Path of Lilith

Path of Lilith
Nickname	Lilins, Bahari
Faction	Tal'Mahe'Ra, also found in the Sabbat
Bearing	Tribulation
Virtues	Conviction, Instinct (Classical and Lilin Witch Doctrines) Conviction, Self-Control (Azicithra and Thorn Garden Doctrines) Conscience, Instinct (Red Midwife Doctrine)

The Path of Lilith is an ancient Path of Enlightenment that has its roots in various Bahari cults. It suppresses the Beast by pursuing the secrets of Lilith and by rejoicing in pain and ecstasy.

The Path originated in the far older Road of Lilith. The Path of Awakening and the Path of Flesh are side-branches of the original Path.

Adherents are called Lilins or Bahari.

Overview

Central to the Path is the mythical figure of Lilith. The legends among the Bahari tell how she was betrayed by men, first by God, then by Adam, by Lucifer and Caine, and of the strange monsters she birthed to plague the world. They tell of mighty kingdoms her children erected to rival those made by the children of Seth and how they warred with the inhabitants of Enoch. It is said that three of Lilith's descendants entered the First City to receive the Embrace and that they eventually led the rebellion against the Second Generation. When the Deluge destroyed the first mortal civilizations, these Lilins further spread their teachings to convert the childer of Caine into the service of the Dark Mother.

No two versions of a holy text among the Lilins are the same. The only thing all agree upon is that Lilith is the Dark Mother of Wisdom and Power and that her knowledge comes at a price paid in pain. Suffering and pain are seen as the gateway to enlightenment, just as Lilith first suffered in order to understand and to grow beyond her limits. Like a parent disciplining an errant child, Lilith passes on a legacy of pain that teaches, and so the Lilins seek to overcome the weaknesses of their blind, helpless births, ascending to understanding and power. By walking in fire, impaling themselves on thorns and blades, suffering deprivation, and plunging into icy water, the Lilins excite their bodies and minds to true sensation, and open their consciousness to the entirety of the world. From the dizzying heights of comprehension, at the needlepoint of pain, they learn the true measure of creation, that they may take the formless stuff of the world and cast it in a new image. Enlightenment must burn and tear away illusions and flaws.

Among the Sabbat, this path is regarded as heretical (as they disregard the supremacy of Caine and the Book of Nod) and its followers are hunted by the Sabbat Inquisition.

Quote

of the darkness we are all born. The demons and wraiths are your siblings and the Lupines your cousins. All which is supernatural was born of the Queen of the Night. Lilith, our dark mother. One night she will return, as she has before in legend, to murder her children and reclaim the power she has lent us for our short, macabre unlifetimes. We must prepare for her; we must discover ourselves in her teachings, for all our dilemmas, and the solutions to them, reside in her.

- Crenshaw Ghast, Lilinist and Camarilla Primogen of Dallas

Ethics - Classical

• Only through pain are we elevated
• Be a teacher, torturer and lover to any who seek enlightenment
• Practice what you learn. Wisdom is meaningless unless it accompanies action
• Cultivate a garden, that you may show the power of your own creation
• Seek out those on the border of awareness and initiate them
• Gather with your fellow students to share your learning and anguish

Ethics - Azicithra

• Caine was born of Lilith (as the Serpent) and Eve to punish Adam and Jehovah, but in pride, s/he forgot his/her purpose.
• Caine is both man and woman. The “mark of Caine” refers to his/her nature as a twin-sexed being, which Adam concealed and Jehovah unmasked.
• In defiance of Lilith, Caine gave birth to vampires and other monsters.
• In the Final Nights, Lilith will reconcile with Caine. Mother and child will judge the Kindred together.

Ethics - Red Midwife

• The children of Caine and Seth abandoned the secrets of birth for patriarchal folly.
• Women must be given full control of the power of birth.
• Birth is the ultimate creative force, and Lilith’s highest manifestation is as the Mother of Monsters.
• We will achieve enlightenment by inheriting the power of Lilith’s womb so that the dead may give birth to the living, the living may give birth to the dead, and all may beget children stronger than their mothers.

