Tree of Life Notes – Sephiroth – From Garden of Pomegranates
0 – Ain – Nothing - a No-thing – not a being – incomprehensible, unknowable,
No-thing (Ain) becomes conscious of itself, or to render itself in a manner to be conscious of itse lf Ain becomes Ain-Soph (Infinity). It then extends further to be come Ain Soph Aur (Absolute Limitless Light). This light becomes condensed into a point which is Kether.
1 – Kether – Crown
“The Admirable or Hidden Intelligence” (Sepher Yetzirah)
the source and primary cause of all things and ideas, essence of Being-Spirit-Matter
the Macroprosopus or the Great Countenance (Zohar) (Zohar)
The Monad, the root of all things (Leibnitz)
Associated with “Aheieh” (I will be)
Ptah and Amon Ra – Egyptian gods associated
Zeus/Jupiter – Greek/Roman god associated
Brahma to the Hindu
Diamond is associated
Swan and hawk are associated
Ambergris is the perfume
White is the color
The four aces are the tarot cards
2- Chokmah – Wisdom
The Duad, 1 is reflected, forming an Eidolon
Male, vigorous, active, “The Father”
Divine name is “Yoh”
Maat, Tahuti and Thoth associated
Pallas Athena associated, also Minerva
Uranus, Hermes as the Logos and transmitter o r the influence from Kether
Yang – Taoism - positive
Vitalizing element of existence, Spirit
“The Illuminating Intelligence” – Sepher Yetzirah
Planet is Uranus (although traditionally the sphere of the Zodiac is associated
Color is gray
Perfume is orchitic musk, the plant amaranth (The flower of immortality)
The four twos of the tarot
Star ruby is the stone (representing male creative energy) and turquoise associated with the wheel of the zodiac
Zohar associates Chokmah with the first Yod in the Te tragrammaton (The first Yod is associated with the Four Kings [Knights] of the Tarot)
3 – Binah – Understanding
Aimah – Mother – negative, female, passive
Saturn, Kronos
Frigg, wife of Odin
Sakti
Kwan Yin
Yin of Taoism
Kali of Hindu
Color is black, receptive, negative
Stone is the pearl, since it is associated with the sea and from the dark womb of the oyster
“The Sanctifying Intelligence” – Sepher Yetzirah
Plants – Cypress, Lilly, Opium Poppy
The Four Threes are the tarot cards
Its symbol is the “brooding dove” or the “true S chechinah, or Holy Spirit”
The first “Heh” is the letter o f the Tetragrammaton (which is the Four Queens)
The first three Sephiroth are the Supernals and “transcend in every possible way all intellectual conceptions…” They are separated by a large gulf between them (The Abyss) and the lower seven
Sephiroth. The Supernals are “ideal” while the other seven ar e “actual” The second triad of the Sephiroth (4,5,6) is a reflection of the Supernal t riad from beyond the Abyss
4 – Chesed – Mercy
Color is blue
Male –positive, although the feminine quality of Water is associated with it
Zohar calls it Gedulah or “Greatness” or “Majesty”
Planet is Jupiter
“The Receptacular Intelligence” according to the Sepher Yetzirah
Poseidon (watery aspect) and Jupiter/Zeus are associated
Indra is the Hindu god, lord of fire and lightning
Amoun is the Egyptian god
Thor is the Norse god
Aeger the sea god in the Norse sagas
Jupiter guides the formula of Tetragrammaton
Unicorn and horse are sacred
Plants are pine, olive, shamrock
Stone is amethyst and sapphire
Tarot is the Four Fours
Metal is tin
Perfume is cedar
5 – Geburah – Strength
A reflection of Binah, it is feminine
Divine name is “Elohim Gibor” “The Mighty Gods”
Though it is feminine (as are all left hand Sephiroth on t he Tree) all of its attributions are practically male and vigorous.
