While sitting in meditation I had the realization that the Qliphoth represents our animal instincts, and the Sephiroth relates to our higher mental processes. You could almost view it as the reptilian brain vs the prefrontal cortex.
Meaning our Qliphothic aspects need to be overcome before we can express our Sephirothic aspects fully.
As above so below, meaning if these two forces exist on the level of the microcosm (mind), then they must have morphic resonance with the macrocosm (universe).
This is my current understanding of the Tree of Life/Knowledge.
Anyone have insights they’d like to share?
This also fits into the lore that the Sephiroth were birthed from the Qliphoth.
Our base animal instincts kept us alive long enough from an evolutionary stand point in order to give birth to our higher instincts.
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Interesting point. We tend to reflect phisically what we live and do astrally/mentally, so that makes some sort of sense. Samyaza, for example, is a part of every human consciousness. He’s a watcher, which means he isn’t a demon nor an angel, sharing both light and darkness.
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Interesting point. There are definitely beings that surpase the duality of the Tree.
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Traditionally, it’s the other way around. The Qliphoth are the result of the Sephiroth. In Lurianic Kabbalah, the Qliphoth are the “shells” or “peels” that surround the holiness of God ie the Sephiroth. They were created to serve as both obstacles to, and protection of, God’s Divine Light as it traveled downward to the material plane.
Thought I’d post this here:
There are many ways to view and interpret the qliphoth, honestly.
I feel overcome is probably the wrong word.
They need to be balanced or tempered.
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I believe in Thomas Karlson’s work he advocates for the idea of the Sephiroth being birthed from the Qliphoth. The Qliphoth are essentially the leftover shells from the old world.
Karlson is factually incorrect . He should read some Lurianic Kabbalah. The Qlippoth were created by the Divine Light of the Sephiroth spilling out. This is the original cosmology and was Isaac Luria’s explanation for how evil came to be in God’s creation.
What most modern mages call the “Tree of Death” is basically an invention of early 20th century occultism. The named demons who supposedly reside there were all shoehorned into it at a much later date and aren’t part of traditional Kabbalah. The forces present in the Qlippoth, according to traditional Kabbalah, aren’t demons in the usual sense of the word.
