Qliphoth - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Qliphoth/Qelippot, alternatively Klippot/Kellipot etc. (Transliteration of the Heb.

Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...

קליפות meaning "peels", "shells", "husks". Singular: קליפה Qelippah/Kelipah) refers to the representation of evil

Evil

Evil is the violation of, or intent to violate, some moral code. Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good. Definitions of evil vary along with analysis of its root motive causes, however general actions commonly considered evil include: conscious and deliberate wrongdoing,...

or impure spiritual forces in Jewish mysticism.

In the Kabbalistic

Kabbalah

Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...

spiritual cosmology, the Kelipot are metaphorical "shells" surrounding holiness

Q-D-Š

Q-D-Š is a common triconsonantal Semitic root form used in various ancient and modern languages since at least the 3rd millennium BCE. The meanings expressed by this root are "Holy", "Sacred", "Divine Power", "To Set Apart", and "Sanctuary"...

. They are spiritual obstacles receiving their existence from God

Ohr

Ohr is a central Kabbalistic term in the Jewish mystical tradition. The analogy of physical light is used as a way of describing metaphysical Divine emanations...

only in an external, rather than internal manner. Divinity

God in Judaism

The conception of God in Judaism is strictly monotheistic. God is an absolute one indivisible incomparable being who is the ultimate cause of all existence. Jewish tradition teaches that the true aspect of God is incomprehensible and unknowable, and that it is only God's revealed aspect that...

in Judaism connotes revelation of God's true unity, while the shells conceal holiness, as a peel conceals the fruit within. They are therefore synonymous with idolatry, the root of impurity through ascribing false dualism in the Divine, and with the Sitra Achra (סטרא אחרא The "Other Side"), the perceived realm opposite to holiness. They emerge in the descending Chain of Being

Seder hishtalshelus

Seder hishtalshelus means the "order of development" or "order of evolution", where the word Hishtalshelus is derived from the reduplicated quadriliteral root ŠLŠL "to chain", and so literally means "the chain-like process"...

through Tzimtzum

Tzimtzum

Tzimtzum is a term used in the kabbalistic teaching of Isaac Luria, explaining his concept that God began the process of creation by "contracting" his infinite light in order to allow for a "conceptual space" in which a finite and seemingly independent world could exist...

contractions and concealments of the Divine Light

Ohr

Ohr is a central Kabbalistic term in the Jewish mystical tradition. The analogy of physical light is used as a way of describing metaphysical Divine emanations...

, as part of the purpose of Creation. In this they also have beneficial properties, as peel protects the fruit, restraining the Divine flow

Ohr

Ohr is a central Kabbalistic term in the Jewish mystical tradition. The analogy of physical light is used as a way of describing metaphysical Divine emanations...

from being dissipated. Kabbalah distinguishes between two realms in Kelipah, the completely impure and the intermediate. Their four "concentric" terms are derived from Ezekiel's vision

Merkabah

Merkabah is the throne-chariot of God, the four-wheeled vehicle driven by four "chayot" , each of which has four wings and the four faces of a man, lion, ox, and eagle...

(1:4), "And I looked and behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it..." The "Three Impure Kelipot" (completely "Tamei" impure) are read in the first three terms, the intermediate "Shining Kelipah" ("Nogah" brightness) is read in the fourth term, mediating as the first covering directly surrounding holiness, and capable of sublimation. In Medieval Kabbalah

Zohar

The Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...

, the Shechinah divine presence is separated in Creation from the Sephirot by man's sin, while in Lurianic Kabbalah Divinity is exiled in the Kelipot from prior initial Catastrophe in Creation. This causes "Sparks of Holiness" to be exiled in the Kelipot shells, Jewish Observance with physical objects redeeming mundane Nogah, while the Three Completely Impure Kelipot are elevated indirectly through Negative prohibitions

613 mitzvot

The 613 commandments is a numbering of the statements and principles of law, ethics, and spiritual practice contained in the Torah or Five Books of Moses...

. Repentance out of Love retrospectively turns sin into virtue, darkness into light. When all the sparks are freed from the Kelipot, depriving them of their vitality, the Messianic era begins. In Hasidic thought, the Kabbalistic scheme of Kelipah is internalised in psychological experience as self-focus, opposite to holy Deveikut self-nullification, underlying its Panentheistic

Panentheism

Panentheism is a belief system which posits that God exists, interpenetrates every part of nature and timelessly extends beyond it...

