The Ten Sephiroth of the Tree of Life

Introduction

As most Western Occultism’s central schema, the Tree of Life conveys Qabalah’s ageless wisdom. Depicting the Universal manifestation reflected in the human being, the diagram has several classifications. While that includes triangles, worlds, and pillars, a more apparent is its ten circles. Called ‘Sephiroth,’ the plural for ‘sephirah,’ or Sphere, these are regarded as ‘divine emanations.’ Linked by the 22 paths, the 10 Sephiroth overflow from one to another. Macrocosmically, they represent the successive phases of evolution. Microcosmically, the ten Sephiroth stand for different levels of consciousness.

The Tree of Life (Etz Chayim)

The Tree of Life maps one’s soul and the cosmos. It displays the totality of the human being, particularly the psychological makeup. Also, the spiritual journey of achieving enlightenment and reaching divinity. As discussed in my Myth of the Fall and Flaming Sword videos, the Tree of Life navigates the seeker on the ‘Way of Return.’ Yet, as scholars stress, it’s a map, not the territory.’ According to Dion Fortune:

” we use it (the Tree of Life) as an engineer or as the mathematician uses his sliding-rule, to scan and calculate the intricacies of existence, visible and invisible, an external nature of the hidden depths of the soul…”

Mystical Qabalah. p.35

Crowley’s 777 regards the Tree of Life as a scaffold for building the Truth, which cannot be taught. It also points out the diagram cannot be complete as all things, including the ‘no-thing,’ are placed upon it. Said differently, the schema offers a place for everything and anything you can and cannot think of. Think of that for a moment.

“The secrets of Adepts are not to be revealed to men.We only wish they were. When a man comes to me and asks for the Truth, I go away and practice teaching the Differential Calculus to a Bushman, and I answer the former only when I have succeeded with the latter…”(…)
“The Tree of Life is a skeleton on which this body of truth is built…”
777.XIV

Manifestation

Rather than as a manufacturing process with stages, Qabalah views God as different phases of manifestation. Evolving from one to another, these phases are the Ten Sephiroth. Although they develop successively in time, they exist simultaneously in space. In other words, the Ten Sephiroth are not places or destinations but states, planes, and conditions of being, i.e., different types of existence. And as Fortune says: 

 “(…) “Existence of all ‘types’ being present in a single being.”(…) “Being of man is made up of a physical body, emotions, mind, and spirit, all occupying the same space at the same time…”

Mystical Qabalah. P35.

Oaks and Acorns

Each Sephirah has the potentiality of all it came before. One contains the resting nine, two the following eight, three the other seven, etc. MacGregor Mathers likens this to an oak hidden in an acorn with its acorns containing oaks. It is also said each Sephirah contains its own reflection of the whole tree, following “as above, so below.” Meaning each of these has its own Ten Sephiroth going to infinity. This expresses the notion that the divine is present at all levels of existence, from the most abstract and transcendent to the most material and mundane.

The No-Thing

The first Sephirah is not the actual beginning. That is the Great or Primordial Unmanifest. The same is regarded as a circle whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere. Called Ain Soph Aur (in most diagrams), the Three Veils of Negative Existence are depicted as three lines or circles above or surrounding Kether. And according to MacGregor Mathers’s Kabbalah Unveiled:

“The limitless ocean of negative light does not proceed from a center, for it is centerless, but it concentrates a center, which is the number of the manifested Sephiroth, Kether, the Crown, the First Sephirah.”
MacGregor Mathers. The Kabbalah Unveiled

Negative Light

Ayin means ‘no thing’ or ‘Negativity.’ Ayin Soph, ‘Limitless.’ And Ayin Soph Aur, ‘Limitless Light.’ Crowley attributes those to 000 or Zero Absolute, 00 or Zero as undefinable, and 0 as a basis for possible reflection. In Qabalistic thought (capital N), ‘Negativity,’ or ‘no-thing,’ doesn’t mean ‘nothing.’ Instead, they imply ‘Being’ or ‘Existence’ that our minds cannot comprehend. And you can think of the No-Thing as that which is but simultaneously isn’t; the inconceivable. 

Melting Sugar

Regarding God as ‘pressure,’ Mystical Qabalah suggests perceiving Kether as a heated liquid that crystalizes when cooled. The book offers to melt sugar in boiling water and let it cool so it forms crystals. The boiling water is the Unmanifest, whereas the crystals, Kether. When a change occurs in the former, the second crystalizes it. On the contrary, Kether is the overflowing fountain, setting the whole tree’s growth in motion from heaven to Earth following the lightning flash. 

Kether

Kether means Crown. It is a pure being, undivided unity beyond duality and consciousness not achieved during incarnation. MacGregor Mathers calls Kether the ‘precursor to consciousness.’ It is often explained as yet to be fully incarnated Higher Genuis brooding above as a silent watcher. 

