Issue 5.3: Sefer Sephiroth, Part 2
An In-Depth Survey of Kabbalah's Deep Influence on Final Fantasy VII's Story, Themes, and Symbolism [A Philosophical, Metaphysical, and Spiritual Analysis]
Game & Word Volume 5, Issue 3: Sunday, Jul. 14, 2024
Publisher: Jay Rooney
Author, Graphics, Research: Jay Rooney
Logo: Jarnest Media
Table of Contents
Summary & Housekeeping
Feature: “Sefer Sephiroth,” Part 2 (~74 minute read)
Food for Talk: Discussion Prompts
Further Reading
Game & Word-of-Mouth
Footnotes
Summary:
Today, we’ll continue our look at the influence of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) on Final Fantasy VII, one of the best games ever made, mirroring last issue’s exercise with the Tree of Life by mapping the game’s villains to the inverted “Tree of Death.”
Housekeeping:
Let’s go!
Previous Issues
Game & Word’s most recent issues (currently, all of Volume 5) are available to all, free of charge.
Older issues are currently archived and only accessible to paid subscribers. Paid subscriptions are currently paused, and I’ll lower the paywall once I can afford to refund my current subscribers. In the meantime, you can always DM me if you want access to the full archive:
Volume 1 (The Name of the Game): Issue 1 ● Issue 2 ● Issue 3 ● Issue 4
Volume 2 (Yo Ho Ho, It’s a Gamer’s Life for Me): Issue 1 ● Issue 2 ● Issue 3 ● Bonus 1 ● Issue 4 ● Issue 5 ● Issue 6 ● Issue 7 ● Bonus 2 ● Issue 8 ● Bonus 3
Volume 3 (Game Over Matter): Intro ● Issue 1 ● Issue 2 ● Issue 3 ● Podcast 1 ● Issue 4 ● Video Podcast 1 ● Bonus 1 ● Issue 5 ● Podcast 2 ● Issue 6 ● Issue 7 ● Issue 8 ● Issue 9 ● Podcast 3 ● Bonus 2
Volume 4 (Tempus Ludos): Intro ● Issue 1 ● Video Podcast 1 ● Video Podcast 2 ● Issue 2 ● Issue 3 ● Issue 4 ● Issue 5 ● Podcast 1 ● Issue 6 ● Issue 7 ● Issue 8 ● Issue 9
Feature: Sefer Sephiroth, Part 2
🚨🚨🚨 SPOILER ALERT 🚨🚨🚨
This post contains HUGE spoilers for the entire Final Fantasy VII Compilation, including the original game, its myriad spinoffs, and the Remake Trilogy, including the just-recently-released (as of press time) Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. You've been warned!
⚠️⚠️⚠️ CONTENT ADVISORY ⚠️⚠️⚠️
This series contains discussions of trauma, murder, sexual assault, body horror, terrorism, medical experimentation, and apocalypse. Reader discretion advised.
💡💡💡 POINT OF CLARIFICATION 💡💡💡
Ever since Final Fantasy VII was first released, the body of works in this setting has greatly increased to include prequels, sequels, spinoffs, movies, novels, and even a full remake trilogy. When discussing the story, characters, and setting, I will be referencing the original game unless I specifically note otherwise.
Enter the Qlipoth
The existence of evil in the world has long posed thorny philosophical and theological quandaries for those inclined to believe in the fundamental goodness of whichever deity created it. After all, if God is good, all-knowing, and all-powerful, why is there so much wickedness and suffering in the world She made? Great thinkers from spiritual movements throughout history have posited many possible explanations (“free will” and “totality” being among the more enduring ones), and Kabbalah is no exception.
Enter the Qlipoth.
In Kabbalah, the qlipoth are representations of metaphysical realms or forces (described metaphorically as “shells” or “husks”) that cover and conceal the holy and divine energies and forces that emanate from the sephirot. As one would expect, they are associated with evil, chaos, imperfection, impurity, imbalance, and the profane.
The qlipoth are often arranged in a sort of mirror image of the Tree of Life—referred to in Kabbalah as the Tree of Knowledge (after the one in the Garden of Eden), but more often called the Tree of Death by the laity—with each qlippah corresponding to a sephirah but in an unbalanced, entropic state. In some Kabbalistic traditions, it’s considered dangerous to even dwell on the qlipoth (lest you feed them with your energy and attention), whereas in others, overcoming and transcending them is part and parcel of the practitioner’s spiritual path.
There are varying explanations amongst Kabbalist schools of thought for how the Qlipoth came into being, but here are some of the most popular:
From the Shattered Vessels: According to the concept of Shevirat HaKelim (“Breaking of the Vessels”), during the process of creation, the sheer intensity of God’s divine light and energies flowing into their vessels (the sephirot) shattered them, and the remaining fragments (“husks”) became the qlipoth.
From the Primordial Serpent: Some teachings hold that the qlipoth originated from the “Primordial Serpent,” or Nachash—the seminal force of evil present even before creation. The aftermath (its broken shells) became the realms of the Qlipoth. Depending on who you ask, any relation to the serpent from the Garden of Eden is purely coincidental.
From Unholy Residues: Another view is that during the process of creation and emanation of the sephirot, unholy residues or “excrement” accumulated, forming the qlipoth as a byproduct of God’s holy “flow” being obstructed.1
From the Concealment of the Divine: In this view, the Qlipoth are seen as the spiritual “coverings” or “shells” that conceal the divine light, resulting from the tzimtzum (contraction and hiding) of the infinite light into finite vessels.
As you can imagine, there’s quite a bit of overlap between these explanations. In essence, they all point towards the qlipoth as spiritual byproducts that emerged from the cosmic process of creating a separate, physical reality distinct from that of the infinite Divine Light. Likewise, in all these explanations, the qlipoth take the form of shattered husks or concealing forces that obscure and obstruct the holy sparks emanating from the sephirot.
The Final Fantasy VII Tree of Death
The villains of Final Fantasy VII are among the most iconic, menacing, cruel, and straight-up evil in the video gaming canon. And just like each of Final Fantasy VII's heroes can be mapped to a corresponding sephirah on the Tree of Life, its villains can also be mapped to a specific qlippah on the Tree of Death:
Note that the Tree of Death is often (though not always) flipped vertically, with the tenth qlippah (Lilith) at the top of the diagram, and the first qlippah (Thaumiel) at the bottom. I’ve opted to use the same orientation as the Tree of Life, as it’s easier to visualize and map each qlippah to its opposing sephirah.
However, I will still go through the qlipoth in reverse order, counting backwards from 10 to 1.
10. Don Corneo — Lilith (Carnal Desire)
“All right, pussycat… come to daddy!”
~Don Corneo, to Cloud (disguised in drag) [Final Fantasy VII]
⚠️⚠️⚠️ CONTENT ADVISORY ⚠️⚠️⚠️
This section discusses sexual assault and serial murder. Reader discretion is advised. If these topics upset you, feel free to skip to the “Green Zone” divider.
Bio:
Don Corneo is one of the most disgusting characters in the Final Fantasy VII universe. A wealthy and influential crime boss who lords over Midgar’s Sector 6 slums (particularly the Wall Market, Midgar’s seedy red light district), Corneo2 is infamous for being a lecherous, womanizing, and thoroughly degenerate pervert who regularly hosts "auditions" (strongly implied to be, at best, questionably consensual) at his mansion where he selects a female companion (his “bride”) for the evening from a trio of candidates.
He then lets his goons have their way with the “losers,” then feeds his “bride” to his pet monster, Abzu, once he grows bored with her. Rinse and repeat, ad nauseam. Oh, and the less is said about his “dungeon” (torture chamber), the better.
Yeah… told you he was gross.
Appearance-wise, Corneo is fat and balding with a long, braided ponytail on top of his shaved head, which it shares with a heart tattoo that spells “love.” He has a thick mustache and a goatee, and he wears flashy, expensive, and ostentatiously tacky clothing (to go along with the flashy, expensive, and ostentatiously tacky decor in his opulent mansion) that reflects his wealth, status, and horribly poor taste. Upon first glance, you immediately sense his power and importance, his unabashed gaudiness, and his unsavory reputation. He symbolizes the corruption, depravity, and moral decay that plagues Midgar's slums.
His comical appearance and mannerisms, flashy extravagance, and disquietingly childlike delight in indulging his base desires (not to mention his portly figure, augmented in the Remake trilogy by extra-realistic3 “jiggle” physics usually reserved for female characters’ bosoms) makes Corneo hard to take seriously. However, he’s far more cunning and savvy than he lets on— and would-be heroes and rivals alike underestimate him at their own peril.
Corneo is a greedy, lustful, and manipulative scumbag who uses his influence and wealth to exploit others (particularly women) and always maintains the upper hand, having no qualms about using threats and violence to maintain his power and satisfy his desires. His lechery is, without a doubt, his most defining characteristic, as his "auditions" and debasement of women are practically legendary in the slums—but he’s just as infamous for his treachery and skill at manipulating others.
As a result, few dare to directly oppose him—save perhaps Shinra, who has the advantage of commanding a professional army that can wipe the floor with his small-time goons. Because of this, Corneo will gladly serve as a snitch for Shinra in return for the company keeping an arm’s length from his fiefdom of scum and villainy.
In Final Fantasy VII, Cloud, Aerith, and Tifa infiltrate his mansion as part of a plan to extract information about Shinra's plans. Cloud and Aerith pose as candidates for Corneo's "audition" after learning that Tifa is about to be brought before the Don for the same purpose.
During their confrontation with Corneo, he reveals his knowledge of Shinra's plans to drop the Sector 7 plate, crushing the slums below. While the party manages to escape the trap he set for them, they prove unable to stop Shinra from dropping the plate, and Corneo soon disappears from Midgar altogether.
Later in the game, Don Corneo resurfaces during the optional Wutai sidequest (ie, the one where that insufferable little twerp Yuffie steals all your stuff). Having been ran out of Midgar by Shinra for spilling the beans about the plate drop to Cloud, Corneo flees to Wutai, where he mostly lays low until—predictably, but no less amusingly—his carnal lust gets the better of him.
During this sidequest, Don Corneo spots and then kidnaps both Yuffie and Elena… who is a member of the Turks. This forces an unlikely, but quite entertaining and surprisingly wholesome, alliance between Cloud's party and the remaining Turks—Reno and Rude—as they work together to rescue the captured women.
This temporary truce between the heroes and the Turks marks a significant shift in their dynamics, but I’m getting ahead of myself here.
The Wutai sidequest culminates in a confrontation with Don Corneo at the top of the Da-Chao Statue, where he has taken Yuffie and Elena, tying them up and dangling them over the mountain. After a battle, Corneo is defeated once again, and he falls from the statue to his presumed death. Thus ends The Ballad of Don Corneo, a victory for both the heroes and the Turks who successfully rescue their friends and allies.
(Though in my opinion, the party ended up worse off as a result, for having to drag Yuffie around the world with them again. IMO, they should’ve just taken their materia back and left her up there to (hopefully) teach her a lesson in self-control and humility. Then she might actually represent the sephirah (Hod) that supposedly corresponds to her. And even if not, at least they and the player wouldn’t have to put up with her kvetching anymore.)
Qlippah: Lilith (Carnal Indulgence) — Opposes Malkuth (Kingdom)
The tenth of the qliphot, Lilith (named for a demoness in Jewish folklore, said to be Adam’s first wife, before Eve4) is associated with the seductive aspects of said demoness, as well as the darker aspects of femininity more generally. Don Corneo, as a corrupt and lecherous pimp who constantly scours the slums for beautiful women to take as his “brides,”5 embodies these perverse and twisted traits:
Sensuality and Seduction: Lilith is the demonic personification of unbridled lust, sexual temptation, and the manipulation of desire. She represents the seductive and alluring aspects of the physical realm that can lead one astray from spiritual pursuits. Don Corneo, meanwhile, has an unquenchable libido and revels in his indulgence of sensual and carnal pleasures—the consent, well-being, and even lives of his victims be damned.