Ethics - Thorn Garden

• Pain is a creator, teacher, and sacrament. This is the lesson of the Mother at D’hainu.
• Endure suffering to exalt oneself, but not for any other reason.
• Never cause pain to simply please oneself, but to help the recipient learn and experience gnosis.
• Terror is better than any Masquerade. Masquerades can be broken, but those who fear you not only hide you from others, but from themselves

Ethics - Lilin Witch

• Lilith was the first Awakened witch, but was never merely mortal.
• She Ascended to the ranks of the Pure Ones and returned to teach the Art to the living and dead.
• The Self is a garden, with seasons of growth and withering.
• Do not ignore or squander the power of life

Hierarchy of Sins

Path of Lilith (Classical)
Rating	Moral Guideline	Rationale
10	Feeding immediately when hungry.	Deprivation and hunger taught Lilith to survive.
9	Seeking wealth or temporal power.	True wealth comes from inside, not from money or influence.
8	Not correcting the false myths of Caine.	Caine was a murderer, traitor, and fool who deserves no reverence.
7	Feeling remorse for bringing pain to someone.	Pain and suffering help others to learn and grow.
6	Failing to participate in a Bahari ritual.	The rituals handed down through time contain clues to awakening.
5	Fearing death.	Death is simply an inevitable change to a new form of existence.
4	Killing a living or unliving being.	Death denies one the chance to transcend.
3	Not seeking out the teachings of Lilith.	Lilith hid her works in many places; they must be found.
2	Failing to dispense pain and anguish.	Be a teacher through the pain.
1	Shunning pain.	Only through pain are we reborn. To shun pain is to embrace ignorance.

Path of Lilith (Azicithra)
Rating	Moral Guideline
10	Feeding immediately when Hungry.
9	Tolerating any holy figure being raised above Lilith.
8	Failing to subvert the works of Noddists.
7	Feeling remorse for bringing pain to someone.
6	Failing to participate in a Bahari ritual.
5	Fearing death.
4	Sacrificing fellow Bahari to achieve your goals.
3	Not seeking out the teachings of Lilith.
2	Failing to dispense pain and anguish.
1	Shunning pain.

Path of Lilith (Red Midwife)
Rating	Moral Guideline
10	Feeding immediately when hungry.
9	Seeking wealth or temporal power.
8	Failing to attend a nearby birth or Embrace if other assistance would not be forthcoming.
7	Feeling remorse for bringing pain to someone.
6	Failing to participate in a Bahari ritual.
5	Shunning inhuman or monstrous creatures.
4	Killing a living or unliving being.
3	Hindering your childe’s search for gnosis and power.
2	Failing to dispense pain and anguish.
1	Shunning pain.

Path of Lilith (Thorn Garden)
Rating	Moral Guideline
10	Failing to recreate the Garden of D’hainu in Enoch.
9	Seeking wealth or temporal power.
8	Not correcting the false myths of Caine.
7	Feeling remorse for bringing pain to someone.
6	Failing to participate in a Bahari ritual.
5	Teaching without inflicting suffering
4	Killing a living or unliving being.
3	Not seeking out the teachings of Lilith.
2	Destroying an enemy in an expedient fashion without visiting instructive agonies upon him.
1	Shunning pain.

Path of Lilith (Lilin Witch)
Rating	Moral Guideline
10	Feeding immediately when hungry.
9	Failing to cultivate the Dark Mother’s religion among mortals.
8	Not correcting the false myths of Caine.
7	Failing to protect faithful followers of Lilith.
6	Failing to participate in a Bahari ritual.
5	Fearing death.
4	Killing a living or unliving being.
3	Not seeking out the teachings of Lilith.
2	Destroying magical secrets and Bahari scripture
1	Shunning pain.

Gallery

The Path of Lilith VTES card. Art by Shane Coppage

References

• VTM: Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand, p. 64-65
• VTM: Guide to the Sabbat, p. 141-144
• VTM: Chaining the Beast, p. 61-65
• VTM: Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition, p. 329-331
• VTM: The Black Hand: A Guide to the Tal'Mahe'Ra, p. 63-74