The Inner Muse

Kether is also the source of inspiration, freedom, and enlightenment, the inner muse and life itself. Number One of the Ten Sephiroth associates with the highest spirituality and the soul’s connection with the divine. It represents the ultimate goal of development and the grade of Ipsissimus in Golden-Dawn-based Orders. Such enlightenment is considered unavailable to reach with a physical body. Only one side of Kether can be perceived by the human mind, as the other is turned to the unmanifest. Israel Regardie (partially) attributes Kether to the Freudian Id, yet others disagree as that matches the Nephesh better. Psychologically, Kether corresponds to the capital letter Self. Qabalistically, it is the Yechida, a monad or unit of pure being. Also, Tao, in the Chinese system. 

Chokmah

Kether differentiates itself into a complementary couple. Crystalizing from Kether, the first of that is Chokmah, which means ‘Wisdom.’ Regarded as the Universe’s Great Stimulator, the second of the Ten Sephiroth contains the Zodiac. Chokmah means Knowledge. And since Kether is consciousness’s precursor, Chokmah is its primordial spark. It is where the divine exits its undivided unity, becoming self-conscious. 

Activity

While Kether is static, Chokmah is active, the ultimate positive force. It is the first principle of polarity, primordial maleness, and dynamism, the foundation of the pillar of Mercy. The reason is that Qabalistic thought associates the ‘active male principle’ with creation, life-giving, and building, whereas the passive female one with death and destruction, as found in a second. Chokmah is the Great Father ABBA. And psychologically, that is the Animus. Qabalistically, it’s the Chiah, the life force, and the Spiritual Will. And within the Chinese system, it is Yang.

Binah

Being the third of the Ten Sephiroth, Binah is the ultimate female or passive principle. Complementing the Chokmah’s ‘activity,’ Binah’s ‘receptivity’ turns action into form. Binah means ‘Understanding.’  

Yet, it also implies a state of stability resulting from (previously) acting and reacting forces staying still. Examples are the atom, such as the Chinese civilization before the revolution. Also, various organizations with no progress but stagnation. It is often said one can only understand Binah by (also) considering Chokmah and vice versa. This is because the latter creates whereas the former shapes. It is where the free force meets the discipline, form, and organization. And Fortune calls Binah ‘consciousness’s synthetic principle.’

Forms

Shape and form demand death, restriction, and decay. Positioned at the top of the pillar of Severity, Binah is the source of all primordial forms and the ultimate ‘negative force.’ Binah corresponds to Anima in psychoanalysis and Chinese Yin. Qabalistically, it’s the Neshamah or the spiritual superconsciousness. It is the Sphere of the Greek God Chronos, such as the planet Saturn, which practical magick uses for setting boundaries and limitations and achieving stability. Binah is also called Marah and AMA. This refers to the Great Terrible Mother and the Great Sea, from which all things emerge and to which eventually return. 

The Abyss

The Tree diagram displays two primary levels of being or existence, Macro and Microprosopus. Or the Greater and Lesser Countenance. Comprised of the next six sephiroth,’ the Microprosopus indicates the beginning of ‘Actual Manifestation.’ This means the one the human mind can comprehend. Within the diagrams, these levels are separated by a tiny line. Called the Abyss, the latter is considered extremely difficult to cross by a living being. Scholars like Donald Michael Kraig, Israel Regardie, and the modern Damien Echols agree that attempting that is unnecessary for most people, as it can lead to irreversible cataclysms. 

Da’ath

The so-called ‘shadowy,’ ‘theoretical,’ or ‘invisible’ Sephirah Daath occupies the Abyss’s center. Considered the apex of a pyramid formed by Chokmah and Binah, Daath is often regarded as a byproduct or part of Binah. It is ‘Knowledge,’ in the sense of perception, apprehension, and consciousness, and like the veils of the Abyss and Paroketh, is beyond the scope of this video. 

Chessed

Fourth of the Ten Sephiroth is the central Sephirah in the pillar of Mercy. Establishing the Microprosopus’s beginning, Chessed is Chokmah on a lower arc. Also called Gedulah (Greatness and Majesty), Chessed is the ultimate anabolic principle. Imagine insulin working in everything and anything. It expands, builds, develops, etc. Chessed’s magickal image is that of a King who cares for his people, optimizing his Kingdom through infrastructure and lawgiving. It contains all archetypal ideas serving as a basis for the abstract principles of new activities. 

Creative Engine

Imagine having a precise and detailed vision of how to make something come into being based on a potential opportunity. Working efficiently with Chessed’s forces implies utilizing those visions as a mathematician does formulas. Unlike ones unable to transcend the mundane consciousness and the Sphere of Malkuth, such people are not diluted by their astral images but make the most out of them. And I suggest thinking of Steve Jobs, Henry Ford, etc. Being the Sphere of Jupiter, Chessed is the fabric of abstract concepts that eventually become something. It is the creative engine of us as individuals and a race such as that of the Divine Mind itself.