Nocturnal Dangers: Lilith is often depicted as a night demon or succubus, representing the fears and dangers that lurk in the darkness, both literal and metaphorical. Don Corneo runs the seedy Wall Market, a sleazy red-light district that operates in the shadows, where people are free to provide and pursue bodily pleasures of practically every conceivable flavor. Naturally, goons and thugs run the show here, free from the prying eyes of Shinra’s public safety forces.
Independence and Rebellion: According to legend, Lilith was Adam's first wife who refused to submit to him, and as such has since become a symbol of defiance against authority and societal norms. Don Corneo operates outside Shinra’s sphere of influence, the latter having decided to “quarantine” and literally wall off the Wall Market so they wouldn’t have to deal with it. That said, this is somewhat subverted in that Don Corneo is eventually shown to be a Shinra stooge behind the scenes.
Seduction of Children: In some folklore, Lilith is said to seduce and harm children, making her a representation of the corruption of innocence and the exploitation of the vulnerable. Halfway through the original game, Don Corneo pops up to try and kidnap (and forcibly seduce) Yuffie, a literal child—canonically, only 16 years old—showing there’s truly no limit to his depravity. And as annoying as Yuffie is, nobody deserves to go through the horrible things Don Corneo does to the unfortunate women he gets his hands on.
Lilith represents the perversion of God’s creative force, and the channeling of sexual energy towards destructive ends—and both Don Corneo’s unbridled lust and his perverse sexual tastes have certainly left a lot of pain, anguish, and destruction in his wake.
I also think that, while Lilith codes destructive sexuality as a feminine trait, the fact that Don Corneo is male serves as an important reminder that it isn’t always (or even usually) women who twist sex and desire into a destructive force and instrument of harm.
✅✅✅ ENTERING SAFE ZONE ✅✅✅
There is no further discussion of sexual assault or serial murder past this point. You are safe to resume reading from here.
9. Scarlet — Gamaliel (Obscenity)
“We will be broadcasting your miserable deaths live on national television!”
~Scarlet, to Barret and Tifa [Final Fantasy VII]
Bio:
Scarlet is a high-ranking Shinra executive, serving as head of the company’s Weapons Development Department, overseeing the creation and deployment of the advanced weaponry and technology (including more powerful materia) that her colleague-in-crime Heidegger then deploys to maintain “order” Shinra’s control over Midgar and its surrounding areas.
She is a striking figure, with shoulder-length blonde hair and a fondness for red clothing—namely, a long, red dress with a thigh-high slit and red high heels. She gives off an aura of pure power and feminine sexuality—which she adeptly uses to manipulate others and maintain her position within Shinra's hierarchy.
Don’t let her beguiling looks deceive you, however! She’s an ambitious, ruthless, and utterly sadistic individual who takes pleasure in the suffering of others. She is fiercely loyal to Shinra and its goals, and when her feminine wiles won’t do the trick, she has no qualms about resorting to violence and intimidation to further the company's interests. Her interactions with the heroes and even her own colleagues do much to illustrate her cruel and deceitful nature, as well as her callous disregard for human life.
In the original game, we first meet her while eavesdropping a meeting at Shinra Headquarters. In Remake, she appears a bit earlier, in a newscast following AVALANCHE’s attack on Mako Reactor 5, where—in a major dominatrix-ey flex—she shoves the cameraman to the ground and, towering over him, glares into the camera and sternly declares that the situation is under control.
Quite an establishing character moment.
Remake further fleshes out her cruelty in a cutscene where she’s supervising an experiment in developing “Magnus Materia.” She coldly watches the procedure while using a lowly security officer as a footstool, then calmly leaves the lab as the experiment begins to go off the rails, leaving her researchers to die in the ensuing explosion.
Unsurprisingly, she fits right in with her degenerate colleagues on the Shinra Board of Directors.
(In Remake’s DLC, Final Fantasy VII Remake INTERgrade (how’s that for a mouthful?) she also serves as a boss fight for Yuffie, which I admittedly didn’t play and only skimmed through the cutscenes, because Yuffie sucks.)
Oh, and Scarlet also ordered the destruction of Corel—Barret’s hometown—after strong-arming the town into letting Shinra build a mako reactor nearby. Said reactor failed and exploded due to Shinra’s own negligence, and Scarlet had the village burned and its residents shot to cover it up, blaming a non-existent “insurgent group.” This is also why Barret had to get a prosthetic gun arm.
Later in the game, Scarlet oversees the public execution of Tifa and Barret at the Shinra port city of Junon. While serving a practical purpose of uniting the public around the punishment of Shinra’s scapegoats for the imminent fall of Meteor (not to mention payback for all those reactor bombings), Scarlet takes it a step further, reveling in sadistic glee at the prospect of their deaths. She takes particular delight in tormenting Tifa—Scarlet taunts her, gloats over her impending fate, and slaps her hard across the face after strapping her down in the gas chamber.
Fortunately, a surprise attack from Sapphire WEAPON interrupts the execution and allows Tifa and Barret to escape… but not before Scarlet chases Tifa down to slap her across the cheeks again. After all, evil is nothing if not petty.
Finally, Scarlet also plays a role in the Battle of Midgar towards the end of the game, when Diamond WEAPON is making a beeline towards the city. With Heidegger, she commands the “Proud Clod,” a massive mech suit designed to protect Shinra Headquarters, and confronts the party directly. However, she is ultimately defeated, and her fate after the battle is left unknown (unlike her boss, Rufus, she doesn’t resurface in any of the sequels that take place after the original game’s events—time will tell as to her ultimate fate in the Remake trilogy once it concludes).
Qlippah: Gamaliel (Obscenity) — Opposes Yesod (Foundation)
The ninth of the qlipoth, Gamaliel (Hebrew for “Reward of God”)6 is all about luridness and seduction away from spiritual purity. Scarlet, with her ruthless, sadistic, and low-key seductive disposition in her pursuit of power, aligns quite well with this qlippah.
Obscenity and Profanity: Gamaliel is the fount of all vulgar, crude, and obscene behavior, as well as the desecration of sacred concepts and principles. Scarlet’s role leading Shinra’s advanced weapon development has her constantly coming up with grislier and more efficient ways to kill people, and she all but seems to get off on the death and destruction that her creations inevitably enable.
Impurity and Contamination: Gamaliel is also seen as a source of spiritual impurity and contamination, polluting the divine essence and leading to spiritual defilement. In-game, Scarlet is so corrupt and morally depraved that she takes a sadistic delight in planning and orchestrating Barret and Tifa’s public executions, even going so far as to slap, mock, and viciously taunt Tifa as she’s strapped to her chair in the gas chamber.
Mockery and Blasphemy: Finally, Gamaliel represents the mocking and blasphemy of sacred teachings, rituals, and beliefs—a rejection of spiritual authority and a desecration of holiness. Paralleling her colleague Professor Hojo in this regard, Scarlet is involved in the creation of horrifying death machines and unstable, dangerous materia. This is a blasphemous perversion of life itself—which, as the Cetra tell us, is sacrosanct.
Gamaliel is also placed opposite of Yesod (Foundation) on the Tree of Life, corrupting the divine creative force and channeling it towards destructive and exploitative ends. It is a force that undermines the foundations of spiritual growth and enlightenment.
And as one of Shinra’s top executives, Scarlet certainly provides a “foundation” for the company. Her depravity is also highly illustrative of the moral and spiritual corrosion brought upon by Shinra through the brutal, exploitative, and supremely unethical means that she—and the company at large—employs to achieve its ends.
8. Rufus Shinra — Samael (False Witness)
“A little fear will control the minds of the common people. There's no reason to waste money on them.”
~Rufus Shinra [Final Fantasy VII]
Bio:
Say what you will about Square, but you can’t deny they’re equal opportunity fanservice providers. A walking, talking thirst trap second only to Sephiroth for fans of the male persuasion, Rufus Shinra is a young, handsome man with short, slicked-back, silvery blond hair and piercing blue eyes. Typically donning his iconic white suit with way too many belts and a badass, white trench coat, Rufus exudes an air of wealth, power, and sophistication that befits the heir of Shinra’s business empire—not to mention his role as a competent foil to the game's protagonists.
Rufus is one of the game’s central antagonists, serving as the vice president and later president of Shinra. The son of President Shinra, he was groomed from a young age to take over the family business and maintain Shinra's domination over the world at large.
Rufus is a cunning, ambitious, and ruthless power-seeker who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. He is highly intelligent and politically savvy, able to navigate Shinra’s complex power structures and maintain his position of authority—even after being unmasked for orchestrating a failed assassination attempt on his dad in a bid to seize power before the events of the game.
However, his failure at offing his old man also reveals his weaknesses: as cunning as he is, he is arrogant and overconfident, often underestimating the strength and determination of his opponents. This pattern continues throughout the game as Cloud and the heroes repeatedly get the best of him and/or slip between his fingers—even after he does assume power and thus retains Shinra’s unstoppable war machine and practically unlimited resources at his disposal.
Rufus first appears in Final Fantasy VII almost immediately after Sephiroth kills his father. He immediately assumes control of Shinra, and begins implementing his own vision for the world (and his own plans to deal with the threats posed by AVALANCHE and Sephiroth). Unlike his father, Rufus is more hands-on in his approach, personally overseeing key operations and confronting Cloud and his allies on several occasions.
One of Rufus's most iconic appearances occurs during his first encounter with the party, following his father’s assassination, where he delivers the quote at the top of this entry. Rufus then engages Cloud in a one-on-one battle, showcasing his formidable fighting skills and his command of his pet guard hound, Dark Nation. Despite his efforts, Cloud defeats him and escapes from Midgar—but not before Rufus makes a badass escape of his own via his personal helicopter.
Rufus then encounters the party at several key moments in the game. The party, disguised as Shinra security officers, sneaks into his inauguration parade and onto his ship departing Junon, much to his annoyance. He bears witness to Cloud’s breakdown at the Northern Crater, where Sephiroth obtains the Black Materia and summons Meteor to barrel down towards the Planet. And towards the end of the game, he takes an energy blast to the face during Diamond WEAPON’s attack on Midgar and Shinra Headquarters— presumed dead, but his ultimate fate left ambiguous until he returns in the sequel film, Advent Children, looking no worse for the wear. But that’s a story for another article.
In the Remake trilogy, Rufus's role is greatly expanded, providing a deeper exploration of his character and motivations. He’s shown to be a more complex figure, struggling with the weight of his responsibilities and the expectations placed upon him as the leader of Shinra.
His attitude towards “ruling the people” also seems to have flipped with his father’s—whereas in the original, President Shinra sought to rule the world with money, Rufus thought it better to rule it through fear (hence the quote above).
But in Remake, it’s his dad who keeps the populace in line by churning out propaganda framing AVALANCHE and Wutai for events like the Sector 7 plate drop. And in Rebirth, Rufus is downright horrified at his dad’s excesses, even berating his executives for not standing up to his dad when he dropped the plate on the slums. He displays a far more practical and less arrogant side, and is much less interested in apprehending AVALANCHE and re-capturing Aerith than he was in the original. Even to the point that of offering AVALANCHE a truce (until that little shit Yuffie scuttles the deal).
Qlippah: Samael (False Witness) — Opposes Hod (Splendor)
The eighth qlippah, Samael (Hebrew for “Desolation of God” or “Venom of God”) is a punishing force often linked to deception, vengeance, and severe judgment. Rufus, stepping in with a more direct and ruthless approach than his father, embodies this harsh and punitive energy:
Falsehood and Deception: Samael is considered the embodiment of lies, deceit, and illusion, representing the forces that lead one astray from truth and enlightenment. As the son of President Shinra, Rufus put on a ruse to convince his father that he was happy just to be the Vice-President, all while scheming to usurp daddy’s position—even via attempted assassination! Sneaky, sneaky.
Destructive Anger, Vengeance, and Cruelty: Samael is also associated with uncontrolled rage, vengeance, cruelty, and unrestrained violence, representing the darkest and most brutal aspects of human anger and aggression. Rufus’ declaration that he’d rule the world with fear, as well as his willingness to execute Barret and Tifa (despite their help at the Northern Crater) as a form of petty revenge both illustrate this.
Temptation, Sin, Materialism, and Greed: This qlippah represents an excessive attachment to the physical world, greed, and the pursuit of material positions at the expense of spiritual growth (Samael is also often depicted as the serpent in the Garden of Eden, for these very reasons, symbolizing the seductive power of sin and the lure of forbidden desires).
Rufus covets the presidentship of Shinra, and the power over the world that this would bestow upon him, over everything else—even to the point of being willing to fund an attempt on his old man’s life. And as his impeccably sharp sense of style hints at, he’s got quite a taste for luxury.
Rufus and Samael alike promote chaos, destruction, and the base impulses of existence—in the former’s case, especially if said chaos and destruction benefits him. Rufus’ covert funding of AVALANCHE prior to the game’s events, as well as his reliance on the Turks (agents of chaos if there ever were any) to do his dirty work, point to this.
7. Palmer — Gharab Tzerek (Idleness)
"Oh dear, oh dear! A man of my refined tastes, running out of butter!"
~Palmer [Final Fantasy VII Remake]
Bio:
Ah, Palmer. The man! The myth! The... well, the bumbling comic relief, mostly. But hey, every story needs a bit of levity. And boy, does Palmer deliver on that front.
Anyhoo, Palmer is the head of Shinra's Space Program. He's a portly, balding man with a penchant for tea and a tendency to get himself into one ridiculous situation after another. In the grand scheme of things, he's a minor character, but he's nevertheless managed to worm his way into the hearts of many a Final Fantasy VII fan.
So, what's Palmer's deal? Well, on the surface, he seems like your typical corporate lackey. He's loyal to Shinra, and he's always eager to please his superiors. But there's also a certain bumbling, almost childlike quality to him that sets him apart from the likes of, say, Heidegger and Scarlet.
One of Palmer's most memorable moments comes during the original game’s "Tiny Bronco" scene. Basically, Cloud and his pals are trying to steal Cid's airplane, the Tiny Bronco, from his airstrip in Rocket Town. Palmer, ever the dutiful employee, tries to stop them (keyword being "tries").
Unfortunately for him, Palmer ends up getting smacked in the face by the Tiny Bronco's propeller, stumbling around in a daze, and eventually getting launched into the air by a truck.
And he becomes even more of a butt monkey in Rebirth. There, he’s assigned to hand out “Wanted” posters of our heroes at the Gold Saucer (already a humiliating task that should be far below his executive pay grade), only to have hotel reservations cancelled before losing a ton of money betting on the Chocobo races (all of these are either directly or indirectly due to Cloud and the heroes’ actions). He then tries to face down the heroes in a giant mecha, which he struggles to pilot to the point that the mech actually overrides his control and starts operating on autopilot.
But here's the thing: as funny as those scenes are, they also serves to highlight just how out of his depth Palmer really is. He's not a fighter, and he's not a schemer: he's just a guy who's trying to do his job and failing miserably at it. In a way, he's almost a sympathetic figure. Almost.
(He does do slightly better when Shinra attempts to launch a rocket containing a Magnus Materia into Meteor, in that he actually succeeds in getting it off the ground… but ultimately, he fails there as well)
Of course, Palmer's not all bumbling and slapstick. He does have a bit of a sinister side, as evidenced by his giddy enthusiasm for Shinra's plans to blow up the Sector 7 plate. But even then, he's more of a pawn than a mastermind. He's just following orders, not really understanding or caring about the consequences.
In the end, Palmer's role in Final Fantasy VII is almost insignificant. He's there to provide some comic relief, to be a thorn in the side of our heroes, and to remind us that not everyone in Shinra is a mustache-twirling villain. Some of them are just... well, Palmer.
Qlippah: Gharab Tzerek (Spinning Ones) — Opposes Netzach (Eternity)
The seventh qlippah, Gharab Tzerek (Hebrew for “Spinning ones”) is less commonly discussed than the rest, but is usually interpreted as relating to idleness, deception, and confusion. And Palmer, seen by his peers (not to mention the players!) as comical and not entirely competent, can represent a kind of bumbling interference. Furthermore:
Impatience and Hastiness: This qliphah is the realm of reckless haste, impulsivity, and an inability to exercise restraint or follow through on goals deliberately. As the head of a defunct space program that’s just itching to get it started again, Palmer displays a certain impatience with his lot in life.
Empty Ambition: Gharab Tzerek is also linked to superficial ambitions devoid of higher purpose, the relentless pursuit of empty victories, and fleeting triumphs. And Palmer is chasing a dead dream—though he sits on Shinra’s board, the fact that his department has been defunct for years means he is little more than dead weight. Palmer’s even more of a figurehead than the purely ceremonial “Mayor” of Midgar (a man who, by his own admission, is nothing but a glorified archivist and Shinra mouthpiece).
Idle Curiosity: Gharab Tzerek represents a scattering of interests and pursuits without depth or commitment—one’s engaging in constant novelty-seeking behaviors. Not having much to do besides sitting around doing menial tasks and half-assedly inquiring about restarting his dead department, he would rather gorge himself with lard tea and place losing bets on the Chocobo races at the Gold Saucer, flanked by beautiful female admirers (the fact that said “admirers” are almost certainly being paid to butter him up appears to be of little consequence to him).
Vulgarity and Profanity: Finally, this qlippah governs crude, boorish, and vulgar conduct that debases the spiritual. And while he’s nowhere near as foul-mouthed as Cid or as sleazy as Don Corneo, Palmer’s portly figure betrays a gluttonous over-gratification in food—I mean, the man takes lard in his tea, for crying out loud—and in Rebirth, he can be spotted indulging in gambling and the company of groupies at the Gold Saucer (the Planet’s capital of hedonistic idleness and excess).
Gharab Tzerek opposes Netzach (Eternity) on the Tree of Life. In Final Fantasy VII terms, whereas Netzach’s Vincent symbolizes dogged persistence and determination in the pursuit of victory, Palmer seems perfectly content bumbling around waiting for his department to be reactivated, indulging himself in vice and idle wallowing without actively pursuing his dreams in any meaningful way.
6. The Turks — Togagirion (Obstinacy)
"No, I'm not bad. But like it or not... I sometimes have to do bad things."
~Rude [Final Fantasy VII Remake]
Bio:
Funny name, serious business.
Now here's a group that knows how to make an entrance! You’ve got Reno with his fiery red hair and cocky confidence to match, Rude with his badass stoicism and killer shades, Elena with her youthful enthusiasm and endearingly fierce loyalty, and Tseng with his cool, calculating, chessmaster-esque machinations. Together, they form Shinra's most elite group of operatives, the innocuous and totally-not-Orwellian-sounding Department of Administrative Research (informally known as “The Turks”).
But let's be real here: "Administrative Research" is just fancy, evil corporate jargon for "we do Shinra's dirty work." And boy, do these Turks get their hands dirty. Kidnapping, assassination, espionage... you name it, they've done it. They're the ones who are called in when Shinra needs a problem solved, and it needs it solved quickly and quietly.
But despite their reputations as cold-blooded killers, the Turks are surprisingly complex characters. Take Reno, for example. Sure, he's a cocky, wisecracking smartass who seems to take a little too much pleasure in his work. But beneath that devil-may-care facade, there's a glimmer of something else—a hint of regret, perhaps, or a longing for something more. Remake so brilliantly illustrated this as he voiced doubts and regrets over their mission of literally knocking the table out from under the Sector 7 plate, instantly making him a much more interesting and sympathetic character.
And then there's Rude. He's the strong, silent type, the guy who lets his actions speak louder than his words. But he's also fiercely loyal to his fellow Turks, and he's got a soft spot for kids and animals. Who would've guessed? Plus, he’s bald—and he’s even a member of a members-only bar for bald people in Junon—and if Larry David taught us anything, it’s that bald = funny, without fail. (Oh, and he’s got a huge crush on Tifa, to the point of even refraining from attacking her in battle… clearly, a man after my own heart.)
Elena, the rookie of the group, is a bit of a wild card. She's eager to prove herself, sometimes to the point of recklessness. But she's also got a sharp mind and a keen sense of justice. She may be new to the game, but she's learning fast—and in battle, she’s a much tougher cookie to crack than all of her male colleagues.
And finally, there's Tseng. The leader of the Turks, the man with the plan. He's cool, calm, and always in control. But beneath that icy exterior, there's a sense of honor, a code that he lives by—and he seems to genuinely care for Aerith’s well-being, though it’s unclear to what extent this affection is of the platonic or unrequited romantic variety. He may do some questionable things in the name of Shinra, but he's not without his principles.
What makes the Turks so interesting is that they're not just mindless goons. They're fully realized characters with their own motivations, their own hopes and fears. They're not always likable, but they're always fascinating to watch.
Throughout the game, we see the Turks clash with Cloud and his friends time and time again. They're the ones who drop the plate on Sector 7, and the ones who try to stop our heroes at every turn.
But as the story progresses, we start to see a different side to them. We see them question their orders, wrestle with their conscience, and even, in some cases, help our heroes out (more on this in a bit). The Turks aren't just obstacles to be overcome; they're characters in their own right, with their own arcs and their own journeys.
And who could forget the infuriatingly catchy "Turks' Theme"? That jazzy, up-tempo track that plays whenever Reno and Rude are on the scene is the perfect encapsulation of their characters: smooth, stylish, and just a little bit dangerous. They may be a thorn in our heroes' sides, but damn if they don't look good doing it.
Qlippah: Togagirion (Obstinacy) — Opposes Tiferet (Beauty/Harmony)
We now move down to the sixth qlippah, Togaririon (Hebrew for “Obstinate Ones”), which is associated with bitterness and opposition. You know, much like the relentless and often ruthless determination the Turks display when pursuing their goal of being thorns in AVALANCHE’s side, regardless of any pesky moral implications. But that’s not all:
Distortion and Perversion: Togaririon represents the twisting and distortion of truth and virtue, as well as the forces that pervert and corrupt these holy concepts. The Turks’ very name obscures its sinister purpose—the department is formally known as “Administrative Services,” and they ostensibly scout for promising SOLDIER candidates. In practice, however, they don’t “scout” so much as “forcibly recruit” said candidates, and they also execute a laundry list of skullduggery—from kidnapping to murder—in the service of keeping the Shinra brass’ hands “clean.” Orwellian distortion at its finest!
Disharmony and Discord: Togaririon is also linked to dissonance, conflict, and the inability to achieve harmony or balance—it sows seeds of discord and disunity. And the Turks, in their capacity as Shinra’s shadowy “goon squad,” certainly ferment and spread chaos wherever they go—from kidnapping Aerith to flipping the switch that dropped the Sector 7 plate onto the slums below, killing many and displacing the remaining survivors, all in the pursuit of doing Shinra’s dirty work.
Base Desires: This qliphah also represents enslavement to base physical appetites, cravings, and carnal desires that obstruct spiritual elevation. While Elena and Tsung subvert this somewhat, there’s no doubt that Reno and Rude care much more about their own gratification than doing their jobs, as seen when they decline to pursue or engage the party when they run into them in Wutai—because they’re on vacation and would rather get plastered at the Happy Turtle (they also openly lust after the party’s female members).
All in all, Togaririon embodies the darkening spiritual forces that corrupt wisdom, breed conflict and dissonance, and enslave humans to base impulses and spiritual blindness. It opposes Tiferet (Beauty/Harmony) in the Tree of Life, sowing discord and disharmony in the latter’s balance and harmonic order. And even though, save for the Sector 7 plate collapse, the Turks largely fail to disrupt the party’s objectives or fundamental unity, it (mostly) isn’t for lack of effort.
🤵♂️🤝🦹♂️ SIDE QUEST: Enemy Mine
Now, I’d be remiss to talk about the Turks without diving into their role in the Wutai side quest.
This is a turning point in the story of the Turks if ever there was one. Up until this point, Reno, Rude, Elena, and Tseng have been firmly in the baddies’ camp, always showing up at the most inconvenient times to throw a wrench in our heroes' plans.
But then, something unexpected happens when Yuffie, the young Wutaian
wretchthiefwhelpninja steals Cloud’s materia in the hopes of using it to restore her homeland's glory (or so she says… personally, I think she just wanted to get rich), only to get captured by everyone’s favorite sleazeball, Don Corneo.But you see, it turns out that Elena—the newest member of the Turks—has also been captured by Corneo. And when Reno and Rude find out, they're not about to let one of their own be held hostage. So, in a shocking twist, they team up with Cloud and his friends to rescue Elena and Yuffie, and take down Corneo once and for all.
(In an interesting side note, Elena seems to annoy Reno and Rude almost as much as Yuffie does Cloud and his friends. And Corneo’s shown to get a kick out of “breaking in” feisty women.)
This alliance marks a moment that changes everything. Suddenly, the lines between hero and villain are blurred. The Turks, who have been our enemies for so long, are now fighting alongside us. And as they work together with Cloud and his party, a new dynamic begins to emerge.
We see a different side to the Turks in this quest. We see their loyalty to each other, their willingness to put aside their differences for the greater good, and a glimmer of the people they could be—if only they were fighting for the right side.
And here's the thing: this newfound camaraderie carries over into the heroes’ return to Midgar near the end of the game. Once again, they find themselves face to face with the Turks... but this time, things are different.
Instead of fighting to the death, the Turks simply step aside. They were always “punch clock villains” to a certain extent (even before Elena gets kidnapped, Reno and Rude decline to confront Cloud in Wutai as they were on vacation at the time, and thus couldn’t care less). And while they may not be ready to join the rebellion outright, the fact that they weren’t going to stand in the way either is HUGE.
It's a powerful moment, one that speaks to the complex nature of the Turks as characters. They're not just mindless drones, blindly following orders. They're people, with their own thoughts and feelings and motivations. And when push comes to shove, they're capable of making the right choice.
…Now, the story of the Turks doesn't end there. Throughout the rest of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII (the myriad sequels, prequels, and spinoffs set in the same universe) we see them continue to evolve and grow as characters. In the prequel game Before Crisis, we see the origins of the Turks and the events that shaped them into the people they are. And in the sequel film Advent Children, we see them grappling with the aftermath of Meteorfall and the role they played in the near-destruction of the planet.
But through it all, one thing remains constant: the bond between the Turks themselves. No matter what happens, no matter what challenges they face, Reno, Rude, Elena, and Tseng always have each other's backs. They're more than just colleagues; they're a family.
And that, dear reader, is the true legacy of the Turks. Not their past as Shinra's enforcers, but their future as allies and friends of humankind. They may have started as villains, but in the end, they proved that even the most unlikely of heroes can rise to the occasion when it matters most.
5. Professor Hojo — Golachab (Burning/Devouring)
“Would you like to be my guinea pig?”
~Professor Hojo [Final Fantasy VII]
Bio:
Where to even begin with this twisted genius? If ever there was a character who embodied the phrase "mad scientist," it's Professor Hojo, Shinra’s head of research and development. Behind his disheveled exterior—his greasy hair, hunchback posture, and unsettling cackle—lies a mind as sharp as a scalpel and as cold as the metal instruments on his operating table. He's the mastermind behind some of the company's most infamous experiments, and the stuff of nightmares for any poor soul unlucky enough to cross his path.
It was Hojo who spearheaded the Jenova Project, harnessing the ancient alien creature’s eldritch power to become the key to Shinra's dominance. And it was Hojo who used the knowledge mined from that project to create Sephiroth: the ultimate SOLDIER, born from Jenova's cells and raised to be a weapon of mass destruction.
But Sephiroth was just the beginning. Hojo's experiments knew no bounds, and he was willing to sacrifice anything—and anyone—in the pursuit of “scientific advancement” (really, a euphemism for his own morbid curiosity). He saw humans as nothing more than test subjects, and he had no qualms about subjecting them to the most ghastly, horrific, and grotesque experiments ever conceived by mankind
Take the case of Vincent, for example. A former Turk who dared to stand up to Hojo, the mad professor subjected him to a series of experiments that implanted him with the genetic material of myriad ghouls and monsters, turning him into a shape-shifting creature of the night. And then, as if that wasn't enough, he locked him away in a coffin to slumber for eternity (where he would’ve stayed, forever, had Cloud not happened upon him).
But perhaps Hojo's greatest crime was the way he treated his own son, Sephiroth. He saw the boy not as a child, but as a specimen—as a means to an end. He thus subjected him to endless tests and experiments, eventually pushing him to the brink of madness. When Sephiroth finally discovered the truth about his origins, it was Hojo's lies and manipulations that sent him over the edge.
It's hard to find any redeeming qualities in Hojo. He's a man driven by his own ego, his own desire for power, and his pathological thirst for knowledge at any cost. He's willing to sacrifice anything and anyone in the pursuit of his goals, and he has no regard for the lives he destroys along the way.
And yet, as much as we may despise him, there's no denying the impact he has on the story of Final Fantasy VII. He's the catalyst for so much of the game's plot, what with being the driving force behind Sephiroth's descent into madness, and the creator of the Jenova Project.
In the end, Hojo gets what's coming to him. In a final confrontation in the depths of Midgar, he injects himself with Jenova cells, transforming into a monstrous creature that our heroes must defeat. When the dust finally settles, there's a sense of justice, of a wrong being righted—and yet, it’s a bittersweet victory, one that the heroes know cannot right the many, many wrongs inflicted upon them by Hojo and his legacy.
So here's to you, Professor Hojo... you madman. May you rot in whatever hell you've found yourself in.
Qliphah: Golachab (Devouring) — Opposes Gevurah (Severity/Justice)
Often linked with the destructive forces of the demonic prince Asmodeus, the fifth qliphah, Golachab (Hebrew for “Burners”), represents destructive and burning energies. Hojo's cruel experiments and total lack of moral restraint—which have led to untold destruction and suffering, including setting in motion the very plot of Final Fantasy VII itself—align well with this qliphah.
As you can imagine, there’s a lot of unpack when examining a piece of work as vile as Hojo:
Burning Wrath and Anger: Golachab is associated with uncontrolled, fiery rage and furious anger that consumes and destroys. Fittingly, Hojo is an uber-nihilist and misanthrope who holds humanity at large in seething contempt—to the extent he’s willing to lend a hand to his son, Sephiroth, in speeding up its extinction.
Harmful Conflagration: This qlippah governs destructive fires, both metaphorical and literal, that bring ruin and devastation. Hojo is the person responsible for reawakening Jenova and unleashing Sephiroth on the Planet, as well as inflicting unfathomable pain and suffering on Aerith, her mother Ilfana, Red XIII, Vincent, Cloud, and Zack (not to mention the countless “test subjects” he subjected to painful and inhumane medical experimentation).
Profane Passion: Golachab represents misguided, profane passions and obsessive lust that lead to spiritual ruin. Hojo has committed all of his innumerable crimes and sins in the name of satisfying nothing more than his own twisted curiosity. He is a sociopathic maniac who has left countless fires in his wake, sacrificing untold numbers of souls at the altar of his own personal Moloch: science for science’s sake, the pursuit of truth at the expense of beauty, virtue, and innocence.
Chaotic Upheaval: Golachab is linked to violent upheavals, revolutions, and chaotic disruptions of established orders and systems. And indeed, it is Hojo’s spearheading of the “Jenova Project”—particularly his experimentation on his son, Sephiroth, when he was still in the womb—that set the wheels in motion that culminated in the near-destruction of the Planet at the hands of Sephiroth.
Desolation and Waste: Finally, Golachab lays waste to fertile realms, leaving behind spiritual and physical desolation. Wherever Hojo goes, he leaves exactly this in his wake. The fact that Hojo’s a high-ranking executive at Shinra, which literally lays waste to once-fertile lands, further reinforces this.
Golachab personifies the destructive, chaotic forces of unrestrained wrath, harmful passions, and anarchic upheavals that leave only desolation behind—the direct antithesis of the spiritual justice represented by Gevurah. If anything, Barret (Gevurah) through AVALANCHE is a force for righting the many, many wrongs brought into being by Hojo.
Indeed, in a twisted way, Hojo is almost a dark reflection of the game's heroes in general—much like the qliphot are dark reflections of the sephirot. Where Cloud and Friends fight for life and love and hope, Hojo fights for death and destruction and chaos. He's the embodiment of everything they stand against, and as such the ultimate test of their resolve and their strength.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I need a shower. Even talking about Hojo makes me feel unclean. But such is the power of a truly unforgettable villain, I suppose. Love him or hate him, you'll never forget him.
4. Heidegger — Gamchicoth (Destruction)
“An enemy spared is an enemy who will repay your 'kindness' with blood.”
~Heidegger (Final Fantasy VII Rebirth)
Bio:
At first glance, Heidegger is Shinra’s walking, guffawing punchline. If the company had a Department of Comic Relief, Heidegger would be second only to Palmer as the most suitable candidate. With his bushy beard, booming laugh (“Gya ha ha!”), and penchant for slapping his own knee, he's like a cartoon character come to life.
But don't underestimate him, despite his buffoonish exterior. Heidegger is a man of immense power and influence, the head of Shinra's Public Safety Department. In true Shinra-esque Orwellian doublespeak, this means that he’s in command of the company's mighty military. He sends the troops out to keep the populace in line.
Of course, "keeping the populace in line" is just more corporate speak, this one being a fancy way of saying "crushing any and all resistance with an iron fist," a task in which Heidegger takes great pleasure. He's a man who revels in his own authority, who loves nothing more than seeing his enemies crushed beneath his boot.
"Gyahaha! You're a feisty one, aren't you? But you're no match for the might of Shinra! We'll crush you like the insignificant bugs you are!"
(…lmao)
That's Heidegger in a nutshell. He's all bluster and bravado, a man who talks a big game but rarely backs it up. He's quick to take credit for the successes of others, and even quicker to shift the blame when things go wrong.
And boy, do things go wrong for Heidegger. Throughout the game, we see him bumble his way from one disaster to the next. He's the one who orders the destruction of Sector 7, a decision that backfires spectacularly when AVALANCHE uses it as a rallying cry for rebellion (though that last part is very much subverted in Remake). He's the one who sends the Turks to capture Aerith, only to have them fail miserably every single time (until, well, they eventually succeed). And he's the one who lets Cloud and AVALANCHE, disguised as Shinra troopers, sneak into Rufus’ inaugural parade and later his transport heading out of Junon, where it turned out Sephiroth had also been hitching a ride, and took the chance to slaughter the ship’s crew.
It's almost enough to make you feel sorry for the guy. But then you remember all the lives he's ruined, all the suffering he's caused, and any sympathy you might have had quickly evaporates.
Because at the end of the day, Heidegger is a bully. He's a man who uses his power to intimidate and control, who sees the world as nothing more than a playground for his own twisted amusement. He may be a joke, but he's a joke with teeth.
And that's what makes him so dangerous. Because as much as we may laugh at Heidegger's failures and his goofy laugh (Rufus even constantly admonishes him to quit making his stupid “horse laugh”), we can never forget the harm he's capable of. He's a walking reminder of the banality of evil, of how even the most ridiculous of villains can cause real and lasting damage.
But in the end, Heidegger gets his comeuppance. In a final confrontation with Cloud and his allies (which he can’t even carry out on his own—he has to pilot a mech, the Proud Clod, with Scarlet), he's soundly defeated, his bluster and bravado stripped away to reveal the pathetic, sniveling coward beneath.
Because for all his posturing, for all his cruelty and greed, Heidegger was never anything more than a small, petty man playing at being a god.
Qlippah: Gamchicoth (Destruction) — Opposes Chesed (Kindness/Mercy)
The fourth of the qlippoth, Gamchicoth (Hebrew for “Disturbers of Souls”) represents devouring, cruelty, and abuse of power, and is often associated with the destructive demons Astaroth and/or Azazel. Heidegger’s role in leading Shinra's military operations, through which he unleashes destruction, grief, and tyranny on the masses—along with his constant abuse of his underlings—mirrors this concept. More parallels include:
Crudity and Vulgarity: Gamchicoth enables coarse, vulgar, and crude behavior that debases the spiritual and divine. Similarly, while Heidegger isn’t crude or vulgar in the more common meaning of the terms, he’s certainly course with his subordinates, and his brutish disposition could also be seen as a crude and vulgar distortion of the use of force and power.
Desecration of the Sacred: This qlippah also governs the profanation and desecration of holy rituals, objects, and concepts through blasphemous acts. In Heidegger’s case, this concept has two parallels.
First, his bloodlust and almost reflexive tendency to shoot/bomb/maim/kill first and ask questions later (if ever at all) certainly profane the lofty ideals of honor, restraint, and the judicious deployment of violence in the name of maintaining order, not to mention a textbook abuse of the power one wields when holding a monopoly on violence.
Second, as an employee of, and executive at, Shinra, he’s directly complicit in his employer’s ongoing desecration of nature through the extraction and consumption of the mako that sustains the Planet, its lifeforms, and its ancient knowledge.Impure Magic: Gamchicoth symbolizes impure, corrupted forms of magic and occult practices that manipulate dark spiritual forces for selfish or destructive ends. The consumption of mako powers everything that Shinra does: the creation and maintenance of its war machine, the development of unstable and destructive materia, and Hojo’s profane biological experiments, up to and including the creation and deployment of Sephiroth himself. And as head of Public Safety, Heidegger is behind a lot of the destruction Shinra has wrought in the name of power and profit—and in this capacity, he was also Sephiroth’s boss. We all know how that turned out.
Spiritual Defilement: Gamchicoth acts as a source of spiritual pollution and contamination, defiling the pure essence of the divine spark within. Heidegger may be the head of “Public Safety,” but let’s be real: as described by Barret in Remake, he’s Shinra’s warmonger-in-chief. And whether in the world of Final Fantasy VII or IRL, nothing allows humans’ crueler and baser instincts to break through their brittle aspirations towards decency and morality quite like war does.
Gamchicoth opposes Chesed (Kindness/Mercy), personified by Aerith, in the Tree of Life. And Heidegger couldn’t be more of a polar opposite to Aerith. Whereas Aerith is kind, compassionate, selfless, gentle, and forgiving, Heidegger is cruel, ruthless, selfish, violent, and unforgiving. They’re both forces of will, but while Aerith’s willpower manifests in an assertive, playful, and flirty way, Heidegger’s does so in a brutish, confrontational, and often deadly manner.
(Oh, and in case you’re wondering if Heidegger was named for the 20th Century German philosopher and infamous Nazi sympathizer Martin Heidegger… based on everything I’ve just told you, I’ll give you three guesses.)
3. President Shinra — Sathariel (Obfuscation)
“I know what I want, and I take it. I take advantage of whatever I can, and discard that which I cannot. There is no room for sentiment or guilt.”
~President Shinra [Final Fantasy VII Remake]
Bio:
President Shinra, in case the name didn’t tip you off, is the president of Shinra and the father of Rufus Shinra. Though his overall role in the actual events of Final Fantasy VII is really quite minor, only appearing in the game’s first ~5-10 hours (in an ~80-100 hour game), he’s nevertheless a pivotal character. As the founder and head of the corporate all-but-in-name nation-state, President Shinra is directly responsible for the company's ongoing burning of the Planet’s mako for power and profit, its ascension from small-time arms manufacturer to world-ruling corporate dictatorship, and bearing down the full weight of its resources on Cloud and his friends.
He’s an older man with graying hair and a… shall we say… rotund figure, wearing a dark red suit that screams “power” and “authority.” In Remake, his suit is darker, he’s far less chunkier (though still pretty round), and has an overall more imposing presence. We also see a lot more of him in Remake, given he serves as the arc villain for the entire first part of the Remake trilogy, a ~60-80 hour game. Therefore, I’ll mostly be drawing from his Remake portrayal for this analysis—there’s just so much more meat to chew than his original appearance.
Ruthless, calculating, greedy, and a capital “M” Machiavellian schemer, President Shinra puts his namesake corporation’s profits and power above everything else. He’s willing to go to jaw-dropping lengths to assert maintain the company's dominance—from unapologetically draining the Planet's resources knowing it will eventually lead to its death and brutally suppressing dissent, and even sacrificing countless human lives by starting wars, to allowing Hojo’s grotesque experiments on Shinra’s own constituents and dropping the entire Sector 7 plate on the undercity, crushing and burying untold thousands in rubble.
He is also a paranoid coward, relying heavily on his subordinates (particularly Heidegger’s “public safety” forces, the sycophantic news media, and the Turks) to neutralize threats to his power. He practically begs AVALANCHE to save his life after Sephiroth leaves him dangling from the top of the Shinra Headquarter’s 70th floor, only to walk it all back after regaining the upper hand. He even admits to Barret that he has no guiding principles other than his own greed and self-interest, as referenced in the quote above.
In the original game, President Shinra mostly acts distantly and in the background, only meeting the party twice—mainly just to taunt and gloat at them—before getting shish-kebabed by Sephiroth offscreen and being more or less forgotten about afterward. While his core personality remains consistent between the original game and Remake, the latter considerably expands on and fleshes out his character, providing a much more nuanced, detailed, and in-depth look at his motivations and his relationship with the rest of the Shinra brass. We see him as a more active and involved leader, and get a direct window into his motivations, relationships, and decision-making process.
One significant addition to President Shinra's character in the Remake is his not only being aware of AVALANCHE’s reactor bombings and letting them happen, but also in making them worse so as to more effectively drum up fear in the public (whereas in the original, AVALANCHE aimed to blow up the reactors, in Remake they only intended to sabotage the reactors—Shinra made it so said sabotage would cause a chain reaction, making the explosion far more destructive).
He also had a deeper “meta game” in play when ordering the Sector 7 plate collapse—as a pretext to start another war with Wutai. In a series of cutscenes, President Shinra is shown discussing the plan to drop the plate with his subordinates, revealing his callous disregard for the lives of the slum dwellers and his willingness to sacrifice them for Shinra's benefit.
President Shinra's early death in the original game also sets the stage for Rufus's rise to power, and the ensuing escalation of the company’s clash with AVALANCHE.
Qlippah: Sathariel (Obfuscation) — Opposes Binah (Understanding)
Sathariel (Hebrew for “concealment of God”) represents the concealment of truth and the obstruction of divine light. This is akin to President Shinra's actions in obscuring the truth about mako energy and the harm it's causing to the planet, framing AVALANCHE for the reactor bombings and the Sector 7 plate collapse, and generally lying to the public and even most of his employees about Shinra having their best interests at heart:
Falsehood and Deception: Sathariel is the arbiter of lies, deceit, and the concealment or twisting of truth. It governs the forces of dishonesty and misrepresentation—and just about everything that President Shinra says to anyone who isn’t one of his top executives is a lie.
Blind Faith and Hypocrisy: This qlippah represents blind faith detached from true understanding, with a little dash of religious hypocrisy—professing one belief while acting contrary to its principles.
And while President Shinra is actually quite open about his desire to find the Cetra’s mythical “Promised Land,” he’s only doing so because he salivates at the prospect of harvesting the unlimited mako he expects to find there. He certainly does not live in accordance with the Cetra’s principles of respecting nature and living in harmony with the Planet—and in Remake, he candidly cops to not being motivated by anything other than greed and self-interest.Concealment of Sin: Sathariel is also linked to the covering up and hiding of transgressions, allowing sin to fester unacknowledged beneath the surface. And indeed, Shinra, under the President’s leadership, has a long and storied track record of covering up its mistakes and atrocities. From blaming made-up “insurgents” (instead of its own negligence) for a critical malfunction in the Corel reactor and burning the town down in retaliation, to framing AVALANCHE for the company deliberately crushing tens of thousands of people to death by dropping the Sector 7 plate on the undercity, Shinra has mastered the art of blaming others for its sins. And these decisions for made at the highest level, with the President’s enthusiastic approval.
Distortion of Scripture: Sathariel governs the deliberate misinterpretation and distortion of sacred texts and spiritual teachings to suit selfish agendas. And for someone as contemptuous of the Cetra and everything they stood for as the President is, he’s unwaveringly (and oddly) convinced that the “Promised Land” referred to in Cetra scriptures is not an allegory, but rather a real place—though even the possibility of virtually endless mako would’ve been too tantalizing for his greedy ass to resist. The Cetra were right, by the way—the Promised Land is not, nor ever was, a physical location on the Planet.
Obfuscation of Truth: Finally, Sathariel acts to obscure, convolute, and make the truth unknowable through smokescreen tactics. And there’s a whole new layer of obfuscation to all the lies we covered above! While framing AVALANCHE for the Sector 7 plate collapse ensured the population would remain loyal to him and turn on Barret and his comrades, it also served a double purpose—through the Shinra-controlled news media, the President disseminated the half-truth that Wutai (Shinra’s mortal enemy) was funding AVALANCHE, as a pretext for starting another war from which the company would surely profit handsomely.
As you can probably surmise by now, Satheriel opposes Binah (Understanding) in the Tree of Life. The role of Binah is played by Cait Sith, who as you recall is controlled by Reeve Tuesti, Shinra’s head of Urban Development—which makes him the perfect foil to President Shinra’s Sathariel.
Whereas Binah takes the infinite wisdom of Chokmah and gives it structure and meaning that leads directly to divine truth, Satheriel distorts it into lies, illusions, and obfuscations which can only lead to sin and spiritual debasement.
In Final Fantasy VII, Reeve—the only Shinra executive with a conscience, and the only one who grasps (or even cares about) the full implications of Shinra’s excesses—constantly pushes back against President Shinra’s more egregious excesses (particularly the plate drop), trying to appeal to his better nature and get him to see (understand) the bigger picture.
But alas, Reeve’s efforts are in vain—for instance, not only does he fail to convince the President to call off dropping the Sector 7 plate, he is also completely rebuffed by the same when presenting a plan to rebuild Sector 7. As punishment for Reeve’s ongoing obstinance, his department is also consistently neglected and underfunded, kept around only to maintain the President’s facade of Shinra actually caring for the well-being of Midgar’s citizenry.
This perennial (and perennially hopeless) power struggle with the President lays the foundation for Reeve’s eventual defection to AVALANCHE, as the group’s spy within Shinra’s proverbial viper den.
2. Jenova — Ghagiel (Corruption)
“They say she's a monster. That she can peer inside you—into the very depths of your soul. That she can become those you hate... Those you fear... Those you love.”
—Sephiroth, on Jenova (Final Fantasy VII Rebirth)
Bio:
Whoever said “the female of the species is deadlier than the male” didn’t even know the half of it. Although vastly overshadowed (both in-game and amongst the fandom) by her silver-haired pretty boy progeny, Jenova is a far more imposing, frightening, and straight-up powerful antagonist than Sephiroth. And not just because she’s the one who literally gave him his power (and the healthy dollop of mommy issues that propels him to insanity)—Jenova is the fount of all the trauma, strife, and harm that befalls our heroes and the Planet.
No Jenova, no Jenova Project. No SOLDIERs. No Sephiroth. No Meteor. No fiends. No existential threat to all life. No WEAPONs. If Jenova had instead taken a wrong turn and never crash-landed on the Planet, Cloud would’ve led an uneventful life as a Shinra grunt, Nibelheim wouldn’t have burned down, the Cetra would still be flourishing, and Hojo would’ve long been executed for crimes against humanity.
She’s kind of a big deal in the lore. And yet, we know next to nothing about her origins, motives, or goals—which only serves to make her all the more terrifying. Jenova is powerful, enigmatic, and utterly pivotal to the plot of Final Fantasy VII. She is inseparable from it.
Jenova crash-landed on the Planet about 2,000 years before the game’s events, causing a massive wound that would later become the Northern Crater—the site of Sephiroth’s re-awakening and eventual final confrontation with the heroes.
The Cetra—you know, that ancient race of people with a strong connection to the Planet whom I’ve already mentioned quite a bit— fought against Jenova, recognizing the existential threat she posed. In the end, the Cetra managed to seal Jenova away, but not before the alien monstrosity had wiped out most of their civilization, leaving the rest to slowly die out over the centuries to come.
Fast forward to the present day, a couple of decades before the events of the game. Shinra, seemingly unstoppable in its quest to rule the world with bullets and mako, discovers Jenova's remains frozen in ice. Incorrectly assuming her to be a Cetra (remember, she can shapeshift, and that is precisely how she infiltrated the Cetra to begin with), they think they've hit the jackpot, and start using Jenova's cells to augment their SOLDIER program, creating super-soldiers infused with the abomination’s genetic material. One of these SOLDIERs is none other than (dun dun dunnnn…) Sephiroth, our villain of the hour.
Now, here's where things get a bit tricky. In the original game, Jenova appears to be a mostly inactive presence, acting more of a catalyst for Sephiroth's actions. Sephiroth, believing Jenova to be his mother, seeks to reunite with her and absorb the Planet’s energy to become a god-like being. Mommy certainly lends a helping hand—it’s strongly suggested in-game that the party’s visions of and encounters with “Sephiroth” (until they reach the Northern Crater) are actually those of Jenova assuming the form of Sephiroth. However, the original game’s not entirely clear on how much of Sephiroth's actions are his own, and how much he’s influenced by Jenova's will.
In Remake and Rebirth, it’s much clearer that Sephiroth’s the one pulling the strings, and Jenova serves merely as an agent for her “son.” Which is a shame, really, because here we see much more of Jenova's physical form, which is appropriately grotesque and unnerving as befitting a powerful eldritch space parasite. But I digress.
One thing that is consistent across all versions of the story is Jenova's role as the source of the “Reunion” instinct. This drives Sephiroth's “clones” (people, mostly former SOLDIERs, suffering cellular and spiritual degradation from being infused with Jenova's cells) to seek out and merge with the original body, which Sephiroth masterfully leverages to further his plans. This is also the reason Jenova must be completely destroyed before the Planet can truly be safe again.
In a complex, convoluted, and often confusing story, Jenova’s role might be the most complex, convoluted, and confusing to follow. Nevertheless, she is a force to be reckoned with, and her influence is felt throughout the entire saga.
Qlippah: Ghagiel (Corruption) — Opposes Chokmah (Wisdom)
Almost to the bottom! Ghagiel (Hebrew for “Disruption of God”), the second qliphah, is the domain of corruption, discord, and disruption, and as such is often linked with the chaotic, disruptive forces of the demons Belphegor and Baal. As we’ve seen, Jenova's influence in Final Fantasy VII is precisely that of corruption and chaos—her arrival and ongoing presence disrupts life, breaks down the natural order, and infects the Planet itself.
Breaches and Ruptures: Gaghiel brings about breaches, ruptures, and severances—it shatters wholes into fragments. Jenova, an alien parasite, crash-landed on the Planet, landing with a literal bang that scarred the landscape, created the Northern Crater, and tore open the crust enough to expose the Lifestream. Two thousand years later, the Planet is still recovering from Jenova’s arrival, and even though she’s been dormant since the Cetra’s Pyrrhic victory against her, the Planet will never truly be safe as long as she’s still around.
Dissolution of Boundaries: Gaghiel also governs the dissolution of appropriate boundaries and borders, leading to chaos and the collapse of structures. Indeed, following Jenova’s meteoric arrival on the Planet, she befriended the Cetra—only to later infect them, decimating their numbers and leading to their eventual extinction.
Dispersal of Forces: Gaghiel scatters and dissipates concentrated spiritual forces, rendering them unfocused and ineffectual. While Jenova was wreaking havoc on the Cetra, some of them decided to fight back… but others ran away and hid in caves until the threat was neutralized. The cave-hiders were the descendants of modern humans.
The few remaining Cetra would eventually die out, taking their nature-worshipping way of life with them. Humans, meanwhile, would come to discover and proliferate the use of mako for energy production—an almost equally harmful development that, like Jenova herself, the Planet seems hopelessly unable to slow down or stop.Discord and Conflict: Gaghiel is a catalyst for disunity, quarrels, and conflicts that divide rather than unite. As mentioned, Jenova shattered the Cetra and their way of life, dividing them and those who’d eventually become modern humans. Furthermore, Jenova—by projecting images of Sephiroth—sows discord and distrust amongst the party by weakening Cloud’s fragile mental state and sometimes outright controlling his actions (which she’s able to do because Cloud, like all SOLDIERs, was injected with Jenova cells—this process eventually leads to rapid cellular degeneration and painful early deaths for SOLDIERs).
Profanation of the Sacred: Most relevantly, Gaghiel works to profane and defile that which is meant to be revered and holy through acts of desecration. As mentioned, Jenova’s very arrival was an utter catastrophe for the Planet and its Cetra stewards. She has been biding her time to make her next move against the Planet, hoping to finish what she started and completely corrupt (if not outright consume) all life on the Planet. On a smaller scale, the use of her cells to augment SOLDERs’ abilities also defiles life, as her biomass is shown to be highly deleterious and damaging to ordinary human/animal cells, leading to grotesque deformities, mental deterioration, physical atrophy, and early death to all unfortunate enough to have been “augmented” by her.
Indeed, Jenova’s very existence is blasphemous, a spit in the face of all that is good and right. And her utter incomprehensibility only adds to the defilement she blights the Planet with.
Can you guess which sephirah on the Tree of Life Gaghiel opposes? You guessed it: Chokmah (Wisdom).7 And fittingly enough, Chokmah’s avatar in Final Fantasy VII, Red XIII, is the spiritual antithesis of Jenova’s Gaghiel.
Red XIII is deeply attuned to the Planet, and can hear its pain as Shinra’s mako reactors slowly suck up and burn away the Lifestream. He fully understands what he, AVALANCHE, and the Planet are up against in an adversary like Jenova, and he knows not to underestimate her.
Jenova as Tohu
There’s another Kabbalistic concept that’s relevant to Jenova: Tohu.
In the process of Creation described in Kabbalah, the primordial “state” (for lack of a better word) was Tohu, from which the Divine Light began to emanate, eventually instituting balance, boundaries, and order—transforming the chaotic Tohu into Tikkun (restoration/rectification).
And as we’ve just seen, Jenova is anything but orderly—not only does she sow chaos and disorder wherever she goes, she can also shapeshift, and actually control the lifeforms that Hojo augmented with her biomass. And as long as even a single cell of hers is alive, the Planet can never restore its own divine order and balance.
We can further break down how Jenova symbolizes Tohu:
Primordial Chaos: Tohu is the state of pure chaos and confusion that existed before the act of Creation ordered the Universe. It is a formless void, devoid of structure or definition. Jenova is a bit of an inversion, in that the Planet’s divine order preceded her arrival; however, in Kabbalah, the act of Creation didn’t eliminate Tohu—and indeed, Kabbalists view Tohu as a perennial, negative spiritual force that must constantly be subdued and brought into balance by the Divine Light in order for Creation to continue manifesting properly.
And considering that Jenova came to the planet on a meteor—from deep within the dark, unfathomable, and endless void between the stars—she very much represents the never-ending struggle between the dark, chaotic nothingness and the divine, orderly essence. In fact, you could say that Jenova represents an instance of (to use a Star Wars reference) “The Tohu Strikes Back.”
And even if she were completely purged from the Planet, there’s no guarantee a similar calamity wouldn’t befall the Planet at a later date—especially when you consider that we don’t even know if she’s the only such entity! For all we know, there could be thousands or even millions of other Jenovas wreaking havoc on untold other planets in the universe! Somewhere, on some distant, lifeless husk of a drained planet, Lavos is nodding its head in approval.Unrealized Potential: While chaotic, Tohu also contains the primordial potential for all of Creation and existence to emerge from it. It is the undifferentiated source material. The parallel to Jenova here is obvious—as a shapeshifter, she can take the form of any living being, transforming from an amorphous, writhing eldritch mass of pure body horror to something more orderly, pleasing to look at, and believably “normal.” This is how she infiltrated the Cetra—by passing herself off as one of them before infecting them with some otherworldly space germs, decimating their population.
In fact, in the original Final Fantasy VII, all of the party’s encounters with Sephiroth before the game’s climax were actually Jenova taking on his form, as Sephiroth had been (mostly) dead all along since Cloud threw him into the Lifestream via the mako reactor five years before the game’s events (the Remake trilogy has retconned this somewhat).Imbalance and Disorder: Tohu symbolizes an imbalanced state where the sefirot are not properly aligned or integrated, leading to disorder. Indeed, Jenova’s arrival threw everything on the Planet off-kilter, and even after 2,000 years of dormancy, her presence continues to threaten further destabilizing the Planet, to the point of representing an existential threat for its unfortunate inhabitants.
For a perfect parallel, read H.P. Lovecraft’s The Color Out of Space (or watch the surprisingly faithful film adaptation starring Nicolas Cage). In that story, a meteor crash-lands in a family’s backyard in (where else?) a Massachusetts backwater, after which everything starts running amok—the animals are afflicted with increasingly grotesque mutations, the family experiences nightmares, hallucinations, weird behavioral changes, and eventually full-on sanity slippage (with a big dollop of body horror on top), and nobody has any idea what this thing from space even is—it’s described as an otherworldly color that does not occur naturally anywhere on Earth… sound familiar?
Of course, such an impossible color is obviously hard to portray visually, so the film chose to tint this ethereal and all-enveloping alien influence an otherworldly blend of magenta, purple, and violet. Guess what colors Jenova is?Lack of Boundaries: Within Tohu, there are no boundaries, limits, or differentiations between the sefirot and their spiritual energies. Everything is intermingled chaotically. In the game, we see this represented as the distrust and disorder between the party members that Jenova continually sows as she toys around with their perception and especially as she subjects Cloud to various forms of mind r*pe.
