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..:: Qlippoth ::..
By
Alan Schneider
The Qlippoth are generally considered to
be demonic, shadow expressions of the otherwise balanced, positive
influences represented by the Sephiroh, or radiant Spheres, on the
Cabalist Tree of Life. This depiction of the Descending Forces of
Creation that originate with the manifestation of the Logos in and
around the tenth, highest Sephira of Kether – translated from the
Hebrew as “Crown” – emanates down the Tree image through the remaining
nine Sephiroh to Malkuth, the first Sephira – representing the
Physical Plane experienced in the senses. The Tree of Life is presumed
by Cabalist mystics to be an inherently perfect description of the
Creation process. There is certainly much to support this contention in
Cabalist Theory – even the implicit inclusion of the “eleventh”, or
so-called “invisible”, Sephira, known as Da-ath, hidden in the
Abyss of Ignorance below the Supernal Triangle composed of Kether,
Chokma, and Binah – and representing the nonexistent manifestation of
the void – points to the subtle perfection of the Tree of Life
symbolism. It is even maintained in Cabala that each complete expression
of the Tree is itself another full Sephira – a whole that exceeds the
sum of its parts as a functional Twelfth Sephira – and represents
the beginning of another, subsequent Tree form. The Cabalist sees the
world as a complex composition of interleaved Tree expressions that take
on the appearance of manifestation that we detect in the senses as
existence and reality.
As we all know, the world experienced in the senses is
fraught with turbulence and chaos, and certainly nly appears to be
much less than perfect, although order and organizing influences
fortunately tend to predominate there. The Cabalist explanation of the
persistent imperfections that emerge in life and spoil the otherwise
perfect harmony represented by the Tree expression is furnished by the
Qlippoth, whose influences are present almost everywhere in the
sensory world. There are many explanations in Cabalist Theory regarding
how the Qlippoth came to be, what their continuing presence implies for
the human beings in general, and students of the Mysteries in
particular.
One of the preeminent theories is that the Qlippoth are
remnants of a previous universe of Darkness and Chaos that collapsed
through inherent instability into the present universe, creating a
significantly more stable form. In this primordial universe, the
Qlippoth composed the Tree of Chaos, also having the same
nominal ten Sephira, but emanating “darkness” instead of light. This may
well be a reference to the Jungian archetype of the Fertile Void,
the disordered, dark, unknowable state that nonetheless gives birth to
human consciousness and the ability to create and perceive order for the
duration of life. The Qlippoth have some of the characteristics of the
Sephira – they appear to be similarly radiant and glowing – but are
fragments that lie in broken pieces around the base of the Tree.
These pieces can be very distracting to the senses and the ego, as we
attempt to understand our incarnate condition, and live orderly,
meaningful existences. Each of the Spheres of the Tree of Chaos had a
corresponding, and diametrically opposed, vibration to the Sephira of
the Tree of Life, beginning with a Crown of Evil in the place of Kether
(the Crown of Light), and ending with the demonic entity Lillith, a
female destroyer archetype, in the place of Malkuth, the otherwise
neutral world we experience today. Since the primordial universe was
fundamentally incompatible – that is, essentially evil and
destructive – with our universe, all of the Qlippoth represent
dangerous, negative vibrations that will inevitably cause harm to
humanity, no matter how attractive and innocuous they may initially seem
to be.
Another competing theory is that the Qlippoth were
originally Sephira on the Tree of Life that represented cosmically
unstable forms of energy or vibrations that could not be sustained for
the long term of existence, fell to the “ground state” at the base of
the Tree (i.e. Malkuth), and shattered there. In this view of things,
the Qlippoth are slightly less toxic than that presented in the previous
paragraph, representing fragments of manifest conditions that could not,
and cannot, be maintained in this life, such as gluttony and vice, both
of which will “terminate” with the accompanying termination of the
unfortunate human vessel that succumbs to them. This nonetheless remains
a dilution of the Tree of Chaos theory that postulates an anti-universe
of evil, malicious intention, and destruction.