Monistic

Monism

Monism is any philosophical view which holds that there is unity in a given field of inquiry. Accordingly, some philosophers may hold that the universe is one rather than dualistic or pluralistic...

view of Kelipot as the illusionary

Acosmism

Acosmism, in contrast to pantheism, denies the reality of the universe, seeing it as ultimately illusory, , and only the infinite unmanifest Absolute as real....

self-awareness of Creation.

In some Hermetic Qabalah

Hermetic Qabalah

Hermetic Qabalah is a Western esoteric and mystical tradition...

, contact is sought with the Kelipot unlike in the ethical-mystical Jewish prohibition, as part of its process of human self-knowledge. Jewish Practical Kabbalah was understood by its practitioners as similar to White magic

White Magic

White Magic may refer to:* White magic, healing or "good," as opposed to Black magic; see also magic * White Magic , an American rock band* White Magic , album by Swedish musician ceo...

, accessing only holiness

Q-D-Š

, while the danger in such venture of mixing impure Magic

Magic (paranormal)

Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...

ensured it remained a minor and restricted practice in Jewish history.

Mathers' interpretation

Writing in The Kabbalah Unveiled, a translation of one of the founding texts of Hermetic Kabbalah, MacGregor Mathers equates these forces with the Kings of Edom

Edom

Edom or Idumea was a historical region of the Southern Levant located south of Judea and the Dead Sea. It is mentioned in biblical records as a 1st millennium BC Iron Age kingdom of Edom, and in classical antiquity the cognate name Idumea was used to refer to a smaller area in the same region...

. He also offers the suggestion they are the result of an imbalance towards Gedulah, the Pillar of Mercy or the merciful aspect of God, and have since been destroyed.

In subsequent Hermetic teachings, the Qliphoth have tended, much like the sephiroth, to be interpreted as mystical worlds

Hell

In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...

or entities

Demon

call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...

, and merged with ideas derived from demonology

Demonology

Demonology is the systematic study of demons or beliefs about demons. It is the branch of theology relating to superhuman beings who are not gods. It deals both with benevolent beings that have no circle of worshippers or so limited a circle as to be below the rank of gods, and with malevolent...

.

In addition to this, there are also The Seven Infernal Habitations or seven hells (Tehom

Tehom

Tehom , literally the Deep or Abyss , refers to the Great Deep of the primordial waters of creation in the Bible. Tehom is a cognate of the Akkadian word tamtu and Ugaritic t-h-m which have similar meaning...

, Abaddon

Abaddon

Abaddon in the Revelation of St. John, is the king of tormenting locusts and the angel of the bottomless pit. The exact nature of Abaddon is debated, but the Hebrew word is related to the triliteral root אבד , which in verb form means "to perish."...

, Titahion, Barshacheth, Tzelmoth, Shaarimoth and Gehinnom), twelve Qliphotic orders of demons, three powers before Satan and twenty-two demons which correspond to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet

Hebrew alphabet

The Hebrew alphabet , known variously by scholars as the Jewish script, square script, block script, or more historically, the Assyrian script, is used in the writing of the Hebrew language, as well as other Jewish languages, most notably Yiddish, Ladino, and Judeo-Arabic. There have been two...

Crowley, Regardie, and Heidrick

According to Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...

, the three evil forms (before Samael), are said to be Qemetial, Belial, and Othiel.

According to Israel Regardie

Israel Regardie

Israel Regardie, born Francis Israel Regudy was an occultist and writer, author of books on the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.-Early life:...

, the qlipothic tree consists of 10 spheres in opposition to the sephiroth

Sephirot (Kabbalah)

Sephirot or Sephiroth , meaning "enumerations", are the 10 attributes/emanations in Kabbalah, through which God reveals itself and continuously creates both the physical realm and the chain of higher metaphysical realms...

on the Tree of Life. These are also referred to as the "evil twins". They are also the "Evil Demons of Matter and the Shells of the Dead."

Bill Heidrick gives his own interpretation on the adverse tree, saying that the spellings are "mostly reconstructions with alternatives. Nonetheless, it is believed that the majority of the above are at least suitable if not perfect." He also goes on to say that "These names are sometimes called the 'adverse Sephiroth' instead of the Demonic Orders. A.E. Waite

Arthur Edward Waite

Arthur Edward Waite was a scholarly mystic who wrote extensively on occult and esoteric matters, and was the co-creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. As his biographer, R.A...

makes this later point in his Holy Kabbalah, page 256."

The following comes from the Notes on the Demonic Orders (Adverse Sephiroth) in Magical Correspondences by Bill Heidrick.