Geburah

Just like we cannot have insulin without Glucagon, we cannot have Chessed without Geburah. We can also have too much of a good thing. This is where the considered-on-a-lower-arc Binah Geburah comes into play. It can be viewed as the ubiquitous Glucagon or autophagy principle. Being insulin’s antagonist, Glucagon destroys, burns, and trims the excess, unnecessary and unhealthy. We want to get muscular and jacked, not puffy, sick, and obese. 

While this is precisely what the Sphere of Mars does, it’s one of the most misunderstood forces, thanks to organized religion, which deems severity evil. On the contrary, Geburah is also self-preservation and not letting people mistreat and abuse you. The latter is what excess Chessed leads to. Geburah is the universal will expressed in the individual. Its image is of conquering King Warrior. And its other titles include ‘Din’ and ‘Pachad,’ which stand for ‘Justice’ and ‘Fear.’

Willpower

In her bestselling, The Willpower Instinct, Standford PhD, Kelly McGonigal explains willpower as three functions. 

• I will not power standing for choosing to avoid potentially harmful, unproductive, or undesirable activities. 
• I will power, which defines picking to do the right thing over the wrong. 
• I want power, i.e., opting for the most long-run gain and benefit, even if there’s a cost to be paid now. 

Regarded as the ‘Sacrificial Priest of the Mysteries,’ Geburah is the principle behind all these, especially the third, which rules the former two. It’s ‘sacrificial’ not because of demanding to give up something you like in favor of some God. The sacrifice, instead, is of the ‘lesser’ for the ‘greater’ good. And that’s exactly what ‘I want power’ is about. On the other hand, it is crucial to mention that, unlike the Geburah principle, the ability to exert willpower in physical reality has significant limitations as it wholly depends on the pre-frontal cortex.

Choice Architecture and Reverse Engineering

Geburah can also be viewed as the principle behind Choice Architecture, which my second book refers to as ‘disciplining the environment.’ Popularized by James Clear, Choice Architecture pre-eliminates potentially harmful and unproductive choices. Geburah also underlies reverse engineering and the power of compounding as it breaks down complex into simple. Let me know if you agree.

Tiphareth

Being the whole diagram’s equilibrium center, the sixth of the Ten Sephiroth represents reconciliation. Whether that’s left and right, Mercy and Severity, or top and bottom, divine and mundane, they all balance in Six. Tiphereth translates into ‘beauty.’ Yet that’s one resulting from harmony. Scholars explain it is the reconciliation of the opposing pairs of Chessed and Geburah and the later discussed Netzach and Hod. The Sphere of the Sun represents the mysteries of sacrifice and crucifixion. Hence, sacrificed gods like Osiris are placed upon it. 

God Among Humans

A sphere can only be understood in the context of those surrounding it. In the case of Tiphereth, that’s a harmonious blending of qualities. Also, where divine energy is perfectly integrated, as individuality unites with personality. Dion Fortune defines Tiphereth as God manifested and dwelling among humans. This leads to Tiphereth’s most crucial meaning, the seat of the higher Self. It is where the mundane day-to-day consciousness, Ruach, becomes a throne, cup, or vessel for the super consciousness, Neshamah. The Ruach, or conscious mind, comprises sephiroth 4 to 8, among which Tiphereth is the center. It is the focusing point of transmutation, where the Great Work is accomplished. 

Netzach

Representing emotions, passions, motivations, and desires, Netzach (Victory) stays lowest in the pillar of Mercy. While previously everything was quite abstract, below Tiphereth, things radically change. In Netzach and its counterpart Hod, there’s concrete symbolism like the representing-them Rose and Caduceus. Macrocosmically, the Sphere of Venus is the stage where the divine separates into types of beings that move in and out of manifestation. Although split, these are yet to be individualized. Microcosmically, Netzach is the basis for instincts, eventually driving various reflexes and survival mechanisms. According to the Sepher Yetzirah (The Book of Formation), the Holy Powers of Chessed become Netzach’s Elohim or formative currents, the rulers of Nature. 

Nature’s Life Force

Speaking of that, Scholars call the seventh of the Ten Sephiroth ‘Nature’s Life Force’ as it’s where force finds expression in Nature. One reason is that Netzach fuels and emanates Hod like Chokmah finds form in Binah. This is why the side pillars’ spheres can only be understood as pairs of opposites. The vision of Netzach is of a beautiful naked woman. Also, the goddess Aphrodite. And other names of the Sphere include firmness in the sense of everlasting Victory. 

