 in the Book of Revelation has been interpreted as a reference to the Roman Emperor Nero, as 666 is the numeric value of his name in Hebrew.

The early English settlers of North America, especially the Puritans of New England, believed that Satan "visibly and palpably" reigned in the New World. John Winthrop claimed that the Devil made rebellious Puritan women give birth to stillborn monsters with claws, sharp horns, and "on each foot three claws, like a young fowl." Cotton Mather wrote that devils swarmed around Puritan settlements "like the frogs of Egypt". The Puritans believed that the Native Americans were worshippers of Satan and described them as "children of the Devil." Some settlers claimed to have seen Satan himself appear in the flesh at native ceremonies.

==Satan in Islam==
The Arabic equivalent of the word Satan is ''Shaitan'' (شيطان, from the triliteral root š-ṭ-n شط⁬ن). The word itself is an adjective (meaning "astray" or "distant", sometimes translated as "devil") that can be applied to both man ("al-ins", الإنس) and al-jinn (الجن), but it is also used in reference to Satan in particular. In the Quran, Satan's name is Iblis (Arabic pronunciation: [ˈibliːs]), probably a derivative of the Greek word ''diabolos''. Muslims do not regard Satan as the cause of evil, but as a tempter, who takes advantage of humans' inclinations toward self-centeredness.

The primary characteristic of Satan, aside from his hubris and despair, is his ability to cast evil suggestions (waswās) into men and women. In the Quran, 15:45 states that Satan has no influence over the righteous, but that those who fall in error are under his power. 7:156 implies that those who obey God's laws are immune to the temptations of Satan. 56:79 warns that Satan tries to keep Muslims from reading the Quran and 16:98–100 recommends reciting the Quran as an antidote against Satan. 35:6 refers to Satan as the enemy of humanity and 36:60 forbids humans from worshipping him. In the Quranic retelling of the story of Job, Job knows that Satan is the one tormenting him.

During the first two centuries of [[Islam]], Muslims almost unanimously accepted the traditional story known as the [[Satanic Verses]] as true. According to this narrative, Muhammad was told by Satan to add words to the Quran which would allow Muslims to pray for the intercession of [[pagan]] goddesses. He mistook the words of Satan for divine inspiration. Modern Muslims almost universally reject this story as heretical, as it calls the integrity of the Quran into question.

On the third day of the Hajj, Muslim pilgrims to Mecca throw seven stones at a pillar known as the Jamrah al-’Aqabah, symbolizing the stoning of the Devil. This ritual is based on the Islamic tradition that, when God ordered Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael, Satan tempted him three times not to do it, and, each time, Abraham responded by throwing seven stones at him.

==Occult correspondences==
In the [[hierarchy of Hell]], Satan is the [[demon]] prince of the Deluders, the 5th degree of diabolical spirits. In this context, he is connected [[astrology|astrologically]] with the planet [[Mars]].

In [[Kabbalah]], Satan (alongside [[Moloch]]) is the demon ruler over the [[qlippoth]] of [[Thaumiel]] on the [[Tree of Death]].

==Satanism==
[[File:Quimbanda Ritual.jpg|400px|thumb|A Quimbanda ritual featuring a statue of [[Baphomet]]]]
===Theistic Satanism===
Theistic Satanism, commonly referred to as "devil worship", views Satan as a deity, whom individuals may supplicate to. It consists of loosely affiliated or independent groups and cabals, which all agree that Satan is a real entity.

The [[African diaspora religion|Afro-Brazilian religion]] of [[Quimbanda]] regards itself as worshipping [[the Devil]] and other spirits called ''exús'' that, while not inherently evil, are similar to [[demon]]s.

===Atheistic Satanism===
Atheistic Satanism, as practiced by the [[Satanic Temple]] and by followers of [[LaVeyan Satanism]], holds that Satan does not exist as a literal anthropomorphic entity, but rather as a symbol of a cosmos which Satanists perceive to be permeated and motivated by a force that has been given many names by humans over the course of time. In this religion, "Satan" is not viewed or depicted as a hubristic, irrational, and fraudulent creature, but rather is revered with Prometheus-like attributes, symbolizing liberty and individual empowerment.

To adherents, he also serves as a conceptual framework and an external metaphorical projection of the Satanist's highest personal potential. In his essay "Satanism: The Feared Religion", the current High Priest of the Church of Satan, Peter H. Gilmore, further expounds that "...Satan is a symbol of Man living as his prideful, carnal nature dictates. The reality behind Satan is simply the dark evolutionary force of entropy that permeates all of nature and provides the drive for survival and propagation inherent in all living things. Satan is not a conscious entity to be worshiped, rather a reservoir of power inside each human to be tapped at will".

