If you haven’t already, check out the latest episode of Squeaky’s Cauldron to learn more about Lilith’s history, her energy, and other ways of working with her.
Lilith is a faceted goddess, one that inspires fear, supplication, and admiration in equal quantities. She personifies the dark feminine, that sinuous energy that moves like a snake in the grass. Quiet, at first, until it demands attention. Sometimes in the form of a warning rattle, sometimes as a poisonous sinking of fangs.
We all carry this archetype within us, to varying degrees, and we ignore it at our peril. For when the fangs come out, we’re the ones at risk of getting bitten.
Whether you’re looking to establish a working relationship with Lilith, deepen an existing one, or just increase your awareness of where this energy exists within you, determining Her placements in your astrological chart will help.
Where Are You, Lilith?
There are 3–or 4, depending on who you ask–Lilith placements in any given chart. It’s a testament to the strength and allure of this energy that so many aspects of the sky have been given Her name.
Black Moon Lilith (Mean and True/Oscillating)
This is the apogee of the moon, or the farthest point in its orbit. Because the moon doesn’t actually rotate around the exact center of the earth, and the earth doesn’t rotate on an exact axis, either, the actual orbit of the moon is pretty wild. (Check out this video for a nice visual.)
Which is why we have the Mean Black Moon Lilith, and the True Black Moon Lilith. The former averages out the moon’s orbit, while the latter takes an exact point in the moon’s orbit as the placement. The two will be close to one another, but may end up in different signs and houses.
Dark Moon Lilith
Black Moon Lilith and Dark Moon Lilith are often confused with one another. Which makes sense, given their needlessly similar names. This placement has a backstory as wild as the orbit of the moon.
In 1898, astronomer George Waltemath claimed he’d found a second moon, as well as a system of tinier moons, orbiting the earth. He predicted it would be visible on just two nights, and twelve people even claimed to have seen it! Those claims, as well as the existence of the moon, were later debunked.
Still, the impression that this odd blip in astronomical history has made on astrology is significant. 20 years later, astrologer Walter Gornold, claimed to have seen this ‘dark moon’ moving across the face of the sun, and named it Lilith.
Asteroid Lilith
The most recently discovered Lilith placement, this asteroid was first seen in 1914, and later named in 1927. Russian-French astronomer Benjamin Jakhowsky had the honor of attaching the moniker of Lilith to the asteroid, after French composer Lili Boulanger. Boulanger died at the heartbreaking age of 24, 9 years prior to Jakhowsky’s contribution.
There is no evidence that Boulanger ever went by ‘Lilith’ while she was alive, making Jakhowsky’s choice a curious one. Could it be the energy of Lilith reaching out, making herself known?
What do the placements mean?
There are many different ways to interpret the Lilith placements in your chart. I’m going to offer my personal perspective on each placement, but I find it’s always more fruitful to take some time and sit with possible interpretations until your personal truth inevitably comes shining through.
Black Moon Lilith
This placement is commonly seen as the most impactful in a person’s chart, and I’ve found that to be true for myself, as well. Whether you take the Mean measurement or the True measurement, this is the placement that seems to sum up the totality of Lilith’s energies.
Where you find this in your chart can show you where you have both strengths and challenges when it comes to sexual expression, personal autonomy, and making choices based on self worth.
The developed Lilith energy is confident, knows what she wants to say, and says it with power. She feels comfortable in her body, and embraces sex and sexual energy according to her internal compass, and no other’s. She will leave a situation that doesn’t serve her, without a second thought.
The undeveloped energy of Lilith is like taking all of the above, and filtering it through the frontal lobe of a thirteen year old. She may know what she wants to say, but what she wants to say isn’t grounded in the work of personal reflection. Sexual expression comes out as a means validation and rebellion based in anger. She will leave a situation that challenges her, whether or not that challenge has its roots in growth.
Both forms of this energy are necessary parts of the development process. Particularly when we first start to reconnect with our inherent dark feminine energy, the undeveloped Lilith has to come through. She has been repressed, put into a box that cramps her wings, and is full of rage and a not insignificant level of desperation. It is the energy of the drowning woman, gasping for air.
