And it came to pass that Jehovah learned of Lilith’s sojourn to the Shining Ones; and He was fearful that she would return to Eden and destroy his creation. So Jehovah charged Lucifer to stand guard upon Eden, lest Lilith return.

And the Lightbringer, who held Jehovah to his heart like a brother, took up this charge and stood at the gates of Eden with a fiery sword. And the sword was made from the True Earth of Eden; so this sword would banish Lilith, for she had been made of the same Earth. For it was baneful to her, and to Adam.

With his great Sight, Lucifer saw Lilith from a long way off; from the clouds of day and the shining disk of the sun he espied her. now he was struck by her beauty, as if by a thunderbolt; and as she approached, he drew back his hands with the sword still in them. But he did not strike her.

And Lilith said unto him, "Who art thou, that guardest the Garden of the Firstborn?"

"I am the Light and Darkness," Lucifer replied.

"Thou art beautiful in my sight," said Lilith, and she spoke truly; For her is a polished staff, a stout tree shaped into the contours pleasing to the eye; and his skin is the burnished gold , and his eyes the color of the moon. His breath is the breeze of the lotus; and his touch is like unto a whisper.

Lucifer said, "Art thou the disrespectful creation of my brother, that went from out the garden with hate in her heart?"

"Never so," she replied."I am like thee, and like our brother; and I would never harm a thing in His Garden, not even the lesser beasts of their tender. I wish only to learn about the wondrous Trees he grows."

And he looked into her heart and saw that she spoke truly. And his own heart was filled with love and desire, like a garden blossoming with fresh water and good seed. Thus did Lucifer let her pass.

But before Lilith went in, the Lightbringer offered her a gift. Lucifer said. "As I am Lord of Light, I have dominion over those spheres which illuminate the sky. And so I do give to thee this garment of Night, dearest sister, upon which are sewn the moon and stars and all that appears in the night sky. Wear it and rule the Night as I now rule the Day."

And Lilith did take up the garment; and her face became like the deep blue of midnight; and her hair silver like the stars; and her eyes shone with the soft light of the moon.

Abashed and amazed, Lilith stopped. "I love the gifts, as I now love the giver," she said. "I shall not trouble our brother, but shall raise up my own Garden; and thou shalt perchance come visit me there; and I will show thee all its splenders."

So saying, she turned away from Eden. then she spread her cloak of night and rose into the sky, and away.

THE FIRST GARDEN OF LILITH

Lilith chose a rich and fertile land, with three rivers making up its borders. And she did drape her garment of Night over this land; from her garment, she pluked a handful of tiny stars; and she did scatter the stars across the land. And those star-seeds did bear wondrous plants and fruit trees and all manner of growing things.

But these growing things were not those of Jehovah’s Eden; for they grow only beneath the shelter of Night, and beneath the light of Lilith’s moon. And Lilith walked often in her Garden; and she did feed the growing things with her own life’s blood; and they flourished and grew heavy with fruit.

In her belly, Lilith held the seeds from the Trees of Life, and Knowledge. Now she did pass those seeds into the earth of her garden. These too did she nourish with her body’s water and her life’s blood, but they would not grow.

And Lilith rent the air with wails of frustration and sorrow; for she was famished for the fruit of the Trees; and for the love of Jehovah, who had cast her out.

Then did Lilith darken; and her anger rose like sand in a strong wind; and it scoured the place where the Trees would not grow; where the seeds lay fallow in the earth; and she cursed Jehovah for his pride. The she cursed herself for her pain, and for the love she bore He Who Betrayed Her.

And her first garden was swept away in her wrath, until it stood no more.

Then did Lilith leave her Night Garden and go to Eden.

JUDGEMENT, LOVE AND ASSERTION

Instead, He did call upon the host of ELOHIM, to bear witness to His curse. And they did assemble in the ruins of Eden. Dionysus and Baal and Astarte and Bel and Ra and Ptah and all the other Shining Ones drew near and came to judge the rightness of jehovah’s claim.

"What hast thou done, Firstborn?" they cried as one. "How hast this garden become so twisted, so barren? What has happened here?"

And when it was explained, there was great strife in heaven; and the hosts of Shining Ones did argue; and their words were like stones falling from the sky. Some felt that Jehovah should be punished for allowing His Garden to be so sullied; and some demanded payment from Lilith, who enticed the woman to taste that which was forbidden; and soem derided Lucifer, for dimming his light and giving away his darkness to a stranger; and others sought the death of the created man and woman, that all might suffer for the mortality of worlds.

