Post by Shadowdancer on Jan 27, 2008 20:58:24 GMT -5
What is a Succubus?
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From Wikipedia:
In medieval legend, a 'succubus' (plural succubi; from Latin
succubare, "to lie under") is a female demon which comes to men,
especially monks, in their dreams to seduce them and have sexual
intercourse with them, drawing energy from the men to sustain
themselves, often until the point of exhaustion or death. This legend
was an explanation for the phenomena of wet dreams and sleep
paralysis. Lilith and the Lilin ( Jewish), Belili ( Sumerian) and
Rusalka ( Slavic) were succubi.
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From www.hypnosisinmedia.com.
Incubus and Succubus: In medieval lore, a succubus was a female
spirit that would lay with men to steal their seed: it was given as
an explanation of night arrousal and wet dreams. It was also paired
with the incubus, the male form, sometimes transforming between the
two forms to pass along the stolen seed to unknowing women. In later
stories, especially in contemporary horror writing, both would be
given hypnotic powers that would give them the ability to command and
compell members of the opposite sex.
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From occultopedia.com
A lewd female demon or goblin which takes on the illusory appearance
of a female human being and seeks sexual intercourse with men,
usually while they are asleep.
The princess of all the succubi (plural) is Nahemah. Its male
counterpart is called Incubus. A semi-human offspring is called
Cambion.
According to the view of most medieval theologians, incubi
outnumbered succubi by nine to one, but the ladies made up in menace
for what they lacked in numbers by being alluring and persuasive,
using their considerable charms to seduce men and lead them to
eternal damnation.
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From Legends of the Succubus
The succubus is a demon from legend that supposedly preys on mortal
men while he sleeps; a sexual vampire of sorts. The actual name has
its origins from late Latin- succuba meaning prostitute, which in
turn comes from medieval Latin sub cubaire meaning 'that which lies
beneath'. The male version is the incubus (from Latin- 'that which
lies above'). There are some sources who claim that the succubus and
the incubus are one and the same creature who can change form at will
to prey on mortals.
In medieval times, the succubus was seen as a fearsome creature who
killed her victims by drinking their breath. This is interesting in
that, at the time, the breath was seen as a part of the person's
spirit, and in doing so, the succubus was thought to be stealing the
victim's soul. Later, the habits of the succubus were deemed to of a
more sexual than vampiric nature, and this notion probably arose from
the change in social climate that saw sexual deviancy as a mortal
sin, and so, those who committed such a sin against God, were
deserving of their fate in some way.
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For an excellent astral description of succubi/incubi, which
describes them as appearing a bit like an amoeba, see this webpage
that features a description by Robert Bruce of these beings.
www.cyodine.com/succubus/Definition.htm
Various Succubi
Lilith
Origins of Lilith (From The Lilith Gallery):
Lilith has many origins. In one version of the bin-Sira version of
the Bible, Lilith is the first wife of Adam (before Eve) and was
created at the same time that god created Adam. In Greek myth, she is
the goddess of the dark moon (Artemis is the goddess of the full
moon, and Hecate is the goddess of the crescent moon). In
Mesopotamian legends, Lilith is a fertility/earth goddess who
protects people's children and helps to harvest food. In both Arabic
and Jewish myths however, she is a succubus. A demon-woman who hunts
men, seduces them and drains their life with a kiss. Jewish mothers
believed Lilith would come to take their children away and eat them.
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The Lilin
(From Wikipedia)
According to Jewish folklore, the 'lilin' are the daughters of Lilith
and Adam, engendered while she was his wife. They are demons, with
their function being that of a succubus. Men and also mothers feared
the attack of the lilin, because they were also said to kidnap
children, like Lilith.
The lilin are considered night spirits
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Mara
(From Wikipedia)
'Mara' is the name of a fabulous ogress who hags people when
sleeping. People feel pressure on their chest, and some people report
that they observed Mara laying on their chest sometimes choking their
necks, and mostly accompanying with sleep paralysis.
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Rusalka
(From Wikipedia)
In Slavic mythology 'Rusalka' was a female ghost, water nymph or
succubus-like demon who lived in a lake. Her eyes shone like a green
fire. Men who were seduced by her died in her arms, and in some
versions her laugh can also cause death (compare with the Irish
banshee). She corresponds to the Scandinavian and German Nixie. The
ghostly version of the succubus is the soul of a young woman who died
in or near a lake (many of these rusalki were murdered by lovers),
and came to haunt that lake; this undead rusalka is not particularly
malevolent, and will be allowed to die in peace if her death is
avenged.
