Lilith Incantation Bowls

Lilith Exorcized on a Persian Bowl (Private collection)

You are bound and sealed,
     all you demons and devils and liliths,
by that hard and strong,
     mighty and powerful bond with which are tied Sison and Sisin....
The evil Lilith,
     who causes the hearts of men to go astray
     and appears in the dream of the night
     and in the vision of hte day,
Who burns and casts down with nightmare,
     attacks and kills children,
     boys an girls.
She is conquered and sealed
     away from the house
     and from the threshold of Bahram-Gushnasp son of Ishtar-Nahid
by the talisman of Metatron,
     the great prince
     who is called the Great Healer of Mercy....
who vanquishes demons and devils,
     black arts and mighty spells
     and keeps them away from the house
     and threshold of Bahram-Gushnasp, son of Ishtar-Nahid.
Amen, Amen, Selah.

Vanquished are the black arts and mighty spells.
Vanquished the bewitching women,
     they, their witchery and their spells,
     their curses and their invocations,
     and kept away from the four walls
         of the house of Bahram-Gushnasp, the son of Ishtar-Hahid.
Vanquished and trampled down are the bewitching women --
     vanquished on earth and vanquished in heaven.
Vanquished are their constellations and stars.
     Bound are the works of their hands.
Amen, Amen, Selah.

Lilith gets Divorced

This is the get for a demon and spirits and Satan
     ...and Lilith in order to banish them from... the entire house.
Yah ...cut off the king of the demons
     ...the great ruler of the liliths.
I adjure you ...whether you are male or female,
     I adjure you....
Just as the demons write letters of divorce
     and give them to their wives and do not again return to them,
so take your letter of divorce,
     accept your stipend share [ketubba],
and go and leave and depart from the house....
Amen, Amen, Amen, Selah.

Lilith Divorced Again (University Museum, University of Pennsylvania)

In the name of the Lord of salvations.
Designated is this bowl
     for the sealing of the house of this
         Geyonai bar Mamai,
that there flee from him the evil Lilith,
     in the name of "YHWH-El has scattered";
         the Lilith,
         the male lilin,
         the female liliths,
         the Hag [ghost?],
         and the Snatcher,
         the three of you,
             the four of you
             and the five of you.
Naked are you sent forth,
     nor are you clad,
with your hair dishevelled
     and let fly behind your backs.
It is made known to you,
     whose father is named Palhas
     and whose mother is Pelahdad:
Hear and obey
     and come from from the house and dwelling of this
         Geyonai bar Mamai,
         and from Rashnoi his wife,
             the daughter of Marath.

...Be informed herewith
     that Rabbi Joshua bar Perahia
         has sent the ban against you....
A divorce-writ [gita] has come down to us from Heaven,
and therein is found written
     your advisement and your intimidation,
     in the name of Palsa-Pelisa ["Divorcer-Divorced"],
who renders to thee thy divorce and thy separation,
     your divorces and your separations.
Thou, Lilith, male lili and female lilith, Hag and Snatcher,
     be under the ban...of Joshua bar Perahia,
who has thus spoken:
     A divorce-writ has come for you
     from across the sea....
     Hear it and depart from
         the house and dwelling of this
              Geyonai bar Mamai,
              and from Rashnoi his wife,
                  the daughter of Marath.
You shall not again appear to them,
     either in a deram by night
     or in slumber by day,
because you are sealed with the signet fo El-Shaddai,
and with the signet of the house of Joshua bar Perahia
     and by the Seven who are before him.
Thou, Lilith, male lili and female lilith, Hag and Snatcher,
I adjuire you
     by the Strong One of Abbraham,
     by the Rock of Isaac,
     by the Shaddai of Jacob,
     by Yah [is] his name...,
     by Yah his memorial...
I adjure you to turn away from this
      Geyonai bar Mamai,
      and from Rashnoi his wife,
          the daughter of Marath.
Your divorce and writ and letter of separation...
     sent through holy angels...
     the Hosts of fire in the spheres,
     the Chariots of El-Panim before him standing,
     the beasts worshipping in the fire of his throne
         and in the water... Amen, Amen, Selah, Halleluyah!

© Copyright 1995-1997 Alan Humm. Comments and corrections to: humm@ccat.sas.upenn.edu.