Qlippoth
Qlippoth (also spelled Klipot or Qliphoth) are the representation of evil or impure spiritual forces in Jewish mystical Kabbalah. They are the opposites of the sefirot.
The schema commonly utilized to visualize the qlippoth is known as the Tree of Death (sometimes, "Tree of Knowledge") instead of the Tree of Life, where the sefirot reside.
Name
The word qlippoth originates in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic as: קְלִיפִּין, romanized as: qəlīppīn. The literal meaning of this word is "peels," "shells," or "husks."
In Hebrew, the word is rendered as: קְלִיפּוֹת, romanized as: qəlīppōṯ.
Although several translations are valid, the English word which most closely captures the esoteric meaning is "husk."
Definition
Many occultists have interpreted the qlippoth in different ways, depending on their personal cosmological beliefs as well as their personal experiences working with qlippothic energies. In broad terms, the qlippoth are the left-over remains of a previous incarnation of the universe in which we live. They represent shadows of a distant cosmic past which sometimes influence our present world.
The inherent danger of the qlippoth is that they do not represent the future or any type of universal "good," yet, they are freely accessible to people as they pursue higher spirituality. In this sense, qlippoth do their damage by seducing spiritual seekers with easy results that appear to emanate from a divine source. However, the qlippoth are not actually self-aware, sentient beings, but their powers may be utilized by entities commonly considered demonic.
List of the Qlippoth
- The correspondences in this table are not universally agreed upon by all scholars of Kabbalah.
| Category | Sphere | Qlippoth | Meaning | Tarot Card | Sefirah |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Realm of Darkness | 1 | Thaumiel | "Twins of God" | Justice | Keter |
| 2 | Ghogiel | "The Hinderers" | The Hanged Man | Chokmah | |
| 3 | Satariel | "Concealers" | Death | Binah | |
| Realm of Evil | 4 | Gha’ag Sheklah | "Smiters" | Temperance | Chesed |
| 5 | Golachab | "Burners" | The Devil | Gevurah | |
| 6 | Thagiriron | "The Disputers" | The Tower | Tiferet | |
| 7 | A’arab Zaraq | "Corrosive Ones" | The Star | Netzach | |
| Realm of Mud and Clay | 8 | Samael | "Poison of God" | The Moon | Hod |
| 9 | Gamaliel | "Obscene Ones" | The Sun | Yesod | |
| 10 | Lilith | "Queen of Night | Judgement | Malkuth | |
| Gateway | 11 | Belial | "Worthless" | The Fool | Da'at |
Interpretations
Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (1941) by Jewish philosopher Gershom Scholem highlighted the fluid nature of Kabbalistic mystical beliefs and the difficulty of arriving on consensus definitions within the Kabbalistic community of believers. This also applies to the qlippoth, with disparate views presented by Rabbis from different traditions.
Christian Knorr von Rosenroth's Kabbala denudata (1684) (translated The Kabbalah Unveiled by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers) equates these forces with the Kings of Edom and suggests they are the result of an imbalance towards Chesed ("the Pillar of Mercy") and have since been destroyed. In subsequent Hermetic teachings, the qlippoth have tended, much like the sefirot, to be interpreted as mystical worlds or entities, and merged with ideas derived from demonology.
Left-hand path views
British magician Kenneth Grant (1924 - 2011), founder of the Typhonian Order, a left-hand path fraternity of ritual magic, provided extensive teachings on the qlippoth. He idealized them as the shadow side of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, representing the chaotic, negative counterparts to the ten sefirot. Grant emphasized the importance of understanding and integrating these darker aspects for a holistic spiritual perspective.
Grant advocated for balancing light and dark forces, believing that engaging with qlippothic energies can lead to significant spiritual growth. He often linked the qlippoth to sex magic and Tantric practices, suggesting these could harness primal energies for transformation. Additionally, Grant suggested that H. P. Lovecraft's description of Yog-Sothoth as a conglomeration of "malignant globes" may have been inspired by the qlippoth. This connection underscores the view that qlippothic forces are integral to both ancient and contemporary esoteric thought.
In the Zohar
The qlippoth are first mentioned in the Zohar, where they are described as being created by God to function as a nutshell for holiness, likening them to a shell which precedes the creation of the fruit inside.
The Zohar gives specific names to some of the qlippoth, relaying them as counterparts to certain sephirot. Though the Zohar clarifies that there is a 1:1 ratio between each sefira and qlippa, it does not give all their names.