Fire

The four lower Sephiroth are associated with the Elements. In that manner, Netzach attributes to Fire. Macrocosmically, Fire, conquering, and Victory are associated with Geburah and Mars. Microcosmically, they find common grounds with Venus’s Love and passion. And this dynamic, Fortune explains, reviews the crucial Truth: “Elemental energy, i.e., one’s fundamental dynamism, is very closely connected with their sex life…” (MQ.217 Paraphrased)

Hod

The second five Sephiroth include a degree of human consciousness. While Tiphereth is the highest, Netzach and Hod are its force and form aspects. Balancing Netzach’s emotions, Hod (or Glory) is the Sphere of the intellect. Also, the one of Mercury, such as Science and Magick, as its God is Thoth, Hermes Trismegistus. While working with Netzach helps you come to terms with your emotions, Hod aids in understanding your thought process. Attributed to water, Hod is also associated with receptivity and communication. 

Intellect

Hod is the Sphere of the intellect. Yet, that really is the intellectual imagination. Housing the mind’s formulation of forms, Hod plays a crucial role for the magician. Increasing availability of the higher, the seventh of the Ten Sephiroth inhibits, refrains, and refines lower energies. Ruling the rational mind, Hod is responsible for productively redirecting the basic urges and desires. After all, it is the Sephirah of will, design, planning, control, organization, systems, etc. 

Yesod

Regarded as the material universe’s foundation or scaffold, Yesod associates with the idea of physical strength and the machinery of the cosmos. Its image is of a lean and muscular man holding the world. It is called The Sphere of the Machinery of the Universe. It can also be viewed as the engine of the car (or ship), which is the physical. This is because the ninth of the ten Sephiroth comes before the physical universe, Malkuth. And together, they make some of a couple. 

Receptive Transmitter

After receiving them, Yesod transmits all emanations to Malkuth. Whatever you want in the physical must first occur in Yesod. And whatever happens in Yesod (almost) inevitably takes place in Malkuth. Think of it as the HTML, CCS, and JS of the physical reality apps. Considering this, the Sphere of the Moon is vital for practical workings.

Comment

Based on my experience, this makes SIRP and GIRP different. While they both touch the Briatic world of ideas, only the first produces such a direct impact on Yesod. Yet, that’s just my hypothesis. So feel free to let me know if you agree. 

The Nephesh

Yesod houses instinctual drives and energies. I.e., the animal soul, Nephesh. Corresponding to the Jungian personal subconscious and the Freudian iD, the latter includes the ‘child’ and the ‘shadow’ selves. Appropriately understood, the Nephesh becomes a wellspring of incredible power capable of moving mountains. Yoga systems regard this as using Kundalini for personal transformation. And I view it as the basis for all magick and personal development.

When suppressed or misused, however, the Nephesh’s forces become equally self-destructive. This leads to various phobias and blockages, such as mental and physical illnesses. Achieving the former and avoiding the latter is done by keeping the Ruach in check while examining and exploring the Nephesh. As I like to say, granting it what it needs allows you to get from it what you want.

Reptilian Brain

The Nephesh’s functions are deeply intertwined with G’uph’s or the physical body’s. Examples are the autonomic nervous system, the instincts, and the whole body. Physically, the Nephesh can be viewed as the reptilian or ancient brain. Collaborating with it favors physical and mental health enormously. And to learn more about that, check my video on the Nephesh.

Malkuth

Last but not least comes the tenth of the Ten Sephiroth, Malkuth, the physical reality. Regarded as the synthesis of all emanations, Malkuth is the final result of all activities and operations happening in the tree. Fortune likens Malkuth to a car race’s finishing line. Being part of none, Malkuth receives emanations from all three triangles. Though associated with the material, Malkuth is not the planet Earth. Instead, it refers to the physical universe soul—also, the four elements and the psychic aspect of matter. As mentioned, the map is not the territory, just like Fire, Water, Air, and Earth are not their mundane counterparts but expressions of Spirit and energy conditions.

As the Sphere of the four elements, Malkuth is also ‘stability,’ the state of Earth occurring after all opposite pairs settle in equilibrium. This is the complete cycle of experience. The material plane is an outward expression of invisible ethereal activity. The same provides substance to the coming-from-Yesod forms and images. It’s the framework for physical particles. The first step toward accomplishing the Great Work, Malkuth’s spiritual experience, is the vision of the HGA. And you can think of that as receiving the blueprint for achieving Knowledge and Conversation.

The Physical Body

Microcosmically, Malkuth is G’uph, the physical body. It’s taught by certain scholars, including the New Age, that the body (G’uph) and personal subconscious (Nephesh) have, in fact, a superior connection with Spirit than ego-consciousness. As Regardie said (paraphrasing), they are equally essential parts of the mind-body organism. IMHO, this reminds seekers to care for their overall health by listening to and understanding their Nephesh and Guph. But that’s just my opinion. Let me know what yours is, such as your thoughts on this article and video.