Dark Moon Lilith
Due in part to Dark Moon Lilith’s dicey background, and its continually debated existence, this placement can show us information about our intuitive/psychic gifts, as well as areas we might experience particular challenges with Lilith’s energy.
The likelihood that Dark Moon Lilith exists in the way that Waltemath proposed is extremely slim. However, that’s exactly the characteristic that lends itself to indicating where our third eye may be the most open. This is a celestial body that exists purely within the minds and imaginations of those aware of it. Despite it being roundly debunked as a physical presence, it is still deeply present in our psyches.
Whether or not Waltemath saw an actual moon, what is true is that 12 others claimed to see something, and were debunked. There’s an element of coercion involved here. Not on Waltemath’s behalf, but the more suggestive appeal of the edgewalkers.
There’s no doubt that Lilith lives on the fringes of our minds, our hearts, and our societies. Never in the center, but always present. Many of us find our homes there. Again, we have to look at the aligned expression of this energy, versus the expression that comes from misalignment. When things are undeveloped, or springing from egoic wells, this energy can become the appeal of addiction. A way to feel at home that is, ultimately, both false and destructive.
Look to this placement to see where you can pierce the veil, and where you may be prone to delusions.
Asteroid Lilith
This placement, to me, is a kind of gentrified Lilith energy. Drawing from its origin story, again, we see a celestial body that was discovered in a laboratory and named, in part if not in whole, after a musical prodigy who died too young.
There is the energy of creative power, which is the equivalent of sexual power, elicited by Lili Boulanger. But she has retained the blush of youth due to her early passage. Too, within the time she spent in that incarnation, Boulanger dedicated so much of herself to that creation. Beautiful works sprang from her, expressions of a clearly aligned creative force.
Look to this placement to see where Lilith’s energy may come through with clarity, strength, and a minimal amount of drama. It is Lilith in her most assured and grounded expression. She knows exactly who she is, has no need to prove it to anyone, and can move through the world in a way that enriches both her own life and the lives of those around her.
How to find your Lilith placements
Now that you’ve got a grasp on what these placements can mean for you, how the heck do you go about finding them on your chart?
Honestly, this is the easiest part of the whole process, thanks to the amazing folks at astro.com. They have created an enormous resource for astrologers, from the absolute novice to the seasoned reader. Aaaaand you don’t even have to sign up for anything to get access to your chart. It’s nice to have an account, though, so you can save your own chart, as well as the charts of everyone you meet. Ever. I know that’s not just me collecting precious data.
You will need you birth date, time, and place. If you don’t have your exact birth time, start with 1am on the day you were born, then adjust the time until the chart feels right. You won’t have the most accurate chart, but I think it’s better than nothing.
Step by Step
- Head over to astro.com
- Scroll down a little, and on the right hand side you’ll see “Charts & Calculations”
- From there, select “Extended Charts”
- After being asked if you want to login, you’ll be prompted to enter your birth info.
- On the next page you get to adjust all the things. Below is what you’ll need, with the addition that I changed how the houses show up, because I prefer whole sign houses. I think it’s easier to read, and is what I’d recommend if you’re new to astrology. The lower half of the screenshot shows where you’ll add the Lilith placements. The Lilith selection on the left gives you the Mean Black Moon. H13is for True Black Moon, H58 is for DarkMoon/Waldemath, and 1181 is for asteroid Lilith.
- A “Show the Chart” button will show up on the bottom of the screen. Click it and get something that looks like this.
Go Forth and Lilith
You now have everything you need to find and begin understanding the Lilith placements in your chart! Spend some time with each placement, possibly in meditation or when using freewriting, or even in a tarot reading. Allow information from Lilith to come through about each of these placements.
One last thing to note: if you found this article, Lilith is already reaching out to you, asking if you want to dance. Exploring her placements in your chart is a beautiful way to get into her groove.
If you found this helpful, please let me know! I’d love to hear your thoughts.