- Mashchith (מַשְׁחִית, romanized: mašḥīṯ, "destroyer") to Chesed
- Aph (אַף, romanized: ʾap̄, "anger") to Gevurah
- Hema (חֵמָה, romanized: ḥēmā, "wrath") to Tiferet
- Avon (עָוֹן, romanized: ʿāvōn, "iniquity")
- Tohu (תֹהוּ, romanized: tohū, "formless")
- Bohu (בֹהוּ, romanized: bohū, "void")
- Esh (אֵשׁ, romanized: ʿēš, "fire")
- Tehom (תְּהוֹם, romanized: təhōm, "deep")
Crowns of the qlippoth
The Zohar says there are three "crowns of the qlippoth," each connected to a region in the Middle East. These three crowns represent powers which ruled the land of Israel, or forcibly relocated the Jews for limited periods of time:
- Horror = Babylon (423 BC - 372 BC)
- Darkness = Media/Persia (372 BC - 348 BC)
- Great = Greece (371 BC - 140 BC)
The passage where these crowns are discussed also contains a reference to the alchemical principle "as above, so below" found on the Emerald Tablet:
"We spoke of the lamb, which the Holy One, blessed be He, said: 'You perform an action below and I will break their power above', so 'I will utterly blot it out.' You ACT below and I WILL ACT above."
Creation narrative
The text subsequently relays an esoteric interpretation of the Biblical Genesis creation narrative, which describes God creating the moon and sun to act as "luminaries" in the sky. The verse "Let there be luminaries (מְאֹרֹת)," uses a defective spelling of the Hebrew word for "luminaries," resulting in a written form identical to the Hebrew word for "curses."
In the context of the Zohar, interpreting the verse as calling the moon and sun "curses" is given mystic significance, personified by a description of the moon descending into the realm of Beri'ah, where it began to belittle itself and dim its light, both physically and spiritually. The resulting darkness gave birth to the qlippoth. Reflecting this, they are thenceforth generally synonymous with "darkness" itself.
Working with the qlippoth
Despite being considered a realm of pure evil, numerous passages in the Zohar indicate that not only were the qlippoth created for a divine purpose, but that they contain small amounts of good, which must be separated from the refuse like wheat from chaff. One such verse says: "When Ezekiel saw the Shechinah (place of God) among the qlippoth, he saw ten sefirot with her."
Because the creation narrative of the qlippoth involves the movement of the moon and the dimming of its light in relation to that of the sun, there are several lunar aspects governing interactions with the qlippoth. For example, the Zohar states:
"At the time of the renewal of the moon (the new moon), evil species abound and are roused to expand in the world. But, when the union of the moon is wholly in the light of the sun, all the qlippoth are gathered into one place and hide."
Thus, based on this passage, the best time for working with the qlippoth would be during a New Moon. In Biblical times, the night of the New Moon was typically when Jews would visit an oracle for purposes of divination. The Zohar explicitly links divination as an energy of the qlippoth. The only exception to this is when the New Moon coincides with a Sabbath day. On these relatively infrequent occasions, the power of the qlippothic energies disappears completely.
Luciferian teachings
American Occultist and Luciferian Michael W. Ford wrote extensively on working with qlippothic energies, believing they are a path to commune with Satan, thus acquiring his power. In his book Adamu, he advocates sex magic as an effective method for accessing the the qlippoth through lust and passion. He calls the qlippoth "the alphabet of desire," and likens them to zones of the subconscious.
Ford's 2005 book LIBER HVHI, is a grimoire of qlippothic rituals.
River of fire
As opposed to the Path of the Flaming Sword (or "Lighting Flash") which guides practitioners through sefirot on the Tree of Life to enlightenment, a pathway through the Tree of Death leads to the river of fire, which may presumably be Hell.
Fighting the qlippoth
To protect against qlippothic energies or fight against their influence in your life, most texts suggest utilizing specific energies from the sefirot. The most common is Chokmah ("wisdom"), which is described as a location like the Garden of Eden where a person may safely dwell and be protected and shielded from all qlippoth.
Reciting several Bible verses from the Book of Psalms is recommended for fighting against specific qlippothic energies.
- Psalm 45:3 is regarded as a sword against the qlippoth - "Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty." (KJV)
- Psalm 78:38 - "But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath." (KJV)
In the original temple, the rams' skins dyed red were intended to evoke the power of angels with "eyes like torches of fire," which would protect the outer parts against intrusion from the qlippoth.
Among the letters of the Tetragrammaton, the letters YUD and HEI (יה) are the divine names which stave off the power of the qlippoth.
In popular culture
In the horror/fantasy role-playing game Dead Inside (2003), qlippoths (using the incorrect plural) are the lowest form of entities. They have no soul and are considered abominations.
In the fantasy role-playing game Pathfinder Roleplaying Game (2009), qlippoth are primordial monsters of the Abyss.
In the fantasy role-playing video game Honkai:Star Rail (2023), qlipoth are a faction aligned with the Amber Lord, appearing as a legless golem creature which looks like a cross between rocks and amber. They exist in the Aeon of The Preservation.
In the Marvel Comics Universe, qlippoth are creations of a demonic entity called One Below All. They appear in the Immortal Hulk series of comics (2018 - 2021).