Comparing Klippot and Klippits: Similarities and Differences

A thirteenth-century scribe copying the Zohar in Castile paused at a passage about the “husks” that surround the divine light. He wrote the word in Hebrew: Klippah, plural Klippot. Centuries later, a translator in London rendered the same word as “Klippits.” The two spellings now sit side by side in occult libraries, and readers often assume they mean the same thing. They do not, at least not in every tradition. The difference is a matter of scope, nuance, and the trajectory of esoteric history.

Klippot (or Qliphoth) are the “shells” or “peels” in the Kabbalistic cosmos — the impure forces that encase the scattered divine sparks. Klippits is a variant spelling that in some traditions refers to the most demonic, adversarial subset of the Klippot, while in others it is simply a phonetic transcription of the same Hebrew word. The key distinction is that Klippot is the collective term for the entire realm of impurity, whereas Klippits is often reserved for the darker, more actively destructive emanations.

Where the Terms Come From: Etymology and First Appearances

The Hebrew root KLPH (קלף) means “to peel” or “to shell.” In the Zohar (compiled by Moses de León in the 1280s), the Klippot are the hard outer layers of the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge — the husks that protect and conceal the holy core. The Zohar itself uses the form Klippin (Aramaic plural) more often than the Hebrew Klippot. The word entered Latin and English translations in the Renaissance through the works of Christian Kabbalists like Johann Reuchlin and Athanasius Kircher, who transliterated it as Cliphoth or Qlippoth.

“Klippits” appears later, mainly in English occult circles of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The spelling is likely a phonetic rendering of the Hebrew Klippot as heard by a non-Hebrew speaker, the final t in Klippot (Hebrew plural) is a soft t that can sound like ts to an English ear. Some sources, such as the early translations of the Zohar by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, used “Klippoth” (with a terminal th). The variant “Klippits” shows up in the writings of certain Thelemic and Hermetic orders, notably in the works of Aleister Crowley and his later interpreters. Crowley’s 777 (1909) lists the “Qliphoth” as the demonic counterparts of the Sephiroth, but he uses the spelling Qliphoth consistently. “Klippits” is a rarer form, sometimes used in popular occult literature of the 1960s and 1970s to distinguish the more dangerous “shells” from the general concept of impurity.

The Breaking of the Vessels: A Shared Origin

Both Klippot and Klippits trace their origin to the same event in Lurianic Kabbalah: the Shevirat HaKelim, the Breaking of the Vessels. Isaac Luria (1534–1572) taught that before creation, the infinite light of Ein Sof contracted to make space for the world. It then emanated ten vessels to contain the light. The lower seven vessels could not hold the intensity and shattered. The shards of those vessels fell into the abyss, carrying with them sparks of divine light. The shards themselves became the Klippot, the shells that imprison the sparks.

In this cosmology, the Klippot are not evil in an absolute sense. They are necessary structures that allow the divine sparks to exist in a fallen world. The Zohar calls them “the peel of the fruit”, without the peel, the fruit would rot. The Klippot provide a boundary between the sacred and the profane. The Klippits in some traditions are the most stubborn, most resistant of these shells, the ones that actively oppose the process of tikkun (repair). They are the “thorns” among the husks, the ones that draw the unwary into the abyss.

The Double Tree: How the Shells Mirror the Sephiroth

The standard Kabbalistic Tree of Life has ten Sephiroth on the trunk and a hidden eleventh, Da’at (Knowledge). The realm of the Klippot mirrors this structure precisely. For every Sephirah, there is an opposing Qlipha (singular). The Zohar and later texts like the Treatise on the Left Emanation (13th century, attributed to Rabbi Isaac ha-Kohen) describe a “Tree of Death” that runs parallel to the Tree of Life. The Klippot are the roots of that tree.

The Klippits, when used as a distinct term, often refer specifically to the seven lower Qliphoth, the ones that correspond to the seven lower Sephiroth from Chesed to Malkuth. These are the most entangled with matter and the most difficult to redeem. Some sources, such as the Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage (translated by Mathers in 1898), associate the Klippits with the “spirits of the hours”, demonic forces that must be controlled by the magician. The distinction is subtle but real: the Klippot are the entire shadow ecosystem; the Klippits are the apex predators within it.

Klippits in Practice: A Dangerous Focus

In practical Kabbalah and Western ceremonial magic, the Klippot are generally avoided. The Zohar warns against contemplating the “other side” without proper preparation. The Klippits, however, appear in a few operational contexts. The Grimorium Verum (a 17th-century grimoire) and the Emmanuel manuscripts mention “Klippoth” as the source of familiar spirits. The magician who seeks to master the Klippot must first establish a solid foundation in the Sephiroth, otherwise, the shell can collapse into possession.

