What the House is
House Lilitu is a study house: a small group of people who maintain a public library about a single subject. The subject is Lilith, read as an archetype of spiritual independence, self-sovereignty, and shadow-work within the modern occult traditions that have taken her up.
The name uses the oldest form of hers that survives. Lilitu is the Akkadian word from which "Lilith" descends. We chose it as a reminder that the figure is older than any one story told about her, and that we are obliged to know the whole record and not only the parts we like.
What the House is not
- It is not a religion or a church. We hold no creed and conduct no worship.
- It is not an order. There are no grades, degrees, initiations, or secrets.
- It is not a membership body. No one can join, and so no one can be turned away.
- It is not a business. We sell nothing, accept no donations, and carry no advertising.
- It is not a counseling service. We give no personal advice and hold no correspondence.
What is left when all of that is taken away is a library and five people who look after it. The reasons are set out in A House Without Initiation.
A short history
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2011
The reading circle
Seven people who had met through a study group on folklore begin gathering each month, in a rented room above a bookbinder's workshop, to read the primary sources on Lilith aloud and in order. The rule of the circle is that no one may say what she means until the text has been read.
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2014
The Charter
After three years of reading, the circle writes down what it has come to hold in common. The nine articles are adopted at the dark moon, and the circle takes the name House Lilitu.
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2017
The House Papers
The keepers begin circulating short papers among themselves, each working out one part of the House's reading.
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2019
The library opens
The papers are rewritten for general readers and published online as the first version of this library.
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2023
The Night Office
The text of the dark moon observance, which had existed in several private versions, is settled in its present form.
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Today
Five keepers
Two of the original seven have left, with the House's thanks, as Article IX provides. Five keepers maintain the library and add to the Journal every couple of months.
How the House runs
One text binds us
The Charter is the only thing the keepers have all agreed to. It is nine articles long and can be read in five minutes. Everything else on this site is either evidence, interpretation, or a signed personal view.
Duties and no rank
Each keeper looks after one part of the library. No keeper may direct another, and none speaks for the House beyond the Charter. Changes to a page are reviewed by at least two keepers, and each page shows the date of its last review.
No money changes hands
The cost of keeping the library online is small and is shared equally among the keepers. The House has no income, no accounts, and no property.
No way to reach us
This is deliberate. The House keeps no public address, telephone, or inbox, and has no presence on any social platform. Anything published elsewhere in our name is not ours. The question most people would write to ask is probably answered under Questions.
Using what you find here
Read freely. Copy the Charter and change it. Adapt the practices to your own circumstances and your own words. Quote the essays with their authors' names. The only things we ask are set out in the terms: do not present our interpretations as ancient tradition, and do not sell what we give away.
In this section
The Charter
The nine articles of the Charter of House Lilitu, adopted in 2014: no door, no intermediaries, sources first, debts named, and sovereignty with limits.
The Keepers
The five keepers who maintain the library of House Lilitu, the duty each one holds, and why the House gives its keepers responsibilities but no rank or authority.
Questions
Answers to common questions about Lilith and House Lilitu: who she is, whether she is a goddess or a demon, whether the work is safe, and how to begin.