Thamiel

Thamiel: Duality in God

"Thamiel represents duality whereas Kether represents unity. Thus Thamiel is the division of that which is perfect only in unity. As a demonic order name, the Thamiel were before their 'revolt'. This signifies 'Perfection of God'. These angels sought to become more powerful by adding an Aleph to their name. They then became the 'Duality of God,' an order of the lesser demons. In the lowest state of their 'fall', they become 'the Polluted of God.' The cortex or outer form of the Thamiel is called Cathariel, 'the Broken' or 'Fearful Light of God'."

Satan: Adversary and King

To Thamiel, "there are two demons that are attributed to stress the view that the demonic opposite of Kether is duality instead of unity and are Satan

Satan

Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...

and Moloch

Moloch

Moloch — also rendered as Molech, Molekh, Molok, Molek, Molock, or Moloc — is the name of an ancient Semitic god...

or Malech."

In Luciferianism, Thamiel represents the Adversarial Daemon - a union of Samael and Lilith wherein the symbol of Baphomet is created. Michael W. Ford's book "Scales of the Black Serpent" presents an invocation which calls to the Drums of Moloch as the illuminator.

Chaigidel

Chaigidel: Confusion of the Power of God

"These are the confusion of that great power which, as Chokmah, goes forth at the beginning to give the vital energy of creation to the processes of Binah. The cortex of the Chaigidel is called Ghogiel, 'Those Who Go Forth into the Place Empty of God'."

Beelzebub: Lord of the Flies and Adam Belial: Wicker Man

To Chaigidel, "both Satan and Beelzebub

Beelzebub

Beelzebub -Religious meaning:Ba‘al Zəbûb is variously understood to mean "lord of flies", or "lord of the dwelling". Originally the name of a Philistine god, Beelzebub is also identified in the New Testament as Satan, the "prince of the demons". In Arabic the name is retained as Ba‘al dhubaab /...

are attributed as well as Adam Belial. The name Belial is often used separately as a demonic name."

Sathariel

Sathariel is one of the Qliphoth, corresponding to the Sephirot Binah on the kabbalistic tree of life. It represents the Concealment of God, which hides the face of Mercy...

: Concealment of God

"Even as Binah

Binah (Kabbalah)

Binah, , in the Kabbalah of Judaism, is the second intellectual Sephirah on the tree of life. It sits on the level below Keter , across from Chokmah and directly above Gevurah...

is the great revealing one who bestows the structure of the Absolute onto the created, its opposite, the Sathariel, conceal the nature of The Perfect. The cortex or outer form of the Sathariel is called the order of Sheireil, 'The Hairy Ones of God'."

Lucifuge: One Who Flees Light

To Sathariel, Lucifuge

Lucifuge Rofocale

Lucifuge Rofocale , according to the Grand Grimoire, is the demon in charge of Hell's government by order of Lucifer.-Etymology:The name Lucifuge comes from two Latin words; lux , and fugio ,which means "[he who] flees the light"...

"is attributed and is probably a name made up to replace the name Lucifer

Lucifer

Traditionally, Lucifer is a name that in English generally refers to the devil or Satan before being cast from Heaven, although this is not the original meaning of the term. In Latin, from which the English word is derived, Lucifer means "light-bearer"...

, 'Light Bearer'."

Gamchicoth

Gamchicoth: Devourers

"Chesed

Chesed

The Hebrew noun khesed or chesed is the Hebrew word for "kindness." It is also commonly translated as "loving-kindness," or "love." Love is a central Jewish value, and leads to many particular commandments. Chesed is central to Jewish ethics and Jewish theology...

is the source of bounty both in idea and in substance to the lower forms. Gamchicoth is the order of 'Devourers' who seek to waste the substance and thought of creation. The outer form is the order of Azariel, 'The Binding Ones of God'."

Astaroth: from the Flood

To Gamchicoth, "Astaroth

Astaroth

Astaroth , in demonology, is a Crowned Prince of Hell. He is a male figure named after the Canaanite goddess Ashtoreth.-Background:...

is attributed. This is the name of the goddess Astarte, the Ishtar

Ishtar

Ishtar is the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility, love, war, and sex. She is the counterpart to the Sumerian Inanna and to the cognate north-west Semitic goddess Astarte.-Characteristics:...

of the Babylonians and perhaps also the Isis

Isis

Isis or in original more likely Aset is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the matron of nature and magic...

of the Egyptians

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...

Golachab

Golachab is the Qliphoth corresponding to the Sephirot Geburah on the kabbalistic tree of life. Its name means the 'Burners with Fire', and the image of the demons associated with it are of enormous black heads like a volcano in eruption....

