Black Moon Lilith and the Disavowed Self

Join us for a live presentation with Lynn Bell about interpreting the Black Moon Lilith in the natal chart.

This is a pay-what-can in-person event at the New York Theosophical Society. You may also join the Zoom livestream that night for a small $5 required ticket fee. This fee is necessary to prevent Zoom bombers.

Livestream Tickets:
https://buytickets.at/bigappleastrologymeetup/1585988

Event Description:
The Black Moon Lilith represents an aspect of self that has gone out of bounds. This can happen in any area of life, sexual, intellectual or emotional, as if something has been heated too high and then cut-off or isolated. Underlying the cut-off is a source of power that has become stuck in refusal mode. Lilith resonates with those aspects of the feminine that have been rejected by a given culture, and her symbolism connects us to something that has been disavowed in our own lives. This archetype is of equal importance for both men and women, often triggering mysterious struggles in relationship. How may we unlock this powerful placement in our charts, and what happens when this archetype is released?

Like the nodes, Black Moon Lilith is derived from the Moon’s orbit, linked to the moment in the moon’s cycle when it is farthest from the earth, it’s apogee. It moves in a particular 9-year cycle, which is about half of the nodal cycle. It became an important part of French astrology after Don Neroman re-conceptualized it as the second ‘center’ of the Moon’s orbit. The idea of a black Moon orbiting invisibly around the earth dates to 1618, and the British astrologer Sephariel connected it to the myth of Lilith in 1918. These two “Black Moons” eventually merged symbolically. Sephariel, as it turns out, had Lilith conjunct his Natal 8th house Moon.

The mythology of Lilith, the exiled feminine, has its roots in the Jewish mystical tradition. Lilith leads us on an adventure where we meet the first wife of Adam in Jewish folklore and obscure kabbalist sources. In the Alphabet of Sirach (c. 700–1000 AD), Lilith is molded from the same clay as Adam. During the Middle Ages, the Lilith story becomes more and more fleshed out in the traditions of Aggadah, the Zohar, and Jewish mysticism.

Amidst many variants, the 13th-century writings of the kabbalist Isaac ben Jacob ha-Cohen eventually became the reference point as the story became more codified. Although co-created with Adam, Lilith decided to leave Adam, refused to remain subservient to him, and left the Garden of Eden. In Isaac ben Jacob ha-Cohen’s account, although Lilith choose to enter into the wilderness, she was sustained by her choice to couple outside of Eden with the archangel Samael, who is himself a complicated figure, instead of remaining stuck in Eden with the misogynistic Adam.

As astrologers, we can approach interpreting The Black Moon Lilith by bearing in mind both the celestial geometry and the literary threads from the Jewish mystical tradition. The myth and image of Lilith came to life with the Pre-Raphaelite paintings of the 19th century, especially after Baudelaire published his famous poem Hymn to Beauty.

Lynn Bell will share the fruits of many years of client work with this potent symbol. Unlike other bodies used in interpretation, The Black Moon is ‘insubstantial,” which has led some to cast doubt on its influence. Observation and practice shows that even though nothing physically exists near the earth in outer space at the exact point of the Black Moon Lilith, its geometric relationships with the moon and the earth still bestows a powerful resonance upon this degree in the chart. We will look at both the astronomical and mythological aspects of Lilith, but most especially her interpretation in the birth chart. In many ways the Black Moon Lilith takes us far from the natural flow of the Moon, to a mysterious unknown aspect of the soul.

A few lines form Baudelaire’s Hymn to Beauty, inspired by the myths of Lilith:

Viens-tu du ciel profond ou sors-tu de l'abîme,
Ô Beauté? ton regard, infernal et divin,
Verse confusément le bienfait et le crime,
Et l'on peut pour cela te comparer au vin.

Do you come from Heaven or rise from the abyss,
Beauty? Your gaze, divine and infernal,
Pours out confusedly benevolence and crime,
And one may for that, compare you to wine.

Join us for an exciting evening with Lynn Bell, exploring how to incorporate the Lilith tradition into your chart work.

$$ In Person Event:
A suggested donation is $5 -$30 is very VERY much appreciated, but please know whatever you can afford is acceptable. Donations collected pay our rent, Meetup.com fees, beverages and snacks, and the honorarium for Lynn Bell. You may bring cash to donate on the evening of the event, or you can donate online by purchasing a livestream ticket.

$$ Livestream:
You may also join the zoom livestream that night with a small $5 required ticket fee. You are encouraged to donate more to Lynn Bell. This fee is a precaution against trolls and zoom bombers, which occurred frequently when we shared a free zoom link on meetup.com. You may purchase and livestream ticket after the event starts and join late. E-mail Danny Larkin at danielblarkin@gmail.com with any questions.

Livestream Tickets:
https://buytickets.at/bigappleastrologymeetup/1585988

Recording:
If you can’t attend live, you are welcome to buy a livestream ticket to get access to the recording. The recording will be shared with all livestream ticket buyers as well as individuals who RSVP yes for the event on meetup.com. The deadline to buy the recording through the link above is 9:00pm on March 13th. Email Danny Larkin at danielblarkin@gmail.com with any questions.

Directions:
The meetup takes place at the New York Theosophical Society, which is next door to the Quest Bookshop. You may enter through the bookshop before 7 pm (when it closes) or to the left of the bookshop after 7 pm.

Timing:
7:00pm - 7:30pm - Open Q & A
7:30pm - 9:00PM – Black Moon Lilith