Furthermore, Remake and Rebirth confirmed that Jenova’s pronunciation rhymes with “Jehovah” (Jen-OH-vah) just in case all the very obvious parallels we just went through were too subtle for players to notice (and here I’ve been pronouncing it as “JEN-oh-vah” for over two decades!). And Jenova—a literal alien interloper whose methods, motives, and even existence is beyond human comprehension, and who by name, image, and action is all but a distorted and dark mirror image of the Divine Order (in our world, this would be the Creator God from Judeo-Christian mythos) is as close to a “Dark God” as we get in Final Fantasy VII. Sorry, Sephiroth… but you’ll never outgrow your mother’s shadow.
Hey, speak of the devil…
1. Sephiroth — Thaumiel (Duality)
“Estuans interius
Ira vehementi.
Estuans interius
Ira vehementi.
Sephiroth!
Sephiroth!”
~Lyrics, “One-Winged Angel” (Sephiroth’s Final Boss Fight Theme Song)
NOTE: Why, yes, that is indeed Latin! English translation in the following footnote →8
Also, for maximum effect, play the song's absolutely epic, fully orchestrated rearrangement in FFVII Remake as you read this section:
Intro:
Here he is—the legend himself, the Scourge of Gaia, the One-Winged Angel, Cloud’s bitterly mortal enemy, and the most recognizable and iconic video game villain of all time not named “Bowser” or “Ganon” (and even then, it’s a neck-and-neck competition):
♪ Sephiroth! ♪
♪ SEPHIROTH!!! ♪
Supremely badass, flesh-crawlingly chilling, and as cool as his iconic, body-length katana (the Masamune9), Sephiroth’s combination of superhuman power, very human cruelty, and an unbreakable aura of sheer coolness makes him a highly compelling, genuinely menacing, unflinchingly unnerving mindf*ck of a villain.
Using his mako- and Jenova-enhanced super-strength, he has mowed down entire armies of mooks singlehandedly without getting so much as a scratch. His Masamune slices through everything from dragons to battle mechs like butter. He can nuke your party with stupidly powerful magic and summons, including meteors and supernovae that can vaporize planets and even entire solar systems.
And throughout it all, like a cat playing with a mouse it’s about to eat, Sephiroth takes a twisted and utterly sadistic delight in toying around with the party at large—and Cloud in particular—by sowing seeds of doubt among them, tugging at their insecurities, attempting to murder them (and in Aerith’s case, actually succeeding), and relentlessly gaslighting the hell out of everyone to inflict as much mental torment and emotional anguish as possible.
In poor Cloud’s case, Sephiroth succeeds in utterly shattering our hero’s sense of self to the point of rendering him a broken, catatonic mess. He singles out Cloud in particular as payback for derailing his plans for usurping and corrupting the Planet by chucking him into the Lifespring five years before the story begins. He’s had a Meteor-sized dent on his blade about it ever since (after all, evil is nothing if not preposterously petty).
And yet, what seems to stick most with people isn’t Sephiroth’s power or his depravity—more often than not, it’s the fact that he’s so damn cool going about it. He never once flinches or loses his cool. His iconic getup makes him a perennial cosplayer favorite. He has a silver tongue that plays our heroes, Shinra, and random NPCs like a master conductor does his orchestra. Dude is dashing as hell, even if you’re not into dudes.
His imposing demeanor, charismatic persona, and off-the-charts moxie command fear and respect from characters and players alike, and he graces the wet dreams of untold legions of thirsty fangirls/boys, shippers, and fanfic authors worldwide. Search for “Sephiroth” on Fanfiction.net or AO310 someday to see what I mean.
But… how did Sephiroth become the sheer force of nature he is in the game, and what made him so megalomaniacally determined to decimate and subjugate all life on the Planet (but especially Cloud and his friends)?
Well, like everything else in Final Fantasy VII, I’m going to have to drastically oversimplify his background and story in the interest of keeping this piece under novella-length.11 So, apologies in advance to any Sephiroth stans among my readers. Please don’t dox/swat/hack/sic a Twitter mob on/murder/yell at me; I’m just a humble indie publisher.
Bio:
Like everything else that’s gone wrong for our heroes, Sephiroth’s story begins with the snide and vile Professor Hojo.
As mentioned before, Sephiroth was a member of SOLDIER. But he wasn't just any old SOLDIER; Sephiroth was the best of the best SOLDIERs. A nigh unstoppable war machine, and blessed with incredible strength, skill, and smarts, Sephiroth quickly rose through the ranks to become a SOLDIER 1st Class (the highest rank) and became legendary throughout the world, admired by everyone who wasn’t on the receiving end of his Masamune.
But Sephiroth's past was always a mystery, even to himself. He always knew he was different from the other SOLDIERs, but he didn't know why. That is, until was sent, along with his buddies Zack and Cloud, on a mission to Nibelheim (which, if you remember, is Cloud's hometown).
In Nibelheim, Sephiroth discovered the sordid truth about his sordid origins. Deep within the town’s Shinra Mansion, he found documents revealing that he was the product of a series of experiments conducted by—are you sitting down?—Hojo, Shinra’s amoral mad scientist extraordinaire. These experiments involved injecting Jenova cells into an unborn Sephiroth, effectively making him a human-alien hybrid.
Sephiroth also learned about the Cetra and the role Jenova played in their downfall. But here's where things get a bit wonky: in his fragile mental state, Sephiroth somehow got it into his head that Jenova was his mother, and since Shinra’s records incorrectly classified Jenova as a Cetra, he concluded that he was the rightful heir to the planet. This revelation, combined with his simmering feelings of betrayal and rage towards Shinra, finally pushed Sephiroth over the edge.
In a fit of psychotic fury, Sephiroth set fire to Nibelheim and killed all the innocent people within eyesight, including Cloud's mother. He then made his way to the Nibelheim Reactor, where Jenova was being kept, intent on reuniting with his "mother." Cloud and Zack confronted him, and against all odds, Cloud managed to defeat Sephiroth, sending him plummeting into the Mako below.
But, as we all know, that was far from the end of Sephiroth's story. Thanks to his Jenova cells and his incredible willpower, Sephiroth survived and began plotting his revenge, even as he floated lifelessly (somewhat) in the Lifestream.
Buckle up, because this is where things get really wild.
After his supposed "death" in Nibelheim, Sephiroth spent the next five years doing some serious scheming. He got his eyes set on the Black Materia, an ancient and powerful artifact that can summon Meteor, a massive space rock capable of causing an extinction-level event. Why, you ask? Well, Sephiroth believes that by mortally wounding the planet with Meteor, he can absorb all the Lifestream that the Planet will gather to heal the damage, effectively becoming a god.
But here's the thing: Sephiroth can't just waltz up and grab the Black Materia himself. Remember, he’s still coursing through the Lifestream in a kind-of-dead-but-also-not-really state. But that's where Cloud comes in. Throughout the game, Sephiroth appears to Cloud in visions and hallucinations, constantly gaslighting and manipulating the hell out of him. He plays on Cloud's fragmented memories and identity issues like a musician on a fiddle, making our unfortunate hero further doubt his own past and even his very sense of self.
Sephiroth's ultimate goal is to get Cloud to hand over the Black Materia, and guess what? He succeeds! In a crucial scene at the edge of the Northern Crater (remember: the site of Jenova’s impact two millennia ago), Cloud—under Sephiroth's influence—gives him the Black Materia. And, like, gives it to the real Sephiroth, not a projection. Obviously, Sephiroth then immediately uses it to summon Meteor.
Talk about a major "oh, crap" moment.
From there, Sephiroth retreats deep into the Northern Crater, erects a barrier to prevent any pesky heroes from giving pursuit, and sits back to await Meteor's arrival. Cloud and his ragtag group of friends, of course, aren't about to let that happen. One fall into the Lifestream and subsequently arduous process of individuation, a bunch of side quests, and three WEAPON attacks later, the barrier falls and our heroes finally descend into the crater, battling through Sephiroth’s minions as they descend through the bizarre, twisted landscape, mangled by Jenova’s impact two thousand years ago.
The final confrontation with Sephiroth is a multi-stage boss battle that's been seared into the memories of many a Final Fantasy VII fan. In the first stage, you fight Jenova for one last time. After that, it's on to Bizarro Sephiroth, a monstrous, mutated form that showcases just how far gone—physically, mentally, and spiritually—Sephiroth really is.
But the real showstopper is the final form: Safer Sephiroth. This angelic, almost divine-looking creature is a far cry from the Sephiroth we knew before, and it represents him at the full extent of his power. It's an epic, knock-down, drag-out fight that pushes Cloud and his companions to their limits. It’s also the fight where “One-Winged Angel,” the song embedded at the top of this section, set the precedent for ominous Latin choirs chanting in the background of JRPG final boss fights ever since.
In the end, our heroes triumph, and Sephiroth is defeated... or is he? The ending of the original game leaves things a bit open-ended, with the suggestion that Sephiroth's will might still linger. And, of course, the myriad sequels and spinoffs that form the Compilation show that, even in death, he’s more than capable of throwing off Cloud and Friend’s plans. But that’s a tale, perhaps, for another article, another series, or even another newsletter.
[NOTE: Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth have, in that most storied of Square Enix traditions, added even more layers to his story (because, apparently, this game’s plot wasn’t already convoluted enough). Now, Sephiroth is time hopping, merging timelines, and literally murdering fate, all to try and create a new timeline where his defeat is averted and he takes Cloud as his bride under his wing or something. Oy… and here I was convinced that Square had learned its lesson from Chrono Cross. But since the Remake trilogy is still one more game away from wrapping up, we'll just have to wait and see how they play out. And that’s all I’ll say about it… geez, just thinking about this is giving me flashbacks from Volume 4.]
Qlippah: Thaumiel (Duality) — Opposes Kether (Crown)
The biggest and baddest of the qlipoth, Thaumiel (Hebrew for “Twins of God”) is the realm of duality and opposition to God. It represents polarity and division from the singular divine source, and as a result, is often tied to the demonic head honchos, especially Satan and Moloch.
Sephiroth, as the game’s main antagonist, embodies this opposition and dualistic nature particularly well, especially in his contrast with Cloud, as well as his twisted vision of becoming a god-like being by destroying the Planet and harvesting the Lifestream. In his quest to disrupt the natural order and create a new world in his image, Sephiroth becomes a kind of antithetical figure to the divine.
But wait! There’s more!
Duality and Double-Mindedness: This is a state of being divided between good and evil, unable to commit fully to either path. And, indeed, the knowledge of Sephiroth’s origins as the spawn of both Jenova and humanity causes so much cognitive dissonance that it drives him down the path of…
Insanity and Madness: Thaumiel is associated with mental instability, delusions, and a loss of touch with reality. And when it comes to Sephiroth… do I really need to say more? By the time we meet Cloud for the first time, Sephiroth is far down the path of omnicidal megalomania.
Doubt and Skepticism: This qliphah personifies an extreme form of doubt that leads to the denial of spiritual truths and a rejection of faith. And while one can surely understand how finding out you’re the product of an unholy experiment involving a blasphemous space amalgamation could shatter one’s confidence in reality, Sephiroth’s rejection of humanity to the point of wanting to completely purge it from existence is taking it a bit too far.
