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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.
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 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.