LaVeyan Satanists embrace the original etymological meaning of the word "Satan" (Hebrew: שָּׂטָן satan, meaning "adversary"). According to Peter H. Gilmore, "The Church of Satan has chosen Satan as its primary symbol because in Hebrew it means adversary, opposer, one to accuse or question. We see ourselves as being these Satans; the adversaries, opposers and accusers of all spiritual belief systems that would try to hamper enjoyment of our life as a human being."

Post-LaVeyan Satanists, like the adherents of the [[Satanic Temple]], argue that the human animal has a natural altruistic and communal tendency, and frame Satan as a figure of struggle against injustice and activism. They also believe in bodily autonomy, that personal beliefs should conform to science and inspire nobility, and that people should atone for their mistakes.

==Accusations of Satan Worship==
The main deity in the tentatively Indo-European pantheon of the [[Yazidism|Yazidis]], Melek Taus, is similar to the devil in Christian and Islamic traditions, as he refused to bow down before humanity. Therefore, Christians and Muslims often consider Melek Taus to be Satan. However, rather than being Satanic, Yazidism can be understood as a remnant of a pre-Islamic Middle Eastern Indo-European religion, and/or a ghulat Sufi movement founded by Shaykh Adi. In fact, there is no entity in Yazidism which represents evil in opposition to God; such dualism is rejected by Yazidis.

In the Middle Ages, the [[Cathar]]s, practitioners of a dualistic religion, were accused of worshipping Satan by the Catholic Church. Pope Gregory IX stated in his work ''Vox in Rama'' that the Cathars believed that God had erred in casting [[Lucifer]] out of heaven and that Lucifer would return to reward his faithful. On the other hand, according to Catharism, the creator god of the material world worshipped by the Catholic Church is actually Satan.

[[Wicca]] is a modern, syncretic [[Paganism|Neopagan]] religion, whose practitioners many Christians have incorrectly assumed to worship Satan. In actuality, Wiccans do not believe in the existence of Satan or any analogous figure and have repeatedly and emphatically rejected the notion that they venerate such an entity.

The [[cult]] of the skeletal figure of [[Santa Muerte]], which has grown exponentially in Mexico, has been denounced by the Catholic Church as Devil-worship. However, devotees of Santa Muerte view her as an [[angel]] of death created by God, and many of them identify as Catholic.

==See also==
* [[The Devil]]
* [[Lucifer]]

[[Category:Deities]]
[[Category:Featured Articles]]

Samael

2026-05-18T04:59:30Z

Ava: I wrote on the gematria of Samael and Lilith.

[[File:Samael.png|400px|thumb|The Archangel Samael as depicted in the [[Angel Tarot]]]]
::''This article is about the deity, for the [[qlippoth]], see [[Samael (qlippoth)]]''
'''Samael''' (Hebrew: סַמָּאֵל, Sammāʾēl, "Venom/Poison of God") is an [[archangel]] in Talmudic and post-Talmudic lore; a figure who is the accuser or adversary ([[Satan]] as mentioned in the Book of Job), seducer, and destroyer (''Mashhit'' as mentioned in the Book of Exodus).

Although many of his functions resemble the [[Christianity|Christian]] notion of Satan, to the point of being sometimes identified as a [[fallen angel]], he is not necessarily evil, since his functions are also regarded as resulting in good, such as destroying sinners.

As guardian [[angel]] and prince of Rome, he is the archenemy of Israel. By the beginning of Jewish culture in Europe, Samael had been established as a representative of Christianity, due to his identification with Rome. Samael is also depicted as the angel of death and one of the seven archangels, the ruler over the Fifth [[Heaven]] and commander of two million angels such as the chief of all the destroying angels.

==Jewish holy texts==
Samael was first mentioned during the Second Temple Period and immediately after its destruction. He is first mentioned in the [[Book of Enoch]] along with other rebellious angels. In Enoch 1 he is one of the Watchers who descended to Earth to copulate with human women, although he is not their leader, this being Semyaza.

In the Greek ''Apocalypse of Baruch'', he is the dominant evil figure. Samael plants the Tree of knowledge, thereupon he is banished and cursed by [[Yahweh|God]]. To take revenge, he tempts Adam and Eve into sin by taking the form of the serpent.

