Succubus

A succubus is a Lilin-demon in female form, or supernatural entity in folklore

(traced back to medieval legend) that appears in dreams and takes the form of a
woman in order to seduce men, usually through sexual activity. The male
counterpart is the incubus. Religious traditions hold that repeated sexual activity
with a succubus may result in the deterioration of health or mental state, or even in
death.

In modern representations, a succubus may or may not appear in dreams and is often
depicted as a highly attractive seductress or enchantress; whereas, in the past,
succubi were generally depicted as frightening and demonic.

Contents
1 Etymology
2 In folklore A 16th-century sculpture
3 Ability to reproduce representing a succubus.
4 Qarinah
5 Yakshini
6 Scientific explanations
7 In fiction
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

Etymology
The word is derived from Late Latin succuba "paramour"; from succub(re) "to lie beneath" (sub- "under" + cubre "to lie in
bed"),[1] used to describe the sleeper's position to the supernatural being as well. The word "succubus" originates from the late 14th
century.[2]

In folklore
According to Zohar and the Alphabet of Ben Sira, Lilith was Adam's first wife, who later became a succubus.[3] She left Adam and
refused to return to the Garden of Eden after she mated with archangel Samael.[4] In Zoharistic Kabbalah, there were four succubi
who mated with the archangel Samael. There were four original queens of the demons: Lilith, Eisheth, Agrat Bat Mahlat, and
Naamah.[5] 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.[6] Folklore also describes the act of sexually penetrating a succubus as akin to entering a cavern of
ice, and there are reports of succubi forcing men to perform cunnilingus on their vulvas that drip with urine and other fluids.[7] In
later folklore, a succubus took the form of asiren.
Throughout history, priests and rabbis, including Hanina Ben Dosa and Abaye, tried to curb the power of succubi over humans.[8]
However, not all succubi were malevolent. According to Walter Map in the satire De Nugis Curialium (Trifles of Courtiers), Pope
Sylvester II (9991003) was allegedly involved with a succubus named Meridiana, who helped him achieve his high rank in the
[9]
Catholic Church. Before his death, he confessed of his sins and died repentant.

Ability to reproduce
According to the Kabbalah and the school of Rashba, the original three queens of the demons, Agrat Bat Mahlat, Naamah, Eisheth
Zenunim, and all their cohorts give birth to children, except Lilith.[10] According to other legends, the children of Lilith are called
Lilin.

According to the Malleus Maleficarum, or "Witches' Hammer", written by Heinrich Kramer (Institoris) in 1486, a succubus collects
semen from the men she seduces. The incubi or male demons then use the semen to impregnate human females,[11] 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.[12] The
book does not address why a human female impregnated with the semen of a human male would not produce a regular human
offspring, although after transferring the male semen to the Incubi it is believed the semen is altered to match the genetic material of
the Succubus and the incubi before being transferred to a human female host. But in some lore the child is born deformed because the
conception was unnatural.

King James in his dissertation titled Dmonologie refutes the possibility for angelic entities to reproduce and instead offered a
suggestion that a devil would carry out two methods of impregnating women: the first, to steal the sperm out of a dead man and
deliver it into a woman. If a demon could extract the semen quickly, the transportation of the substance could not be instantly
transported to a female host, causing it to go cold. This explains his view that Succubae and Incubi were the same demonic entity
only to be described differently based on the tormented sexes being conversed with. The second method was the idea that a dead
body could be possessed by a devil, causing it to rise and have sexual relations with others. However, there is no mention of a female
corpse being possessed to elicit sex from men.[13]

Qarinah
In Arabian mythology, the qarnah ( )is a spirit similar to the succubus, with origins possibly in ancient Egyptian religion or in
the animistic beliefs of pre-Islamic Arabia.[14] A qarnah "sleeps with the person and has relations during sleep as is known by the
dreams."[15] 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.[14] "In Omdurman it is a spirit which possesses. ... Only certain people are possessed and such people cannot marry or
the qarina will harm them."[16] 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 in order to appeal the god for divine protection and intervention.

Yakshini
In India, the succubus is referred to as Yakshini and are mythical beings within Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain mythology. Yakshinis are
the female counterpart of the male Yaksha, and they are attendees of Kubera, the Hindu god of wealth who rules in the mythical
Himalayan kingdom of Alaka. They are the guardians of the treasure hidden in the earth and resemble fairies. Yakshinis are often
depicted as beautiful and voluptuous, with wide hips, narrow waists, broad shoulders, and exaggerated, spherical breasts.

