Succubus
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For other uses, see Succubus (disambiguation).
A 16th Century sculpture representing a succubus.
Lilith (1892) by John Collier in Southport Atkinson Art Gallery
In folklore traced back to medieval legend, a succubus (plural succubi) is a female
demon appearing in dreams who takes the form of a human woman in order to seduce
men, usually through sexual intercourse. The male counterpart is the incubus.
Religious traditions hold that repeated intercourse with a succubus may result in
the deterioration of health or even death.
In modern fictional representations, a succubus may or may not appear in dreams and
is often depicted as a highly attractive seductress or enchantress, in contrast to
the past where succubi were generally depicted as frightening and demonic.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Etymology
* 2 In folklore
* 3 Ability to reproduce
* 4 Possible explanation for alleged encounters with succubi
* 5 Qarinah
* 6 Succubi in fiction
* 7 See also
* 8 References
Etymology
The word is derived from Late Latin succuba "strumpet" (from succubare "to lie
under", from sub- "under" and cubare "to lie"), used to describe the supernatural
being as well. It is first attested from 1387.[1]
In folklore
According to Zohar and the Alphabet of Ben Sira, Lilith was Adam's first wife who
later became a succubus.[2] She left Adam and refused to return to the Garden of
Eden after she mated with archangel Samael.[3] In Zoharistic Kabbalah, there were
four succubi who mated with archangel Samael. They were four original queens of the
demons Lilith, Agrat Bat Mahlat, Naamah, and Eisheth Zenunim. In later folklore, a
succubus took the form of a siren.
Throughout history, priests and rabbis including Hanina Ben Dosa and Abaye, tried
to curb the power of succubi over humans.[4]
Not all succubi were malevolent. According to Walter Mapes in De Nugis Curialium
(Trifles of Courtiers), Pope Sylvester II (999�1003) was involved with a succubus
named Meridiana, who helped him achieve his high rank in the Catholic Church.
Before his death, he confessed of his sins and died repentant.[5]
Ability to reproduce
According to the Kabbalah and the school of Rashba, the original three queens of
the demons, Agrat Bat Mahlat, Naamah, and Eisheth Zenunim and all their cohorts
give birth to children, except Lilith.[6] According to other legends, the children
of Lilith are called Lilin.
According to the Malleus Maleficarum, or "Witches' Hammer", written by Heinrich
Kramer (Insitoris) in 1486, a succubus collects semen from the men she seduces. The
incubi or male demons then use the semen to impregnate human females,[7] thus
explaining how demons could apparently sire children despite the traditional belief
that they were incapable of reproduction. Children so begotten � cambions � were
supposed to be those that were born deformed, or more susceptible to supernatural
influences.[8] The book does not address why a human female impregnated with the
semen of a human male would not produce a regular human offspring.
Possible explanation for alleged encounters with succubi
In the field of medicine, there is some belief that the stories relating to
encounters with succubi bear similar resemblance to the contemporary phenomenon of
people reporting alien abductions, which has been ascribed to the condition known
as sleep paralysis. It is therefore suggested that historical accounts of people
experiencing encounters with succubi may have been in fact symptoms of sleep
paralysis, with the hallucination of the said creatures coming from their
contemporary culture.[9][10]
Qarinah
In Arabic superstition, the qar�nah (?????) is a spirit similar to the succubus,
with origins possibly in ancient Egyptian religion or in the animistic beliefs of
pre-Islamic Arabia (see Arabian mythology).[11] A qar�nah "sleeps with the person
and has relations during sleep as is known by the dreams."[12] They are said to be
invisible, but a person with "second sight" can see them, often in the form of a
cat, dog, or other household pet.[11] "In Omdurman it is a spirit which
possesses. ... Only certain people are possessed and such people cannot marry or
the qarina will harm them."[13]
Succubi in fiction
Main article: Succubi in fiction
Throughout history, succubi have been popular characters in music, literature,
film, television, and especially as video game and anime characters.
See also
Similar creatures in folklore
* Al Basti
* Empusa
* Hisa-me
* Hone-onna
* Huldra
* Huli jing
* Incubus
* Kitsune
* Lamia
* Lid�rc
* Mara
* Melusine
* Qar�nah
* Rusalka
* Spirit spouse
* Vandella
* Yuki-onna
General
* Demonology
* Enchantress
* Energy vampire
* Ethereal being
* Femme fatale
* Naamah (demon)
* Seduction
* The Succubus (South Park series)
References
1. ^ Harper, Douglas. "succubus". Online Etymology Dictionary.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=succubus.
2. ^ The Story of Lilith
3. ^ Samael & Lilith
4. ^ Geoffrey W. Dennis, The encyclopedia of Jewish myth, magic and mysticism.
p. 126
5. ^ History of the Succubus
6. ^ Alan Humm, Kabbala: Lilith, Queen of the Demons
7. ^ Kramer, Heinrich and Sprenger, James (1486), Summers, Montague (translator
� 1928), The Malleus Maleficarum, Part2, Chapter VIII, "Certain Remedies prescribed
against those Dark and Horrid Harms with which Devils may Afflict Men," at sacred-
texts.com
8. ^ Lewis, James R., Oliver, Evelyn Dorothy, Sisung Kelle S. (Editor) (1996),
Angels A to Z, Entry: Incubi and Succubi, pp. 218, 219, Visible Ink Press, ISBN 0-
7876-0652-9,Till date, most Africa belief has it that men that have similar
experience with such principality (succubus) in dreams (usually in form of a pretty
lady) find themselves exhausted as soon as they wake up, and often ascribing
spiritual attack to them. Again, rituals/divination are often resulted to with a
view to appeasing the god for divine protection and intervention, while the
christian folks direct their intervention to God through either fasting and prayer
or going for anointing and deliverance (I.E. Bello)
9. ^ "Sleep Paralysis". The Skeptics Dictionary.
http://www.skepdic.com/sleepparalysis.html.
10. ^ "Phenomena of Awareness during Sleep Paralysis". Trionic Research
Institute. http://www.trionica.com/asp/phenomena/index.htm.
11. ^ a b Zwemer, Samuel M. (1939). "5". Studies in Popular Islam: Collection of
Papers dealing with the Superstitions and Beliefs of the Common People. London:
Sheldon Press. http://www.answering-islam.org/Books/Zwemer/Studies/chap5.htm.
12. ^ Tremearne, A. J. N.. Ban of the Bori: Demons and Demon-Dancing in West and
North Africa.
13. ^ Trimingham, J. Spencer (1965). Islam in the Sudan. London: Frank Cass & Co.
Ltd.. p. 172. Till date, most Africa belief has it that men that have similar
experience with such principality (succubus) in dreams (usually in form of a pretty
lady) find themselves exhausted as soon as they wake up, and often ascribing
spiritual attack to them. Again, rituals/divination are often resulted to with a
view to appeasing the god for divine protection and intervention, while the
christian folks direct their intervention to God through either fasting and prayer
or going for anointing and deliverance (I.E. Bello)
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