Lesson 11
The Spheres:
YESOD
The Correspondences of YESOD:
Hebrew Translation: FOUNDATION
Yetziratic Title: The PURE INTELLIGENCE
Position on the Tree: Nine
Divine Name: SHADDAI EL CHAI
(the "Almighty Living God")
Symbols: Sandals, Perfume, Incense
Archangel: Gabriel
Order of Angels: Kerubim
Virtue: independence
Vice: idleness
Precious Stone: Quartz
Color: Violet
Incense: Jasmine
Chakra: Root
Body Part: Genitals
Soul Aspect: Nephesh (the Lower Self)
Tool: Incense smoke
Yesod is the ninth emanation on the Tree of Life. Yesod is the Sephirah of Astral Light or the Akasha. It is the receptacle of all the influences of previous Sephirah of the Tree of Life. These influences form as sort of etheric blueprint that all matter in this universe is formed from. All things and events that occur in this universe exist as astral light before they come into existence in the physical universe. Many Qabalists believe that Yesod is literally the astral plane. According to the Sefer Yetzirah Yesod's duty is to purify and correct the emanations of all the descending Sephirah into the form that they are required for use in creation.
Yesod is resides on the Middle Pillar and it's energy is of an androgynous nature. Yesod nature is still sexual but more on the level of a pregnant mother ready to give birth.
The Angels of Yesod are the Kerubim or the Strong Ones in Hebrew. The Kerubim's duty is to govern the interaction between the inner and outer worlds of existence and to act as guardians for the portals between worlds. The Archangel of Yesod is Gabriel. Gabriel means "The Strong one of God" or "the Strength of God." Gabriel is the Archangel of Annunciation and Resurrection. Gabriel acts as the divine messenger between the Divine and Humanity. