Yesod
Yesod is the ninth sefirot in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, a system of Jewish mysticism.
Yesod, located near the base of the Tree, is the sephirah below Hod and Netzach, and above Malkuth (the kingdom).
Etymology
In Hebrew, Yod is spelled יְסוֹד (Yəsōḏ) and means "foundation."
Description
It is seen as a vehicle allowing movement from one thing or condition to another (the power of connection).
Yesod is the foundation upon which God has built the world. It also serves as a transmitter between the sefirot above, and the reality below. The light of the upper sefirot gather in Yesod and are channelled to Malkuth below. In this manner, Yesod is associated with the sexual organs. The masculine Yesod collects the vital forces of the sephirot above, and transmits these creative and vital energies into the feminine Malkuth below. Yesod channels, Malkuth receives. In turn, it is through Malkuth that the earth is able to interact with the divinity.
Yesod plays the role of collecting and balancing the different and opposing energies of Hod and Netzach, and also from Tiferet above it, storing and distributing it throughout the world. It is likened to the 'engine-room' of creation.
Occult correspondences
According to the writer Dion Fortune, Yesod is considered to be "of supreme importance to the practical occultist ... the Treasure House of Images, the sphere of Maya, Illusion."
In occult practice, it has the following correspondences:
- its angelic choir is the Cherubim.
- its angel is Archangel Gabriel.
- its tarot card is the Hermit.
- its planet is the moon.
In contrast, the demonic order in the qlippothic sphere opposite of Yesod is Gamaliel.
Crowley
In Liber 777, Aleister Crowley drew the following correspondences to Yesod:
- Ganesha
- Shu
- Diana
- the 4 nines of the Minor Arcana
- Quartz
- Air (element)