He appears further as the embodiment of evil in the ''Ascension of Isaiah'', often identified as:

* Melkira (Hebrew: מלך רע, melek ra, 'king of evil, 'king of the wicked');
* Malkira / Malchira (מלאך רע, malakh/malach ra, 'messenger of evil' or 'angel of iniquity');
* Belkira (prob. בעל קיר, baal qir, 'lord of the wall'); or
* Bechira (בחיר רע, bachir ra, 'the elect of evil, chosen by evil').

The names [[Belial]] and [[Satan]] are also applied to him and he gains control of King Manasseh in order to accuse Isaiah of treason.

===Talmudic-Midrashic literature===
In Talmudic-Midrashic literature, Samael's role as an agent of evil is rather marginal, but from the fifth or sixth century onward, this name again becomes one of the most prominent among the [[demon]]ic entities. Samael has not been identified with the angel of death in the Talmud.

In the Exodus Rabbah, Samael is depicted as the accuser in the heavenly court and tempting to sin, while [[Archangel Michael]] defends Israel's actions. Here, Samael is identified with Satan. While Satan describes his function as an "accuser," Samael is considered to be his proper name. He also fulfills the role of the Angel of Death, when he comes to take the soul of Moses and is called the leader of satans.

The title of satan is also applied to him in the midrash Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer, where he is the chief of the [[fallen angel]]s, and a twelve-winged [[seraphim|seraph]]. According to the text, Samael opposed the creation of Adam and descended to Earth to tempt him into evil. Riding the serpent, he convinced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. His role here might be similar to the [[Islam|Islamic]] idea of Iblis, who refused to prostrate himself before Adam because he consists of fire and Adam merely from dust. The midrash also reveals Samael fathered Cain with Eve.

In the Midrash Konen, he is the ruler of the third [[hell]]. Several sources, such as Yalkut Shimoni (I, 110) describe him as the guardian [[angel]] of Esau relating him to Rome, the one who wrestled with Jacob, the angel who ordered Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, and a patron of Edom.

He is considered in Midrashic texts to be a member of the heavenly host with often grim and destructive duties. One of Samael's greatest roles in [[Judaism|Jewish]] lore is that of the main angel of death and the head of satans. Although he condones the sins of man, he remains one of [[Yahweh|God]]'s servants. He appears frequently in the story of the [[Garden of Eden]] and engineered the fall of Adam and Eve with a snake in writings during the Second Temple period. However, the serpent is not a form of Samael, but a beast he rode like a camel. In a single account he is also believed to be the father of Cain, as well as the partner of [[Lilith]]. In early Talmudic and Midrashic literature he is not identified with Satan yet. Only in later Midrashim he is entitled "head of satans."

==Kabbalah==
[[File:Samael Sigil.png|350px|thumb|Summoning [[sigil]] of Samael]]
In the [[Kabbalah]], Samael is described as the "severity of God," and is listed as fifth of the archangels of the world of Briah. Among his portions are Esau, the people who inherit the sword and bring war; the goats and ''se'irim'' ([[demon]]s); and the destroyer angels.

Although both Samael and [[Lilith]] are major demons in earlier Jewish traditions, they do not appear paired until the second half of the thirteenth century, when they are introduced together. Lilith is a demon created alongside Adam, originally created for the role Eve would fill, who then becomes Samael's bride. With her, Samael created a host of demon children, including a son, the "Sword of Samael" (or of [[Asmoday]]).

In the Kabbalistic work ''Treatise on the Left Emanation'', Samael is part of the Qliphoth, prince of all demons, and spouse of Lilith. The two are said to parallel Adam and Eve, being emanated together from the Throne of Glory as a counterpart. Asmodeus is also mentioned to be subservient to Samael and married to a younger, lesser Lilith. The [[gematria]] of Samael (131) and Lilith (480) is 611, which is the same Torah, implying that adherence to and study of the holy books defends against demonic attack and internal struggles. According to the treatise, [[Yahweh|God]] castrated Samael in order not to fill the world with their demonic offspring, this being the reason why Lilith seeks to fornicate with men.

In the [[Zohar]], one of Kabbalah's main works, Samael is described as a leader of the divine forces of destruction, being part of the Qliphoth. He is mentioned again as the serpent's rider, and is described as having mated with Eisheth Zenunim, Na'amah, and Agrat bat Mahlat, all being "angels" of sacred prostitution. Notably, the same work later calls him [[Azazel]], which might be a case of mistaken identity, as Azazel may be himself in Zoharistic lore a combination of the angels Aza and Azrael.

