Tree of Life - Yesod

Qabalah - Tree of Life - Yesod

If Binah is the Greater Moon, this Sefirah is its lower countenance or reflection.

Yesod is usually translated as Foundation, and connected with the sexual organs. In fact, this is probably the only Sefirah which is consistently associated with any part of the body - though each of the others also has bodily correlations, but not with the same consistency.

It is also associated with the Moon as reflector, reflecting, within us, the deep inner aspects of our own spiritual selves.

As we move up the Tree from Malkut, this is the first of the seven planetary spheres encountered (the word 'planet' is here used in its correct etymological sense, and thus includes the non-astronomical 'planets' of Sun and Moon). Moving away from Malkut, this is also the first emanation we may encounter from which the veil (paroket) may be sensed - though distantly and not yet rendered.

Personally, I place within this sphere II - the Popess/High Priestess and XII - the Hanged Man.

placing arcana

right, the High Priestess is an archetype that fits very very well to this Sephiroth. It is placed on the middle pillar and can be regarded as the "minor" Tiphareth for that (Malkuth is not the most little according to my views but somehow outside of that). If you travel up, it is the foundation of your journey - "know it well, or the way could break down behind you" seems to be the rule.

ultra violets

From garden of pomegranates, on the subject of Yesod-
"...according to both Eliphaz Levi Zahed and Madame Blavatsky it is the astral plane, which in one sense being passive and reflecting the energies from above, is lunar, even as the moon reflects the light from the sun. The Astral Light is an omnipresent and all-permeating fluid or medium of extremely subtle matter; substance in a highly tenuous state, electric and magnetic in constitution, which is the model upon which the physical world is built......... some writers have referred to the astral light which is the sphere of Yesod as the Anima Mundi, the soul of the world. The psycho-analyst Jung has a very similar concept which he terms the Collective Unconscious which, as I see it, differs in no wise from the Qabalistic idea"

I personally very much link Yesod with initiation. A first wink at the moon. For this reason I very much associate the Moon card with this sphere.(and think of the high priestess more in Binah). I now think Temperance [as Diana] more as the moon cards partner in this Sphere.

The Thoth deck places the 4 nines in Yesod. 9 wands-Strength, 9 Cups-Happiness, 9 Swords-Cruelty and the 9 Disks-Gain.

I too associate Yesod with the Moon card, in particular destination of the path between the Two Towers (Hod and Netzach in Assiah).

Yesod is a complicated sephiroth, one that touches us in elusive and often confusing ways. This is the realm of the astral and the Shadow. I see Yesod as a lesser Da'ath in some respects. Its placement upon the tree is in some ways a reflection of Da'ath, in a lower and more tangible world just as in somes Tipareth is a reflection of Kether. However, Da'ath is not a sephiroth. Yesod is the place where we begin to experience some of Da'ath's mysteries nevertheless.

Laurel

and the colours of Daath and Yesod are quite similar as well...

Yesod is on the Middle Pillar, so in a line with Malkuth below and Tiphereth and Kether above, and, if one wants to count it in, Daath. AN interesting company that shows us the importan´ce of Yesod, that is not simply "the moon" but the spiritual force taht is most close to us. The path that leads from Yesod to Tiphareth is sometimes associated with the Tower and soemtimes with Temperance (GD). I prefer the temperance version, because it shows us that we can master the abyss through the balancing of forces.

Traditionally, Yesod is indeed associated with the Moon. However, it is interesting that the magical image of this sphere is a beautiful and strong naked man, rather than the feminine image that we might perhaps expect with the Moon. It is also associated with Gabriel. This is interesting because Gabriel means "the strong one of God". Also the angelic order of this sphere is the cherubim, which originally were not nauseating rosy-cheeked winged infants making a nuisance of themselves with bows and arrows but a group of angels referred to as "the strong".

The title of Yesod is the "treasurehouse of images", and the spiritual experience that the ancient kabbalists attributed to this sphere is "vision of the machinery of the universe". It is also called the Foundation. We can link this to the etheric, and how the magician is taught to use the etheric in order to affect the material.

William Gray in "Ladder of Lights" links the fertility aspects of the Moon with the fact that Gabriel's trumpet was seen as a phallic symbol. This also links with the God name of Yesod, Shaddai el Chai, which means Lord of Life.

Gray also suggests that it is useful to think of how the Moon reflects the light of the Sun, thus giving evidence of the Sun's continued existence even when the Sun cannot be seen at night. We raise our eyes from the purely material existence of Malkuth and begin to ascend the 32nd path. In so doing, we open ourselves to the dreams and visions of Yesod. In these, we receive intimations of the light of Tiphereth, and also of the greater light of Kether than illuminates the whole Tree.

The tradition in which I work attributes the tarot trumps to the paths between the spheres. We normally attribute god forms of the various pantheons to the spheres. Also, the numbers of the minor arcana are can be attributed to the spheres. Under that system, Yesod can be seen as the combined energies of the four nines. However, I don't feel knowledgeable enough to comment about how appropriate or not this might be.

Trying to attribute one tarot card to Yesod, I'm probably most comfortable with the Moon, although I think this loses the "strength" connotations of the sphere (but these are not the same as those of the card "Strength"). I'm far less happy with the High Priestess. The High Priestess is traditionally attributed to the 13th path from Tiphereth to Kether via Daath, and if I was to attribute her to a sphere, I would put her into Daath, because of the association with wisdom. I know that traditional kabbalists do not recognise Daath, but again this is recognised in my tradition. Incidentally, if you lift Malkuth up into Daath, you make the Tree perfectly symmetrical top to bottom, and there is a theory that Malkuth's position at the bottom of the Tree is a consequence of the Fall, and that Daath is what remained in the original position. Daath is also seen as the "hinge" between the Tree of Light and the Tree of the Qlipoth....

However, the High Priestess is also often viewed as representing the totality of the Middle Pillar.

Paul Foster Case assigns the Hermit (IX) to Yesod, but somehow linking this in with the Fool, who as 0 is assigned to Ain Soph Aur. I must admit I have problems following his arguments: http://www.lvx.org/archive/intro.pdf

.... but I'm starting to witter on too much!!!