Qlip qlop Qlippoth
My initial contact with this subject comes from The Golden Dawn by Israel Regardie (p.82, 6th edit.):
"The Qlippoth on the Tree of Life:
1. Kether: Thaumiel - The two contending Forces
2. Chokmah: Ghogiel - The Hinderers
3. Binah: Satariel - The Concealers
4. Chesed: Agshekeloh - The Breakers in Pieces
5. Geburah: Golohab - The Burners
6. Tiphareth: Tagiriron - The Disputers
7. Netzach: Gharab Tzerek - The Ravens of Death
8. Hod: Samael - The Liar or Poison of God
9. Yesod: Gamaliel - The Obscene Ones
10. Malkuth: Lilith - Queen of the Night and of Demons"
Not a very friendly looking bunch.
I have only the vaguest understanding of the Kabbalah (as well as the Cabala), I don't actively use its concepts regarding my work with the Tarot (unless it would happen to suit my egoistic purposes), and I'm actually not that interested in the whole system in itself. So why am I writing anything on the subject of Qlippoth? Because the thing keeps haunting me again and again. So I'm thinking there has to be something in it. To me, at least. And for the record, No, I'm not "turning into Kabbalah" or giving any thought on demonic invocations, or planning of messing my head with evil forces. What I'm after is the psychological input this thing has. Or could have. The potential to gain more understanding of your self by understanding this "reverse of the Tree". What I'm thinking is what could this information do combined with the Tarot. How could this subject be used in designing a powerful spread. For the last Easter I came up with my "Jesus spread" (thorns and all), I think it might suit rather well to have a "Qlippoth spread" for the next Easter. We are dealing here with a certain type of resurrection, right..?
Rabbi Levi bar Ido offers a bit more "civilized" functions for these forces:
Keter: Futility
Chochmah: Arbitrariness
Binah: Fatalism
Chesed: Ideology
Gevurah: Bureaucracy
Tipheret: Hollowness
Netzach: Routine, repetition, habit
Hod: Rigid order
Yesod: Zombieism, robotism
Malchut: Stasis
Yehuda Berg writes in his blog: "The Zohar explains that pain purifies and removes the shells of negativity (klippot) that surround our inner Light. These shells are created by our negative deeds and they cover and limit our spiritual development. They are barriers between us and the Light. -- We often approach our daily lives with the mentality of avoid pain at all costs. And the moment we do feel it, we immediately look for ways to anesthetize ourselves. The Zohar teaches that by resisting the pain, we are only creating bigger problems for ourselves in the future. -- Pain is transitory but suffering sticks around and keeps us stuck. --
That is how it is with the klippot constantly clinging to us - it makes it hard for us to grow and change. But if we want to go to our next level in spiritual awareness, love, friendships, career - we need to go through the painful process of separating ourselves from our klippot.
And we separate ourselves from our klippot every time we put our all into a job and it fails, every time someone we love goes away, every time our trust is broken - in other words, every time we take a risk and get hurt."
Say what you will, this calls for a deeper study.