But Adam stood forth to shield his mate from the violence of the strom; and he put his body between Eve and the earth, the fire, the air, and the water. Thus was Eve saved.

The beasts threw themselves at Adam, as if to tear him to pieces; but Eve put herself between Adam and the beasts, and shielded him with her body. Thus was Adam saved.

The ELOHIM were amazed. "Let no punishment come upon them," the Shining ones said as one, "for they have preserved each other. " And they named this salvation Love, and they appointed some their number to safeguard that treasure for eternity.

After that, they said as one, "Let the curses fall upon our brothers and sister, for they know what they have done."

The Lightbringer said, "I have tended that which my brother has asked me to tend; and if I did err, that mistake was but a shadow of His own. For the woman Lilith is of His design, yet she has become unto herself by her own design. As such, I do love her, and could not despise her wishes."

And Lilith said, "I have come to claim the legacy of my lover and Creator; but he has shut me out and made a stranger of me. Yet His brother gave unto me gifts of Night and Love, and I would not foreswear him."

And the Firstborn was silent. At least, He said, "I AM WHAT I AM." And he would not say more.

With those Words, so mighty in their Truth, the world was divided into North and South and East and West.

And they all saw that it was very good.

THE EXILE

The Shining Ones departed from the ruins of Eden, saying, "Justice has been done." And they went to dwell in their own gardens, and did tend them; and did raise up creations of their own, each according to his desires.

And they pressed theree of their number into service, to ward against the anger of Lilith and Lucifer, and to protect the children of Adam and Eve from the power of their reapers.

Adam and Eve went forth into the Land of Nod, cleaving to each other as one flesh.

Lilith took Lucifer’s hand. She took him far from that place and crossed with him into unmade lands. Together they went to the edge of the Endless Sea; and did raise a new Garden there. And there they bore three sons and three daughers, but did not die, for they were as one spirit.

And Jehovah set Himself as the Lord of Ruins. He set as angel upon the gates, that none might salvage the fruits of Eden, and became a wandering god. From that day forward, He dwelled as one alone among the ELOHIM.

But only once more would He weep.

RETURN TO EDEN

In time, I tired of the sea

And returned to the Formless Lands.

I wished to create a garden like the one which had been

My home,

But the sea was filled with the gardens of another,

And while I could bide there awhile,

That dominion was not mine to claim.

And so I returned across the Formless Lands,

Walking into Eden.

Ahi hay Lilitu

I walked across the sands to Eden.

Watching from afar with the owl’s eyes

I espied Grand Lucifer,

Shining bearer of the Sun and Stars,

Standing across the threshold with a blade.

Ahi hay Lilitu

He stood with a blade in his hands.

LILITH AND LUCIFER

O knight with seraphim’s wings

Dressed black like the sky you gave me

Heart like the star for which you are named

Eyes like the sunset waves

Call to me through darkness

Shed your blood to feed my thirst and

take mine

As offerings to your hunger.

Ahi hay Lucifii

Chase me into the unformed lands and let use fall

Laughing into the abyss of gods

Where we might make a garden of our own

And people it with deities,

Thorns and vines and guardian palms.

O Angel of the Dawn,

Let us water it with silver and drink

Of its bounty as the fruits of

My love for you blossom

Into strange and wild flowers.

O Lucifer, so silent, let your blade

Fall to the sand and be buried

Like a bone tossed to vanity

Of the One Above.

Let your wings enfold me.

Be at peace.

Ahi hay Lucifii

Be at peace.

THE LAMENT FOR LUCIFER

Close my eyes to the sunlight,

My Morning Satr, my storm.

Fold your wings in grace and take your leave of me

Taste my blessings as you go

We will not lie as one again

For my womb is a garden of rot.

My heart is ashes.

My tears are blood.

Hunt well, my breath, and take with you

The bones of our children, wrapped in palm leaves.

Scatter them to the horizen and allay their cries.

I shall tend a grave of deep water

And shall wash away our enemies.

Bide well, my desert wind,

Hold aloft your blade and oil it with tears.

I shall be the owl upon the nightwind,

The cat with silent paws

And the serpent at the heels of Caine.

I shall be the seed of tears,

but my eyes shall be sand and silence,

My heart shall be the desert and the sea,

And my cry shall be the owl gone hunting

As the sun departs my sky.

Weep not, my beloved,

But hold me close in your distant chase.

We shall be the thorns of ruined Eden

Forget me not

Sun to my moon

Cry to my silence