The Kabbalistic Tree of Life: the 10 Sephiroth and their meaning

What Is the Kabbalistic Tree of Life?

The Tree of Life (Hebrew Etz Chaim) is the central symbol of the Kabbalah, the mystical tradition of Judaism. Its roots reach back to late antiquity; the "Book of Creation" (Sefer Yetzirah) already speaks of ten sephiroth, and in the Middle Ages the teaching unfolded in works such as the Zohar. The tree is a map of the universe and of the soul at the same time: it shows how divine energy descends from the purest form into the material world, and how a person can climb that path back up again.

The tree consists of ten sephiroth (singular sephira), the circles, and 22 paths that connect them. In addition there is Da'at, knowledge, often drawn as a hidden eleventh sephira.

The Ten Sephiroth

The tree is read from top to bottom, in the order in which, according to the teaching, creation descends:

• 1. Keter (Crown): The first spark of the divine, pure being without form, the origin of everything.
• 2. Chokmah (Wisdom): The first creative impulse, dynamic primal force, the will toward form.
• 3. Binah (Understanding): The great mother: form, structure and limitation as the condition for anything to take shape.
• 4. Chesed (Mercy, Loving-kindness): Expansive love and generosity, the principle of unconditional giving.
• 5. Gevurah (Strength, Judgment): Power, judgment and limits, the necessary counterweight to boundless mercy.
• 6. Tiferet (Beauty): The heart of the Tree of Life: harmony, balance and the higher self.
• 7. Netzach (Victory, Endurance): Feeling, desire, nature and creativity, the force that keeps going.
• 8. Hod (Splendor, Glory): Intellect, language and order, the principle that gives experience form.
• 9. Yesod (Foundation): The unconscious, dreams and images, the link between above and below.
• 10. Malkuth (Kingdom): The visible world, the body, the earth: the realm of tangible reality.

The hidden sephira Da'at lies between the upper three and the other seven, as a threshold where knowledge becomes experience. The library describes each sephira in detail.

The Three Pillars

The sephiroth are arranged in three vertical pillars. The right pillar of mercy (Chokmah, Chesed, Netzach) stands for expansion and creation, the left pillar of severity (Binah, Gevurah, Hod) for limitation and form. The middle pillar (Keter, Tiferet, Yesod, Malkuth) is the path of balance on which both come together. More in the article on the three pillars.

The 22 Paths

The 22 paths between the sephiroth correspond to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The Western Hermetic tradition, such as the Golden Dawn in the 19th century, also assigned the 22 major arcana of the tarot to them; that is a later connection, not Jewish teaching. Together with the ten sephiroth they make the 32 paths of wisdom. More in the articles on the 22 paths and the 32 paths of wisdom and in the library under paths.

The Four Worlds

The Kabbalah also reads the tree on four levels, the four worlds: Atziluth, the world of emanation, Beriah, the world of creation, Yetzirah, the world of formation, and Assiah, the world of action. More in the article on the four worlds.

The Tree of Life as a Path of Development

In applied Kabbalah, the sephiroth are read as inner qualities a person can develop: bringing mercy and severity into balance, finding oneself in the heart, in Tiferet, experiencing Keter as a moment of stillness beyond the self. In the Hermetic tradition, planets are also assigned to the sephiroth, such as Saturn to Binah, Jupiter to Chesed, Mars to Gevurah, the Sun to Tiferet, Venus to Netzach, Mercury to Hod and the Moon to Yesod. How to work with the tree in practice is described in the article on Tree of Life meditation.

The Tree of Life in UmbraLux

UmbraLux assigns you a personal sephira and one of the four worlds from your date of birth and your name, plus the path the Hermetic tradition assigns to your Sun sign. That is a symbolic assignment, not a traditional method of the Kabbalah. The library holds all sephiroth, paths and worlds. Ask Verus, your AI companion, about your place in the Tree of Life: he knows your sephira, your world and your path and connects them with your other systems in conversation.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Tree of Life

How many sephiroth does the Tree of Life have?

Ten: Keter, Chokmah, Binah, Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod and Malkuth. Da'at is often added as a hidden sephira.

What is the difference between Kabbala and Kabbalah?

Only the spelling. German usually writes Kabbala, English Kabbalah; the Hermetic tradition often writes Qabalah.

Do tarot and Kabbalah belong together?

Historically not from the start. The assignment of the major arcana to the 22 paths comes from 19th-century Western esotericism and is still used there today.

What does Tiferet mean?

Beauty. Tiferet lies in the middle of the tree, connects above and below, right and left, and is considered its heart.