It is also said that the Baal Shem Tov once summoned Samael to make him do his bidding.

==Gnostic thought==
In [[Gnosticism|gnostic]] texts, Samael is one of three names of the demiurge, whose other names are Yaldabaoth, Saklas and [[Yahweh]].

In some [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] cosmologies, Samael's role as source of evil became identified with the Demiurge, the creator of the material world. Although probably both accounts originate from the same source, the Gnostic development differs from the Jewish development of Samael, in which Samael is merely an angel and servant of God.

After Yaldabaoth claims sole divinity for himself, the voice of Sophia comes forth calling him Samael, due to his ignorance. In ''On the Origin of the World'', his name is explained as "blind god" and his fellow Archons are said to be blind, too. This reflecting the characteristics of the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[the Devil|devil]], making people blind, as does the devil in 2 Corinthians 4. Also Samael is the first sinner in the Hypostasis of the Archons and the First Epistle of John calls the devil as sinner from the beginning. These characteristics combined with his boasting conflates the [[Judaism|Jewish]] god with the devil. His appearance is that of a lion-faced serpent. Although the Gnostics and Jewish originally used the same source, both depictions of Samael developed independently.

Samael is sometimes confused in some books with [[Camael]], who appears in the Coptic Gospel of the Egyptians also as an evil power, whose name is similar to words meaning "like God" (but Camael with a waw missing). The name might be explained, because in Jewish traditions, the snake had the form of a camel, before it was banished by God.

[[Category:Archangels]]
[[Category:Angels]]

Shem HaMephorash

2026-05-18T04:45:12Z

Ava: I have added significant Jewish Kabbalistic detail to the section on the 42-letter name.

[[File:72 Fold Name of God.png|300px|thumb|The 72-fold name of God written according to the art of grammar]]
'''Shem HaMephorash''' (Hebrew: שם המפורש, alternatively '''Shem ha-Mephorash''' or '''Schemhamphoras'''), meaning "the explicit name," is an originally Tannaitic term describing a hidden name of [[Yahweh|God]] in [[Kabbalah]] (including Christian and Hermetic variants), and in some more mainstream Jewish discourses. It is composed of either 4, 12, 22, 42, or 72 letters (or triads of letters), the latter version being the most common.

==12-, 22-, and 42-letter versions==
Maimonides thought the Shem ha-Mephorash was used only for the four letter [[Tetragrammaton]].

A 12-letter variant appears in the Talmud, though it was unknown in later [[Kabbalah]] and completely absent from Jewish mysticism.

A 22-letter variant is first written down in ''[[Sefer Raziel HaMalakh]]'', without interpretation, as אנקתם פסתם פספסים דיונסים (Anaktam Pastam Paspasim Dionsim). Its origins are unknown, with no connection to Hebrew or Aramaic being found, and no agreement on any particular Greek or Zoroastrian origin. There are Geonic precedents for the name, indicating that the name is older than ''Sefer Raziel''.

A 42-letter variant was described by Hai Gaon as אבגיתץ קרעשטן נגדיכש בטרצתג חקבטנע יגלפזק שקוצית. He wrote "Although the consonants of this name are well known, its proper vocalization is not rendered by tradition. Some pronounce its first part ''Abgitaẓ'', and others ''Abigtaẓ'', and the last part is sometimes read ''Shakvaẓit'', and sometimes ''Shekuẓit'', but there is no definite proof." This variation in pronunciation was understood by Joshua Trachtenberg to indicate that this version is quite ancient, the vowels in Hebrew being easily lost over time. It is, by some means, derived from the first 42 letters of the Hebrew [[Bible]]. Like the 22-letter name, it is found in ''[[Sefer Raziel HaMalakh]]''.

