text: Lilith was made not from the rib of Adam, but by the same Earth from which God made the first man. From the beginning, she was a strong and independent woman. Lilith refused her expected position beneath Adam, and therefore defied God himself. When Adam realized that he held no power over her, he went to God to tell Him that he wished for another wife- one whom he could bend to his will. God went to Lilith and told her of her situation. He gave her two options: either she could stay and obey Adam as his wife and live out her days with him in the Garden, or she could reject the life He had given her and be banished as an outcast... Doomed to roam the Earth alone forever. But God had underestimated Lilith, for she cared neither for the opinion of man nor the direction of the Lord. So she chose to walk away from Adam, the Garden, and her Creator. When she reached the border of that perfect place, she looked out over the world and saw nothing but a barren wasteland. Although her heart was strong, she felt the fear of the unknown. As Lilith stood at the edge of her world, she knew that she could not return to Adam; she had no choice now but to make a life for herself. A life separate from the rules of God and Man. Her heart soared. She was her own God. No - Goddess... Free to do as she pleased and live her life as she saw fit. Lilith stepped out of the Garden and into the desolate landscape. As she did so, life began to grow around her. It was not quite the same as life in the Garden for it had not been made by the hand of God, but it was life nonetheless. And so out walked Lilith into the unknown, creating life as she went. She wandered alone, but she was never lonely. She had learned to make friends with the life she created. Lilith spoke to the trees and the grass. When the wind howled, she howled back. When it rained, she cried along with the sky just as the sky cried along with her. The sun always followed the storm however, and when it shone she danced in her grassy meadows and sang to her beloved trees. She travelled the Earth for centuries this way - Her mood and fancy changing the landscape and seasons as she went. When there was no piece left of the Earth untouched by her naked feet, she decided to return to the Garden. Lilith wondered about God and Adam, and wished to show them everything she had created. The years had made her a stronger and prouder woman, and she wished also to prove her worth to the God and the Man that had cast her from Eden. But when she reached the Garden, her heart drowned in sorrow. She had roamed the Earth, spreading her love and care - and even her soul - to every corner of the world. But there was nothing that could compare to the divine beauty of God's creation. Here everything was perfect, and the trees and the grass danced to the birdsong which filled the air. Here too, there was more life than she could create herself. Creatures large and small roamed or played amongst the flowers and in the streams. Lilith sat beneath a mighty tree and wept, but in the Garden the sky did not weep with her. And Lilith felt lonely for the first time. When she awoke, she found a serpent lying among the branches of the tree above her. She inspected the snake - its searching tongue and brilliant scales. Suddenly, she had a feeling in her mind's eye. What you and I feel when you know someone is watching you. "Lilith" came the voice. Realizing it was the snake, Lilith reached out her arm to allow the creature to whisper into her ear. "How do you know me?" She asked the serpent, looking into its unblinking eye. "I've seen the life you have created of your own will and strength, and I will help you" it hissed. "I need help from neither man nor God. Why do I need yours?" She replied. "God has made a new wife for Adam, taken from his side rather than the Earth as He made you. Eve is his servant, and he uses her as he sees fit. Pick a fruit from this tree and give it to Eve. When she eats it, you will have all that you desire. Everything that grows and multiplies here will also grow and multiply in the world you have created. You will be the mother of all the creatures of this beautiful place." So Lilith set out to find Eve with the serpent draped across her shoulders. Eve was found by Lilith lying on a moss bed under a tree, admiring the dancing of the flowers growing around her. She looked up and discovered Lilith there, and the two women greeted each other. Eve was more beautiful than Lilith, and Lilith held signs of age where Eve did not. She felt both envy and pity for the woman that the Lord had created as her replacement. "Take this fruit Eve." said Lilith "Eat it, and know your power. The power to give life and the power to destroy it. A power no man may ever take away." So Eve ate the fruit of the Tree of Life.