Opposition and Adversity: Thaumiel directly opposes the divine quality of Kether (The Crown) in the Tree of Life; it is a force (perhaps THE force) that actively opposes unity and, by extension, the Holy One. And out of everyone that Sephiroth has a bone to pick with—Hojo, Aerith, President Shinra, even the very Planet itself—he seems to reserve a particularly intense and unhinged (and more than a bit creepy) enmity for Cloud, who represents Kether in the Tree of Life. Which brings me to my next point…
Final Fantasy VII, for all its trappings of Lifestreams and corporate malfeasance and epic battles for the Planet, is ultimately about the conflict between Cloud and Sephiroth. Having both been infused with Jenova cells, they were both set down the same path of cellular, mental, and spiritual degradation. But whereas Sephiroth followed that path to the end and became an unhinged, delusional psychopath with aspirations of faux godhood, Cloud broke off from the path by leaning into his friends, his authentic self, and his humanity.
This, combined with the fact that Cloud’s the only person who’s ever actually defeated Sephiroth, having thrown him into the Lifestream back in Nibelheim, explains the silver haired pretty-boy’s seething rage towards our plucky, spiky-haired hero. Much like Lucifer became Satan, who continues to rage and plot against humanity at every turn, Sephiroth came to increasingly define himself in opposition to Cloud, his humanity, and everything he stood for.
In the end, Sephiroth's journey is a cautionary tale. It's a reminder of what happens when we let our egos run unchecked, when we seek power and glory for their own sake. Sephiroth had the potential to be a true hero, a shining example of what humanity could achieve. But he let his own darkness consume him, and in doing so, he became the very thing he initially sought to transcend.
It's a tragedy, in the truest sense of the word. But it's also a powerful lesson. We all have a choice, in the end. We can follow Sephiroth's path, let our egos consume us and descend into madness. Or we can follow the true path of the Kabbalah: to seek unity with the divine, and find our true purpose.
📜😇😈 SIDE QUEST: “Safer” Sephiroth
Alright, let's talk about the main event: the final, climactic battle against Safer Sephiroth. This is it. The moment everything in the game has been building towards, and hoo boy, does it deliver.
Picture this: you've fought your way through the twisted caverns of the Northern Crater, battled Jenova and Bizarro Sephiroth… and now, you find yourself in a strange, ethereal realm, face-to-face with Sephiroth's ultimate form. He hovers before you, a being of terrifying beauty, with a single black wing and an aura of immense power.
The battle itself is more challenging than anything the heroes have faced before. Safer Sephiroth has a slew of devastating attacks at his disposal, from the party-pummeling Pale Horse to the reality-warping Supernova—an attack that lobs an asteroid into the sun, blowing up the solar system (inexplicably and somewhat amusingly, this will happen several times throughout the course of the battle, the solar system miraculously restored every time he recasts it). He throws everything he's got at you, and it'll take every ounce of skill, strategy, and sheer determination to come out on top.
But here's the thing: even as you're locked in mortal combat, you can't help but marvel at Safer Sephiroth’s design. He’s clearly depicted as some sort of angel—besides the iconic black wing, his lower body is white and cloud-like, with more (and more overtly angel-like) wings, with two halos enveloping him. The battle scene is vaguely heaven-like. And the music’s Latin chants add to the celestial and apocalyptic atmosphere.
The name itself is also a bit of a mystery, at first glance. I mean, "Safer"? How does that fit with the angelic, almost divine motifs that permeate Sephiroth’s final form?
Well, I’ll have you know that "Safer" is actually a transliteration of Sefer, a word that crops up a lot in Kabbalistic tradition. In Kabbalah, the word Sefer is Hebrew for "book," and it’s part of the titles of many important Kabbalistic texts, including:
1. Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Creation): One of the oldest and most fundamental Kabbalistic texts, dating back to the 2nd century CE. It explores the creation of the universe through the ten sefirot and the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
2. Sefer ha-Bahir (Book of Brightness): An early Kabbalistic text, likely written in the 12th century CE. This is the one that introduces the concept of the sefirot as divine emanations and attributes.
3. Sefer ha-Zohar (Book of Splendor): Pretty much THE central text in Kabbalah, attributed to the 13th century Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. It is a mystical commentary on the Torah, exploring the nature of God, creation, and the spiritual journey of human beings. It is the text from which Kabbalah as we know it today originally sprang from.
4. Sefer ha-Temunah (Book of the Image): A 14th-century text that discusses the concept of cosmic cycles and the nature of the divine, expanding on the Zohar above.
5. Sefer Raziel HaMalakh (Book of Raziel the Angel): A collection of esoteric knowledge and magical practices attributed to the angel Raziel, who is said to have given the book to Adam after his expulsion from the Garden of Eden. In modern Kabbalistic and occult practice, Raziel is also the celestial messenger, acting as an intermediary between humans and the rest of the angelic cohort.12
These texts form the foundation of Kabbalistic thought and have significantly influenced Jewish mysticism and spirituality (as well as Western occultism more broadly, which heavily borrows from Kabbalistic tradition) throughout history.
But let’s get back to Sephiroth (the capital “S” one).
In Kabbalah, the ultimate goal of each individual practitioner is to ascend the Tree of Life, to move from the physical world of Malkuth to the divine realm of Kether, and to achieve a state of unity with the divine. It's a journey of spiritual growth, of shedding the ego and embracing a higher purpose.
Now, let's look at Sephiroth. Here's a man who, from birth, was set apart from the rest of humanity. He was gifted with incredible power and potential, but he was also deeply troubled by his own identity and purpose. When he learns of his connection to Jenova and (indirectly) the Cetra, he believes he's found his true calling: to ascend to godhood and claim his rightful place as ruler of the planet.
In a twisted way, Sephiroth is embarking on his own Kabbalistic journey. He's seeking to transcend his physical form, to shed his humanity, and become something greater. But here's the thing: while the Kabbalist’s journey is about surrendering the ego and embracing divine will, Sephiroth's journey is driven entirely by ego. He's not seeking unity with the divine; he's seeking to become the divine himself.
Thus, Sephiroth can be seen as an inversion or corruption of the Kabbalist’s path. Instead of moving upward on the Tree of Life, he's descending deeper into his own madness and delusion—into the realm of the qlipoth. Instead of shedding his ego, he's letting it consume him entirely. In Kabbalah, Kether is the source of divine wisdom and understanding; for Sephiroth, it's the ultimate expression of his own twisted will, as represented by the qlippah of Thaumiel.
And remember, the qliphoth represent the "shells" or "husks" of the sephirot. They’re the negative, demonic forces that arise when the sephirot are imbalanced or misaligned. You could easily peg Sephiroth himself as an umbrella symbol of the qliphoth, a dark reflection of the divine potential he once possessed.
This is hammered home by his final form as Safer Sephiroth. On the surface, he appears angelic—even divine! But look closer, and you'll see the corruption and madness that lurks beneath. Those twisted, grotesque wings, his cruel, mocking smile... this is not a being of divine wisdom, but a being consumed by its own ego and hatred.
And that, my friends, is the story of Sephiroth, the fallen angel of Final Fantasy VII, and his corrupted Kabbalistic journey. It's a tale as old as time, but one that still resonates with us today. And who knows? Perhaps, in the final chapter the Remake trilogy, we'll see yet another twist in this timeless tale of light, darkness, and the eternal struggle between him and Cloud…
…Provided Square doesn’t muck it up any more than it already has, that is.
“Veni, veni, venias,
Ne me mori facias.
Veni, veni, venias,
Ne me mori facias.
Veni, veni, venias,
Ne me mori facias.
Veni, veni, venias,
Ne me mori facias…
SEPHIROTH…
SEPHIROTH!!!”13
~Lyrics, “One-Winged Angel”
And, that’s all, folks! Join us next time for another deep dive. Until then, infinite lives and blessings be upon you all!
~Jay
Food for Talk: Discussion Prompts
While you wait for the next issue, I invite you to mull over the following discussion prompts. Please reply to this email with your answers, or post them in the comments—I'd love to hear your thoughts!
What’s your favorite Final Fantasy VII villain, and why?
What, in your opinion, makes Sephiroth such a highly compelling villain?
Which of the Qlipoth and its respective traits have you struggled with in your life?
Further Reading
Kabbalah for Beginners: Understanding and Applying Kabbalistic History, Concepts, and Practices by Brian Yosef — Amazon
The Essential Zohar by P.S. Berg — Amazon
The Kabbalah Tree: A Journey of Balance & Growth by Rachel Pollack — Amazon
Kabbalah Revealed: A Guide to a More Peaceful Life by Ray Michael Laitman, PhD — Amazon
Kabbalah Handbook: A Concise Encyclopedia of Terms and Concepts in Jewish Mysticism by Gabriella Samuel — Amazon
Games Featured:
Final Fantasy VII, developed and published by Square Enix — Steam | PlayStation | Nintendo Switch
Final Fantasy VII Remake, developed and published by Square Enix — Steam | PlayStation 4 + 5
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, developed and published by Square Enix — PlayStation 5
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Tags
#philosophy #metaphysics #religion #spirituality #narrative #magic
#AbraCodeAbra
#FFVII #FFVIIRemake #FFVIIRebirth
Footnotes
Never thought I’d actually make a poo joke in this context, but here we are.
“Corneo” means “horny” in Italian, which does double-duty as a pun on both his lecherousness and his role as a mafia “don” like Don Corleone.
And extra-gross!
Lilith is a fascinating entity. According to the midrash (Jewish folklore that’s not quite “canon” in a Biblical sense, but not mere “fairy tales” or stories either), Lilith was Adam’s first wife, sculpted from the earth like he was. But Lilith, according to the legend, was too unruly (read: too “uppity” and unwilling to submit to Adam), so she was cast out of Eden and became a demon. God then made Eve out of one of Adam’s ribs and, as such, she was more deferential to him.
Lately, Lilith’s reputation has gotten a boost of sorts. She’s become somewhat of a feminist icon in more progressive Jewish circles, despite her status as a demoness. There’s even a Jewish feminist magazine called Lilith.
It’s heavily implied that these women aren’t given much of a choice in the matter, and they’re never seen again once they enter the Don’s mansion. What exactly happens to them after the Don gets his paws on them isn’t explicitly stated, but it’s very clear that it’s not at all pleasant.
The name may seem counterintuitive, but the name’s connection to rewards/recompense ties into Gamaliel’s role of obscenity and perversion being a punishment or negative recompense. In essence, Gamaliel’s being an impure, negative force acts as a “reward” or manifestation of sin, obscenity, and spiritual corruption.
And if you didn’t guess correctly… where’s you been this whole article?!
“Estuans interius” and “Ira vehementi” translate to “burning inside” and “raging anger,” respectively.
Named for the legendary Japanese swordsmith, Gorō Nyūdō Masamune (c. 1264–1343).
“Archive Of Our Own,” one of the oldest and most active fan fiction repositories on the web.
Though it’s probably too late for that already.
Practitioners will often call on Raziel to open a channel of communication to other angels and archangels, particularly more obscure ones who aren’t called on as much (and as such, whose sigils and invocation chants aren’t quite as charged—and therefore not as potent—as the more famous ones like Michael and Raphael).
Come, come, oh come,
Do not let me die. (x4)
Oh, and did you know these lyrics were lifted from a very famous Opera? Shout-out to DMs me the correct answer!
Hmm, I always thought Sephiroth began to become the ruler of the planet because Jenova was originally the destined ruler, but the Cetra ‘foiled’ her plan. Sephiroth leading cause to bring back Jenova’s power and let her complete her path, after waiting all that time for Aerith to extinct their enemy.
Sephiroth becoming as powerful as he was, I had thought was because of him bringing power to Jenova, when we fight her, that excess power that was shared was then given to Sephiroth, being the final battle.
I still have a lot to think about for it, and it’s definitely something to study for other games too.
Was an amazing article, will there be another dive in for this game? It seems the tree is complete from what I know.