Husk and Shadow
One common misconception that reduces the effectiveness of magical work is the identification or conflation of the notions of the “grey” and the “black” spirits.
We have said many times, the demons most magi encounter are not, strictly speaking, Qliphothic, yet they are often lumped together with the spirits of the Interworld darkness, assembled into all manner of “trees of the Qliphoth,” producing a ragbag of heterogeneous concepts.
We have said that the notion of the shadow is heterogeneous, and that two of its elements — Klipah Nogah and the Cursed Qliphoth — are fundamentally different in nature. The confusion is probably caused by both spheres being called “klippot.”
Strictly speaking, the idea of shadow properly refers to Klipah Nogah — the Shining Husk.
This is the state of “rejected Light” — a state in which a being refuses to accept the Light, while the Light, nevertheless, remains fundamentally accessible to that being.
Such is the nature of the “Grey” demons — goetic Gatekeepers and others of the same nature. It is they, strictly speaking, who may be called “fallen” spirits, for, dwelling on the Threshold, they can partake of the Light but choose darkness, serving only as conduits that cause inhabitants of the Sephirothic worlds to lose the Light by passing it to underworldly beings. Grey demons can interact directly with Sephirothic inhabitants; they are balanced by Genii and restrained by Angels.
In other words, when one calls Belfegor a demon of the klippah Tagirion, one must clearly understand that this refers to a Shining klippah — that is, the shadow side, a refusal to accept the Light of Tiferet, but not a fundamental absence of that Light. And the notorious “Tree of Qliphoth” is structured and ordered precisely because of its proximity to the Tree of Life.
Precisely because the “Grey” demons dwell on the Threshold, they perform their work — withdrawing the Light and extinguishing it in Darkness.
The situation is entirely different with the “utter darkness.”
“Impure klippot” are fundamentally alien to the Light.
They constitute the force that draws the Light down the Trees — an all‑devouring, wholly selfish husk.
In principle, they contain no Light, since the nature of Light is to give, whereas the Cursed Qliphoth can only take.
There is no order in them; they are the “second” chaos, utterly foreign to the idea of development and order.
If in Klipah Nogah destruction is a way to draw power, to “eat,” then for the Cursed Qliphoth destruction is an end in itself.
The powers of the Dark Qliphoth are balanced by angels. These dark spirits are not merely inversions; they destroy any order, and their capacity to absorb is not merely like attraction that belongs to manifested objects — it is a drive toward disintegration, the destruction of mind and of manifestation.
Let us stress again that in this case we are speaking of the “second darkness,” that is, a darkness that is the binary opposite of Light, not one that preceded it.
And although this darkness is a condition for the flow of Light — a ‘pump’ that draws Light down the Tree of Life — falling into the Cursed Qliphoth means total destruction.
For a magus, it is vitally important to avoid any contact with this enfeebling aspect, and it would be utter madness to play with this all‑devouring darkness.
Hello and thank you for the interesting topic! If you will, I have a question – if magicians are convinced of such a destructive ‘external’ darkness concerning the cosmos, then how, in their opinion, could this cosmos actually appear in such an unfavorable environment? It’s strange, if there is a constant outflow of powers from the system, it brings the thought of the finiteness of this system, the exhaustion of resources. I just had an association with a star – on the one hand, yes, it is not eternal and constantly emits heat into space, but substance (dust, pebbles, etc.) is attracted to the star from space, which in turn nourishes the star itself, yielding a mutually beneficial exchange. Perhaps something similar exists in the magical description of cosmos/chaos?
Klipot is not an ‘unfavorable environment.’ They are a natural ‘waste’ of the actualization of the universe, since any vessel has an element of pure attractivity, and, when used, ‘worked out,’ it becomes the Husk.
I don’t know where to start the awareness of dreaming and borderline states to at least reduce the outflow of power. It is specifically during these periods that holes are made in me, and then, in a conscious, waking state, they draw awareness and life force out of me through these holes. As I understand, the psychocosmos, the microcosm is the subconscious, that original darkness from which everything manifested.
Hello, I have a question. You speak of ‘absolute darkness’ as though it is not darkness, but shadow. Experience suggests that if you can still discern something in the shadows, you cannot see anything in the darkness. Therefore, it is impossible to understand anything from the darkness. It is known that understanding begins with naming. Thus, are your reasoning and descriptions regarding darkness mere speculations or could they pertain to shadow areas?
Of course, everything we can discern in the dark is noticeable due to the light that penetrates that darkness. Just as our knowledge of the ocean is limited to its surface layers, our knowledge of the Abyss is limited to its upper levels, where the Gray spirits bring light. Consequently, only those Black demons that rise to the surface are known to us. What occurs in the Abyss itself is unknown to us.
I was born in the USSR and my mom and dad parted ways. My mother found another man for the second time, with whom she has lived for 20 years, and I lived with them for 15.
It turned out that in the first case, I was nourishment for Klippot Nogah, and in the second case, I became nourishment for the Accursed klippot. In the end, after parting with the family of Klippot Nogah, I found myself in the family of the Accursed klippot that I have to feed, though not as abundantly as before. And I don’t know how to break free. If I am from the family of Accursed klippot and am attached to that family and live in it, then it turns out I can’t achieve anything as no one wants to interact with me, knowing on the level of Adam Kadmon that my manifestations are attached to the Accursed klippot.
Good time, Enmerkar.
Have I understood correctly that the dark face of the Great Mother is the progenitor of the inhabitants of the Abyss? “She gave birth to the abyss of klippot, and she also governs it.” – In this quote from your website (https://en.enmerkar.com/myth/mat-monstrov), is it indeed about the unclean klippot? And is the statement correct that epistemologically this face of the mother is closest to the feminine primal principle? After all, it is the Abyss, as I understood from the article, that creates the potential difference for the descent of Light through the Trees in the manifested world, similar to how the primary division of the One created the necessary potential difference for manifestation in principle.
It seems that modern, anti-cosmic satanism is precisely calling upon the forces of the cursed klippot, or do they indeed work with klippa Noga?
It is unlikely that a more or less mass appeal to the dark can occur. It would primarily lead to the demise of those who appealed.