The spelling “Klippits” is sometimes used in modern chaos magic and left-hand path traditions to denote a specific set of infernal correspondences. For example, the Qliphothic Sigils of Kenneth Grant’s Typhonian order list the “Klippits” as the ten demonic names that correspond to the ten Sephiroth, but with a harsher, more adversarial connotation. In these practices, the Klippits are entities to be evoked, not redeemed. The goal is to work with the “unbalanced” forces to achieve spiritual autonomy, a stark departure from the traditional Kabbalistic aim of tikkun.

Key Similarities: The Shells Bind Together

The two terms share a core idea: a shell that encloses a divine spark. Both are rooted in the same myth of the breaking. Both are organized in a parallel structure to the Tree of Life. Both are dangerous to approach without guidance. The Zohar and Lurianic texts treat them as the same substance, the kelipot (the plural form in Hebrew), regardless of spelling. In the majority of classical Kabbalistic sources, there is no distinction between Klippot and Klippits. The difference is a later innovation, primarily in English-language occultism.

Key Differences: The Shift in Connotation

The primary difference is scope. Klippot is the umbrella term for all the shells, those that are relatively benign (the ones that protect the spark) and those that are malicious. Klippits is used in certain circles to refer only to the malevolent ones, the ones that actively work against the path of return. This is not a universal distinction; many reputable sources use them interchangeably. But when a text insists on spelling “Klippits” with a final ts, it often signals a left-hand path or Thelemic orientation. The reader should note the context: if the author treats the shells as enemies to be conquered, they likely mean Klippits. If the author treats them as part of a cosmic process to be repaired, they mean Klippot.

A second difference lies in the numerical arrangement. Some lists of the Qliphoth, such as the one in Sepher Shimmush Tehillim (medieval), give ten names. Other lists, especially those in later grimoires, give eleven or twelve. The term “Klippits” sometimes appears in the elevenfold system, where the eleventh shell is the “unformed” one, corresponding to Da’at. This is a minority view, but it persists.

Common Misconceptions

Misconception: Klippot are evil. The Zohar does not assign moral evil to the shells. They are a necessary part of the created order, like the bark of a tree. The evil arises when the shell is mistaken for the core. The Klippot are dangerous only when the practitioner is unprepared.

Misconception: Klippits is the correct Hebrew plural. The standard Hebrew plural of Klippah is Klippot. Klippits is a transliteration artifact, not a native Hebrew form. However, in some Jewish mystical texts, the plural Klippin (Aramaic) is used.

Misconception: You can work with Klippits without studying the Sephiroth. Every major Kabbalist from Luria to the present warns against this. The shells feed on the light of the Sephiroth. A magician who attempts to evoke the Klippits without a grounding in the upper spheres risks being consumed by the very force they intended to master.

Misconception: The two terms refer to different entities. In most texts, they are the same. The distinction is a matter of emphasis, not of ontology.

FAQ

Is Klippits a misspelling of Klippot? In many cases, yes. The spelling “Klippits” reflects a phonetic reading of the Hebrew word. But some occult traditions intentionally use it to mark a different conceptual category.

Do the Klippot have a ruler? The Zohar names Samael as the chief of the “other side.” The Qliphoth are often ruled by the demonic pair Samael and Lilith, who are the “shell” of the Sephirah Malkuth.

Can the Klippot be redeemed? In Lurianic Kabbalah, yes. The tikkun process involves extracting the divine sparks from the shells, which then dissolve. The Klippits, in the adversarial sense, resist redemption and must be destroyed or banished.

Where can I find a list of the ten Klippot? Classical lists appear in the Zohar (section Pekudei), in the Treatise on the Left Emanation, and in the Sefer HaTemunah. A commonly cited set is: Thaumiel, Ghogiel, Satariel, Gamchicoth, Golab, Tagiriron, Gharab Tzerek, Samael, Gamaliel, and Lilith.

The Shells Remain

The distinction between Klippot and Klippits is not a matter of orthodoxy. It is a matter of how a tradition chooses to name the shadow. The Zohar calls the husks Klippin. The English occultists heard the word and wrote it down in their own way. The shells themselves do not care what we call them. They are still there, pressing against the light, demanding that we recognize their place in the order of creation. Whether we approach them as Klippot to be repaired or as Klippits to be conquered, we are wrestling with the same shards from the same breaking.

For a deeper exploration of how the shells relate to the sephiroth, see our guide to the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. The concept of the Qliphoth is also closely tied to the symbolism of the Tree of Knowledge. If you are ready to study the practical side of the other side, our article on the Qliphothic correspondences lists the names and attributes of each shell.