Mars and Ares are the gods
Nephyhys is associated
Magical weapons are sword, spear, scourge and burin (warfare, bloodletting)
Metal is iron
Tree is oak
Tobacco, nettle are plants
Color is red
Ruby is the stone
Basilisk is a creature,
The four Fives of the Tarot deck
Sepher Yetzirah titles it the “Radical Intelligence”
6 – Tiphareth – Beauty
The Fourth and Fifth spheres produce in rec onciliation Tipareth (Harmony)
Associated with the Sun
Ra, Apollo, solar deities associated
From the Idra Zuta of the Zohar Tiphareth is “the highest manifestation of ethical life, the sum of all goodness, in short ‘The Ideal’.”
Hari or Krsna is the Hindu deity (spirit and matter in complete equilibrium)
Adonis, Iacchus, Rama and Asar also correspond (nature, beauty or solar deities)
Dionysus (youth) and Bacchus
Lion is animal (Dionysus transformed into lion), phoenix, pelican
Balder is associated,
Acacia is the plant (Masonic symbol of resurrection) as is the v ine
Perfume is gum of olibanum
Color is yellow
The Four Sixes are the Tarot Cards
Title is “Son” and the letter Vau of the Tetragrammaton (four Princes)
Sephira Yetzirah titles it the “Mediating Intelligence”
Stones are yellow topaz, yellow diamond
7 – Netzach – Victory
Sometimes known as “Eternity” or “Triumph”
Attributed to Nike – goddess of victory
Planet is Venus
Love (of a sexual nature), victory, harvest
Aphrodite/Venus is associated
Hathor is the Egyptian
Bhavani is the Hindu
Rose is the flower
Perfume is Benzoin, red sandalwood
Sephira Yetzirah titles it the “Occ ult Intelligence”
Color is green (combination of Chesed [blue] and Tiphareth [yellow])
Tarot cards are the Four Sevens
8 – Hod – Splendor
Sphere of Mercury
Hanuman is the Hindu god
Plant is moly
Vegetable drug is anhalonium lewinii
Perfume is storax
Jewel is opal
Color is orange (Red of Geburah, Yellow of Tiphareth)
Sephira Yetzirah titles it the “Absolute or Perfect Intelligence”
Four Eights are the Tarot
9 – Yesod – The Foundation
The subtle basis upon which the physical world is based
Change with stability
The Astral Plane
Lunar
Yesod is “the stable foundation, the changeless ebb and flow of astral forces and the universally reproductive power of the universe. “
Egyptian deity is Shu – god of space
Hindu deity is Ganesh
Diana is the roman goddess - Lunar
Sephira Yetzirah titles it the “Pure or Clear Intelligence”
Plants are mandrake and damiana – both aphrodisiacs
Perfume is jasmine (also an aphrodisiac)
Color is purple
Four Nines are the Tarot
10 – Malkuth – Kingdom
The world of the four elements, m atter in its entirety, all forms perceived by our five senses (sum of the other nine spheres)
Egyptian god is Seb – crocodile god – crocodile head is the hieroglyph for gross matter
Psyche is a deity
Zohar refers to it as the Virgin or Bride
Ceres, Persephone, Lakshmi, and the Sphinx associated
In Malkuth, the “exiled Neshamoth from the divine palace, therein abides the Shechinah, the
spiritual presence of Ain Soph as a her itage to mankind and an ever-present reminder of spiritual verities.”
“Kether is in Malkuth and Malkuth is in Kether, t hough after another manner.”
Sephira Yetzirah titles it the “Resplendent Intelligence”
Perfume is dittany of Crete
Colors are citrine, olive, russet, and black
Tarot is Four Tens
Final Heh of Tetragrammaton (four Princesses)
Fourth to Ninth Sephiroth are known as t he Sephiroth habinjon or The Potencies of Construction, symbolizing that the dimensions of matter (four directions of space and the positive and negative poles of these)
Pillars –
Pillar on left is the Pillar of Seve rity (all feminine Sephiroth, 3, 5, 8)
Pillar on right is the Pillar of Mercy (all male Sephiroth, 2, 4, 7)