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Yuki-Ona
(From Wikipedia)
'Yuki-onna' (??, " snow woman") is a spirit or type of spirit found
in Japanese folklore. She is a popular figure in Japanese animation,
manga, and literature. Yuki-onna is sometimes confused with Yama-uba
("mountain crone"), but the two figures are not the same.
Yuki-onna appears as a tall, beautiful woman with long hair. Her skin
is inhumanly pale or even transparent, causing her to to blend into
the snowy landscape. She sometimes wears a white kimono, but other
legends describe her as nude, with only her face, hair, and pubic
region standing out against the snow. Despite her inhuman beauty, her
eyes can strike terror into mortals. She floats across the snow,
leaving no footprints (in fact, some tales say she has no feet), and
she can transform into a cloud of mist or snow if she is threatened.
Yuki-onna is winter personified, particularly the storms common
during that time of year. She is at the same time beautiful and
serene, yet ruthless in her killing of unsuspecting mortals. Until
the 18th century, she was almost uniformly portrayed as evil. Today,
however, stories often color her as more human, emphasizing her
ghostlike nature and ephemeral beauty.
In many stories, Yuki-onna reveals herself to travelers who find
themselves trapped in snowstorms and uses her icy breath to leave
them as frost-coated corpses. Other legends say that she leads them
astray so they simply die of exposure. Other times, she manifests
holding a child. When a well-intentioned soul takes the "child" from
her, he or she is frozen in place. Parents searching for lost
children are particularly susceptible to this tactic. Other legends
make Yuki-onna much more aggressive. In these stories, she often
physically invades people's homes, blowing in the door with a gust of
wind, to kill them while they sleep (though some legends require her
to be invited inside first).
Exactly what Yuki-onna is after varies from tale to tale. Sometimes
she is simply satisfied to see her victim's death. Other times,
however, she is more vampiric, draining her victims' blood or "life
force". She occasionally takes on a succubus-like manner, preying on
weak-willed men in order to drain or freeze them through sexual
intercourse or a kiss.
Like the snow and winter weather she represents, Yuki-onna has a
softer side. She sometimes lets would-be victims go for various
reasons. In one popular Yuki-onna legend, for example, she sets a
young boy free due to his beauty and age. She makes him promise to
never mention her again, though, and when he relates the story to his
wife much later in life, his wife reveals herself to be none other
than the snow woman. She reviles him for breaking his promise but
spares him yet again, this time out of concern for the children she
has born him. In a similar legend, Yuki-onna melts away once her
husband discovers her true nature.
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Allu: offspring of Succubi
(from Wikipedia)
In Akkadian mythology the 'Allu' were a race of monstrous and
faceless demons that destroyed all what they could capture. They were
engendered during a man's sleep with Lilitu or one of her demon
servants (see also succubus). When the man who had engendered them
was about to die, they surrounded his bed waiting for the moment
during which they could take their father's soul, impeding his travel
to the Underworld, and making of him an errant spirit, feared by all
living people (see also ghost).
In Sumerian mythology 'Allu' was a demonic power.
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Belili
(from Wikipedia)
'Belili' was first a Sumerian minor goddess called Gesht-inanna,
sister of Dumuzi, and wife of Nin-gishzida (the door keeper of An).
She was later included in the Babylonian pantheon with the name of
Belili or Belit-ili (also spelled Belet-ili), acquiring in some time
a much higher status as the wife of Bel (the Assyrian and Babylonian
equivalent to Baal). The Canaanites called her Baalat or Baalit, the
wife and female counterpart of Baal. As the wife of Bel she can be
associated with Ishtar for Assyrians and Babylonians, with Astarte
for Semites, and with Asherah for Philistines; in this sense Belili
can also be associated with sacred prostitution and human sacrifice
(of children, by fire). Some authors, however, relate her with
Lilith, who is commonly associated with the demon Asmodai and
considered a female demon with the function of acting as a succubus.
Other authors say that she could have been a fertility goddess (this
connects her again with Ishtar, Astarte and Asherah), and some
Neopagans consider Belili a mother goddess.
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Lamia
(from Legends of the Succubus)
A related concept [to the succubus] is the Lamia from old English
legends. The lamia was said to appear in graveyards as a beautiful
woman who draws young men to their deaths. She would lie in wait for
a naive victim, looking as if she needs his assistance in some way.
legend has it that, if you see such a woman in a graveyard who
appears to need help, you are supposed to call out to her, for the
Lamia cannot answer back, since she has a snakes tongue and can only
hiss.
www.cyodine.com/succubus/Various.htm
Succubus online info page main page link
www.cyodine.com/succubus/index.htm
~Shadowdancer~