קרע (kra), which begins the second part of this variant, translates to "tear out," and when combined with שטן ([[Satan]]), the conclusion of the second part, it demonstrates that invoking this Name helps one defend against Satan, or their ''yetzer hara'' (evil/selfish impulse), alongside other divine creative acts that incanting Divine Names can aid kabbalists in joining HaShem with. Perhaps in this self-improvement and mystical apotropaic vein, the 42-letter Name has been turned into the acrostic prayer ''Ana b'Koach'', which begs HaShem, with the power of His Right Hand, for freedom from captivity, sin, and impurity. Since this prayer is an extended incantation of this Name, it has an additional line spoken silently, as the acrostic implies secrecy: "''Barukh shem k'vod malchuto l'olam va'ed''." "Blessed be the name of the glory of the kingdom forever." This prayer has seven lines, which correspond to the seven [[Sefirot]] below the Supernal Triad (those being [[Binah]], [[Chokmah]], and either [[Keter]] or [[Da'at]]). All of the above is why the prayer is part of the liturgy for the Counting of the Omer, the seven week period between the Jewish holidays of ''Pesach'' (Passover) and ''Shavuot'' (the Feast of Weeks) in which Jews are challenged to count and bless every day in between and ponder a system of Sefirotic permutations (each week has one Sefira, while the other six cycle through it, going from [[Chesed]] to [[Malkuth|Malkut]]. For example, the first day (which begins the second night of Passover) is ''Chesed b'Chesed'', the second is ''[[Gevurah]] b'Chesed'', etc., while the very last day before ''Shavuot'' will be ''Malkut b'Malkut''. These meditations on the Sefirot are meant to improve our personal attributes in this period. Besides particular farming and sacrificing practices, the Omer is meant to represent the first time it was done by ''Bnei Yisrael'': leaving ''Mitzraim'' ([[Egyptian religion|Egypt]]) and heading to Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, which Shavuot commemorates with all-night study and kabbalistic visualizations of the cosmic marriage of Shekinah, aided by her handmaids (kabbalists). During the journey, they stopped at 42 locations, once more connecting to the importance of this particular Divine Name. Despite his staunch atheism and absurdism, this might be the true kabbalistic reason that Douglas Adams declared that number to be the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything in ''The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy''.

==72-fold name==
The "72-fold name" is highly important to ''[[Sefer Raziel HaMalakh]]''. It is derived from Exodus 14:19–21, read boustrophedonically to produce 72 names of three letters. This method was explained by Rashi, as well as in ''[[Sefer HaBahir]]'' (c. 1150~1200). Kabbalist legends state that the 72-fold name was used by Moses to cross the Red Sea, and that it could grant later holy men the power to cast out demons, heal the sick, prevent natural disasters, and even kill enemies.

According to G. Lloyd Jones,
<blockquote>
To overcome the problems posed by the doctrine of God's transcendence, the early Jewish mystics developed an emanation theory in which the alphabet played an important part. They taught that the universe was divided into ten angelic spheres each one governed by an intermediary or emanation of the divine. There were seventy-two inferior angels through whom the intermediaries could be approached. Contact with this celestial world was achieved by manipulating the letters of the Hebrew alphabet ... This invocatory technique may be traced through the works of Joseph Gikatilla to the famous thirteenth-century Kabbalist Abraham Abulafia.
</blockquote>

''Liber Semamphoras'' (aka Semamphoras, Semyforas) is the title of a Latin translation of an [[occult]] or magical text of Jewish provenance attributed to [[King Solomon]]. It was attested in 1260 by Roger Bacon, who complained about the linguistic corruption that had occurred in translating ''Liber Semamphoras'' into Latin from Hebrew. It is heavily indebted to ''Sefer HaRazim'' through its Latin versions, ''Liber Sepher Razielis idest Liber Secretorum seu Liber Salomonis'', and seemingly replaced the more explicitly magical text ''Liber magice'' in the ''Razielis''.

==The Kabbalistic angels==
Johann Reuchlin (1455–1522) considered these 72 names, made pronounceable by the addition of suffixes such as 'El' or 'Yah', to be the names of [[angels]], individuated products of God's will. Reuchlin refers to and lists the [[Kabbalistic angel|72 Angels of the Shem Hamephorash]] in his 1517 book ''[[De Arte Cabbalistica]]''. According to Bernd Roling,
<blockquote>
After deriving a Shem ha-mephorasch of the 72 angelic names from the biblical verses of Exodus 14,19ff., Reuchlin makes a statement concerning the [[metaphysics|metaphysical]] significance of the names. [...] The names of the angels are products of the will of God. They are substantially based on the tetragrammaton, and through this connection they illumine and enhance man's spiritual return to God. [...] With the insertion of divine names such as 'El' or 'Yah', angelic names become pronouncable, and God himself (being nature) is the basis of angelic individuation.
</blockquote>

Reuchlin's cosmology in turn influenced [[Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa]] and [[Athanasius Kircher]].