The common theme of both versions is that the Qlippoth
represent a series of distractions and obstacles to the development of
functional consciousness, doing so by generating sensory
distractions that seduce the mind. In Cabala, the purpose of
existence is considered to be assimilating the subtle, powerful
spiritual meanings of each Sephira, beginning at Malkuth, as one
essentially “climbs” back up the Tree toward the Logos at the Sephira
Kether. This is a spiritual Ascension process that follows “The Path of
the Flaming Sword” – a reference to the Angel placed by the Logos at the
East Gate of Eden, armed with a “sword of fire that turned in every
direction” to prevent reentry – along a zigzagging diagonal route up the
Tree, thus permitting knowledge of all the Sephiroth in succession. By
distracting the senses and the ego, the Qlippoth interfere with
this journey of Ascension, drawing attention away from the spiritual
quest, and back down to the vices present in Malkuth. Again, the broken
pieces of the fallen Sephira may seem to be radiant and
attractive, but represent equally fallen aspects of human nature that
must be understood and avoided to mature in the spirit.
Cabala maintains that a human being can Ascend in the Spirit
and return to the Logos by turning away from our inherent animal nature
and focusing the mind and attention on the pursuit and practices higher
consciousness. Cabala has been called “The Yoga of the West” in the
Mystery studies, and there are many similarities between the two,
including the emphasis on following a restrained, moral lifestyle,
reinforced by sustained spiritual study and practices. But, unlike
Eastern Yoga, Cabala is a predominantly mental tradition that seeks to
use the mind to control the body through prayer and contemplation alone,
and this is where its shortcomings become evident. The body and senses
are the tyrants of the mind, proceeding from the level of the ego
in all other mental directions. If one really wishes to confront
the reality of Ascension, one must begin where the problems are rooted –
within the physical expression of the body. Yoga does this by working
with the Asanas – the postures that are such an integral part of
Yoga practice. By achieving competence in the use of the Asanas, the
practitioner renders the body into a fit vehicle for the achievement of
Ascension. The postures themselves were designed over millennia by
dedicated devotees using painstaking trail and error research, and are
intended to balance the total energy and awareness of the human being in
such a way that the Ascension process – which wants to happen anyway
– will be facilitated. If the body is imbalanced, the mind and spirit
must also be imbalanced – the three are integrated together so very
closely – in Yoga, the body as the essential carrier of human sensory
experience comes first in the process of enlightenment. Once it
is restored to harmonious functioning, the much subtler mind, and even
subtler spirit, will automatically follow.
Yoga understands the overarching influence of the physical
body on all perception, and also understands that the powerful
physiological states seen in emotions and appetites must be
progressively brought under conscious control to pave the way for
spiritual progress. The Qlippoth represent the temptation to succumb to
the raw, unbalanced drive states of the organism, and do indeed
constitute potent destructive valances if not physically controlled,
mentally negated, and spiritually transcended. For this reason,
following the Yoga lifestyle is an indispensable aid in the
practice of Cabala, and the retracing the Path of the Flaming Sword
through the Sephira that is its core concept and discipline.
By focusing spiritual understanding on physiological processes, Yoga
offers a more subtle perception of what the Qlippoth signify in human
consciousness. What, for Cabala, are external demonic
influences that represent the Fall of Humanity, are physical
imbalances in Yoga that can be transformed into healthy processes
through postural adjustment and practice, augmented by spiritual
guidance and healthful living. Paradoxically, the more one struggles
with a condition, the more one empowers it through focusing attention on
it. When the Qlippoth are viewed as demonic, the tendency is to battle
with them most vigorously. When they are viewed as imbalances, the
tendency is to strive to understand their nature and influence on
consciousness and transform them. As the ancient Chinese proverb
so aptly puts this consideration, “One who fights too long with Dragons
becomes a Dragon!” It is no wonder that we tend to fail so often
at the attainment of peace – we are so prone to focus all of our
attention on the hole of chaos with dogged determination, when we
need to redirect our minds to the donut of transformation!
- With Love, Alan -
(CR2008, Alan Schneider)
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