A succubus is a demon or supernatural entity in folklore, in female form, that appears in dreams to seduce men, usually through sexual activity. According to religious tradition, a succubus needs male semen to survive; repeated sexual activity with a succubus will result in a bond being formed between the succubus and the man; a succubus cannot drain or harm the man with whom she is having intercourse. The male counterpart to the succubus is the incubus. As depicted in the Jewish mystical treatise Zohar and the medieval Jewish satirical text Alphabet of Ben Sira, Lilith was Adam’s first wife, who later became a succubus. She left Adam and refused to return to the Garden of Eden after she mated with the archangel Samael. In Zoharistic Kabbalah, there were four succubi who mated with the archangel Samael. The four original queens of the demons were Lilith, Eisheth, Agrat bat Mahlat, and Naamah. A succubus may take a form of a beautiful young girl, but closer inspection may reveal deformities of her body, such as bird-like claws or serpentine tails. In later folklore, a succubus took the form of a siren. A Buddhist scripture regarding prayer to Avalokiteśvara, the Dharani Sutra of Amoghapāśa, promises to those who pray that “you will not be attacked by demons who either suck your energy or make love to you in your dreams.” In Arabian mythology, the qarînah (قرينة) is a spirit similar to the succubus, with origins possibly in ancient Egyptian religion or in the animistic beliefs of pre-Islamic Arabia. A qarînah “sleeps with the person and has relations during sleep as is known by the dreams”. 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. To date, many African myths claim that men who have similar experience with such principality (succubus) in dreams (usually in form of a beautiful woman) find themselves exhausted as soon as they awaken, often claiming spiritual attack upon them. Local rituals/divination are often invoked to appeal to god for divine protection and intervention.
Appearance List City of God (c. 426) by Augustine of Hippo — acknowledges traditions of incubi mating with women; Etymologiae (c. 615–630) by Isidore of Seville — discusses incubi etymology and demon lore; Alphabet of Ben Sira (8th–10th century) by Anonymous — earliest full Lilith-as-Adam’s-first-wife narrative (basis for later succubus motifs); The Zohar (late 13th century) by Anonymous (traditionally attributed to Moses de León) — kabbalistic text with developed Lilith demonology; De nugis curialium (c. 1180s) by Walter Map — includes demonic/sexual spirits lore often cited in incubus/succubus discussions; Malleus Maleficarum (1486) by Heinrich Kramer (attributed in some editions also to Jacob Sprenger) — extended treatment of incubi/succubi; Daemonologie (1597) by James VI and I — explicitly names “incubi” and “succubae”; A Mad World, My Masters (1608 quarto) by Thomas Middleton — features a Succubus onstage (devil in a woman’s likeness); De daemonialitate, et incubis et succubis (written c. late 17th c.; Eng. trans. 1879) by Ludovico Maria Sinistrari — classic treatise devoted to incubi/succubi; Daemonolatreiae libri tres / Demonolatry (1595) by Nicolas Rémy — widely cited demonology, includes sexual demons; “Le Succube” in Contes drôlatiques (1837) by Honoré de Balzac; Lady Lilith (painting 1866–68; sonnet “Body’s Beauty” 1868/1870) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti — Victorian Lilith/succubus iconography; Descent into Hell (1937) by Charles Williams — modern novel employing succubus-like encounter motifs; “The Likeness of Julie” (1962) by Richard Matheson (as Logan Swanson); The Hebrew Goddess (1967) by Raphael Patai — seminal study of Lilith in Jewish tradition.
Sample Read Lady Lilith by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1868) [Web]
Description A succubus is a demon or supernatural entity in folklore, in female form, that appears in dreams to seduce men, usually through sexual activity. According to religious tradition, a succubus needs male semen to survive; repeated sexual activity with a succubus will result in a bond being formed between the succubus and the man; a succubus cannot drain or harm the man with whom she is having intercourse. The male counterpart to the succubus is the incubus. As depicted in the Jewish mystical treatise Zohar and the medieval Jewish satirical text Alphabet of Ben Sira, Lilith was Adam’s first wife, who later became a succubus. She left Adam and refused to return to the Garden of Eden after she mated with the archangel Samael. In Zoharistic Kabbalah, there were four succubi who mated with the archangel Samael. The four original queens of the demons were Lilith, Eisheth, Agrat bat Mahlat, and Naamah. A succubus may take a form of a beautiful young girl, but closer inspection may reveal deformities of her body, such as bird-like claws or serpentine tails. In later folklore, a succubus took the form of a siren. A Buddhist scripture regarding prayer to Avalokiteśvara, the Dharani Sutra of Amoghapāśa, promises to those who pray that “you will not be attacked by demons who either suck your energy or make love to you in your dreams.” In Arabian mythology, the qarînah (قرينة) is a spirit similar to the succubus, with origins possibly in ancient Egyptian religion or in the animistic beliefs of pre-Islamic Arabia. A qarînah “sleeps with the person and has relations during sleep as is known by the dreams”. 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. To date, many African myths claim that men who have similar experience with such principality (succubus) in dreams (usually in form of a beautiful woman) find themselves exhausted as soon as they awaken, often claiming spiritual attack upon them. Local rituals/divination are often invoked to appeal to god for divine protection and intervention.