: Burning Bodies

"Geburah is a going forth in power to rule in strength. The order of Golab is composed of those who burn to do destruction --- even on themselves. The outer form is Usiel, 'The Ruins of God'."

Asmodeus: The Destroying God

To Golachab, Asmodeus is attributed. "This name is half Hebrew

Hebrew language

and half Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

. Asmodeus is often mentioned in the literature of demonology

Demonology

. The name can also be translated as 'The one adorned with fire'."

Thagirion

Thagirion is the Qliphoth associated with the Sephirot Tipheret in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. It means the disputers, the painful movers, and the demons called the Zomiel are attributed to it, great black giants that are always working against each other....

(n): Those Who Bellow Grief and Tears

"Tiphereth is the place of great beauty and rejoicing. The Thagirion build ugliness and groan about it. The cortex of the Thagirion is called Zomiel, 'The Revolt of God'."

Belphegor: Lord of the Dead

To Thagirion, "the replacement of Tiphereth, the sphere of the vitalizing Sun, with a place holding Belphegor, the lord of dead, is most striking."

Harab Serapel

Harab Serapel: Ravens of the Burning of God

"Netzach is the openness of natural love. The Harab Serapel are the Ravens of Death who reject even their own. The outer form is Theumiel, 'The Fouled Substance of God'."

Baal: Lord and Tubal Cain: Maker of Sharp Weapons

To Harab Serapel, "Baal

Baal

Baʿal is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" that is used for various gods who were patrons of cities in the Levant and Asia Minor, cognate to Akkadian Bēlu...

is attributed, and is "a word which means Lord

Lord

Lord is a title with various meanings. It can denote a prince or a feudal superior . The title today is mostly used in connection with the peerage of the United Kingdom or its predecessor countries, although some users of the title do not themselves hold peerages, and use it 'by courtesy'...

, much as Adonai means Lord. The word Baal or 'Bel' has become restricted in its usage to signify a 'Lord of Darkness'." Also attributed is Tubal Cain

Tubal-cain

Tubal-cain is an individual mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, in . He was a descendant of Cain, the son of Lamech and Zillah, and the brother of Naamah.-Name:...

Samael

Samael is an important archangel in Talmudic and post-Talmudic lore, a figure who is accuser, seducer and destroyer, and has been regarded as both good and evil...

: The Desolation of God, or The Left Hand

"Hod

Hod (Kabbalah)

Hod in the Kabbalah of Judaism is the eighth sephira of the Kabbalistic tree of life. It is derived from hod הוד in the Hebrew language meaning "majesty" or "splendor" and denoting "praise" as well as "submission"....

is the complex working of the will of the Absolute. Samael represents the barren desolation of a fallen and failed creation. The outer form is Theuniel, 'The filthy Wailing Ones of God'."

Adrammelech: Powerful King

To Samael, Adrammelech is attributed. "This name is found in Fourth Kings: XVII, 29-31: ' And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim."

Gamaliel

Gamaliel (Qliphoth)

Gamaliel is the Qliphoth associated with the Sephirah Yesod on the kabbalistic Tree of Life. It translates as 'The Obscene Ones', and the demons associated Yesod is the Sephirah that collects all the energy from the Sephiroth above it, stores these archetypal ideas in the unconscious, and...

: Polluted of God

"Yesod is the place of the final forms that become matter in Malkuth. The Gamaliel are the Misshapen and polluted images that produce vile results. The outer form is the order of Ogiel, 'those Who Flee from God'."

Lilith: Night Specter

To Gamaliel, Lilith

Lilith

Lilith is a character in Jewish mythology, found earliest in the Babylonian Talmud, who is generally thought to be related to a class of female demons Līlīṯu in Mesopotamian texts. However, Lowell K. Handy notes, "Very little information has been found relating to the Akkadian and Babylonian view...

is attributed and "is the grand lady of all demons. The demons are sometimes considered to be the children of Lilith and is said to be the woman who comes to men in their dreams."

Nehemoth

Nehemoth: Whisperers (or Night Specter)

"These are responsible for frightening sounds in strange places. They excite the mind and cause strange desires." This corresponds with Malkuth as well.

Nehema: Groaning

To Nehemoth, Nehema is attributed, "and is traditionally a demon and the sister of Lilith, possibly a remembrance of the Egyptian Nephthys and Isis. It is conceivable that Nehema is the same as Naamah, the sister of Tubal Cain."

Mathers' interpretation

Crowley, Regardie, and Heidrick

Thamiel

Chaigidel

Sathariel

Gamchicoth

Golachab

Thagirion

Harab Serapel

Samael

Gamaliel

Nehemoth

See also