==Earliest textual variant==
According to Valentina Izmirlieva, "The earliest extant text that documents a reconstruction of ''shem ha-mephorash'' on the basis of this passage (Exodus 14:19-21) is the classic Kabbalistic work ''[[Sefer HaBahir]]'', first made known in manuscript form in Provence between 1150 and 1200.

The complete reconstruction of the name is available in a number of sources in English; see, for example, the critical bilingual edition of Johannes Reuchlin's famous treatise ''[[De Arte Cabbalistica]]'' (1517).

The ''[[Sefer HaRazim]]'' was the earliest text which dealt with the magical properties of the divine names.

==See also==
* [[Kabbalistic angel]]

[[Category:Kabbalah]]

Samael (qlippoth)

2026-04-29T04:28:29Z

Ava: Singular qlippa as I just did previously. I also capitalized Tarot and The Moon.

:''This article is about the qlippoth, for the deity of the same name, see [[Samael]]''

'''Samael''' ("Poison of God") is the eighth [[qlippoth|qlippa]] on the [[Kabbalah|Kabbalistic]] [[Tree of Death]]. It is the shadow opposite sphere of [[Hod]], its opposing [[sefirot|sefira]] on the [[Tree of Life]].

==Etymology==
The name ''Samael'' (סמאל) is translated as "poison of God" in Hebrew. To avoid confusion with the [[fallen angel]]/[[demon]] [[Samael]], this sphere is often rendered as "the Deceivers" or the "desolation of God," which are additional designations of the angel Samael in the [[Bible]].

It is possible that there is a connection between the [[angel]] Samael and this qlippa as there is with the qlippoth representing both [[Lilith]] and [[Belial]], but the exact nature of this is ill-defined.

==Description==
Samael is the opposite of [[Hod]], which represents splendor; but this [[qlippoth|qlippa]] represents lies, false logic, and a corruption of the intellect. There is an overtone of deceit inherent in Samael, and nothing about it can be trusted. It has been compared to a radiating object whose light is so brilliant that we are unable to see what is behind it and must trust that it is pure, when in fact, it is not.

On the [[Tree of Death]], Samael is the first sphere in the Realm of Mud and Clay. This region, located at the very bottom of the Tree of Death, is described in the ''[[Zohar]]'' as a place where prayers of the unrighteous settle into the muck instead of rising to [[heaven]].

==Occult correspondences==
In [[astrology]], Samael corresponds to [[Mercury]].

Its [[demon]] ruler is Adrammelech.

In the [[Tarot]], Samael is represented by [[The Moon]] card.

[[Category:Qlippoth]]

Samael (qlippoth)

2026-04-29T04:27:14Z

Ava: I changed qlippa and sefira to be singular instead of plural. I will be making more changes like this on other pages where needed.

:''This article is about the qlippoth, for the deity of the same name, see [[Samael]]''

'''Samael''' ("Poison of God") is the eighth [[qlippoth|qlippa]] on the [[Kabbalah|Kabbalistic]] [[Tree of Death]]. It is the shadow opposite sphere of [[Hod]], its opposing [[sefirot|sefira]] on the [[Tree of Life]].

==Etymology==
The name ''Samael'' (סמאל) is translated as "poison of God" in Hebrew. To avoid confusion with the [[fallen angel]]/[[demon]] [[Samael]], this sphere is often rendered as "the Deceivers" or the "desolation of God," which are additional designations of the angel Samael in the [[Bible]].

It is possible that there is a connection between the [[angel]] Samael and this qlippoth as there is with the qlippoth representing both [[Lilith]] and [[Belial]], but the exact nature of this is ill-defined.

==Description==
Samael is the opposite of [[Hod]], which represents splendor; but this [[qlippoth]] represents lies, false logic, and a corruption of the intellect. There is an overtone of deceit inherent in Samael, and nothing about it can be trusted. It has been compared to a radiating object whose light is so brilliant that we are unable to see what is behind it and must trust that it is pure, when in fact, it is not.

On the [[Tree of Death]], Samael is the first sphere in the Realm of Mud and Clay. This region, located at the very bottom of the Tree of Death, is described in the ''[[Zohar]]'' as a place where prayers of the unrighteous settle into the muck instead of rising to [[heaven]].

==Occult correspondences==
In [[astrology]], Samael corresponds to [[Mercury]].

Its [[demon]] ruler is Adrammelech.

In the [[tarot]], Samael is represented by [[the Moon]] card.

[[Category:Qlippoth]]