Scientific explanations
In the field of medicine, there is some belief that the stories relating to encounters with succubi bear resemblance to the contemporary
phenomenon of people reporting alien abductions,[17] 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 rather have been symptoms of sleep
[18][19]
paralysis, with the hallucination of the said creatures coming from their contemporary culture.
Many, including King James VI, have also correlated the succubi to wet dreams, or nocturnal emission. During the time when
succubus lore was created, any sexual activities that were not purposefully procreative were considered sinful. The succubi may well
have been an explanation for men who could not control their biological function, yet wanted to stay faithful to their society
.

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 Lamia (Basque mythology) Revenant

Clodhna Leanan sdhe Rusalka
Empusa Lidrc Samodiva
Hisa-me Mara Spirit spouse
Hone-onna Melusine Trauco
Huldra Moura Encantada Tunda
Huli jing Sayona Vandella
Incubus Sihuanaba Xana
Jorogumo Soucouyant Xtabay
Kitsune Patasola Yuki-onna
Kumiho Pontianak
Lamia Popobawa

General

Demonology Enchantress Femme fatale

Classification of demons Energy vampire Nocturnal emission

References
1. "Succuba" (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/succuba). dictionary.com.
2. Harper, Douglas. "Succubus" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=succubus). Online Etymology Dictionary.
3. "The Story Of Lilith" (http://jewishchristianlit.com/Topics/Lilith/alphabet.html). jewishchristianlit.com. Retrieved
21 September 2016.
4. "Samael & Lilith" (http://istina.rin.ru/eng/ufo/text/663.html). istina.rin.ru. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
5. "Zohar: Chapter XXXII"(http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/zdm/zdm041.htm).
6. Davidson, Jane P. (2012). Early modern supernatural : the dark side of European culture, 1400-1700
. Santa
Barbara, Calif.: Praeger. p. 40. ISBN 9780313393433.
7. Guiley, Rosemary Ellen (2008).The encyclopedia of witches, witchcraft and wicca(3rd ed.). New York: Facts On
File. p. 95. ISBN 9781438126845.
8. Geoffrey W. Dennis, The encyclopedia of Jewish myth, magic and mysticism. p. 126
9. History of the Succubus(https://web.archive.org/web/20040717001332/http://www
.cyodine.com:80/succubus/Histor
y.htm)
10. Alan Humm. "Kabbala: Lilith, Queen of the Demons"(http://www.lilithgallery.com/library/lilith/Queen-of-the-Demons.h
tml). lilithgallery.com. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
11. Kramer, Heinrich and Sprenger, James (1486), Summers, Montague (translator 1928),The Malleus Maleficarum,
Part2, Chapter VIII (http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/mm/mm02b08a.htm), "Certain Remedies prescribed against
those Dark and Horrid Harms with which Devils may Af flict Men," at sacred-texts.com (http://www.sacred-texts.com)
12. 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 ascribingspiritual attack to them. Again, rituals/divination are often resorted 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)
13. Warren, Brett (2016). The Annotated Dmonologie of King James. A Critical Edition. In Modern English
. pp. 7983.
ISBN 1-5329-6891-4.
14. Zwemer, Samuel M. (1939). "5". Studies in Popular Islam: Collection of Papers dealing with the Superstitions and
Beliefs of the Common People(http://www.answering-islam.org/Books/Zwemer/Studies/chap5.htm). London:
Sheldon Press.
15. Tremearne, A. J. N. Ban of the Bori: Demons and Demon-Dancing in W
est and North Africa.
16. Trimingham, J. Spencer(1965). Islam in the Sudan. London: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd. p. 172.
17. Knight-Jadczyk, Laura; Henri Sy (2005).The high strangeness of dimensions, densities, and the process of alien
abduction. [S.l.] : Red Pill Press. p. 92.ISBN 9781897244111.
18. "Sleep Paralysis" (http://www.skepdic.com/sleepparalysis.html). The Skeptics Dictionary.
19. "Phenomena of Awareness during Sleep Paralysis" (http://www.trionica.com/asp/phenomena/index.htm). Trionic
Research Institute.

External links
"The Wiki of the Succubi - SuccuWiki". www.succubus.net. Retrieved 6 November 2016.

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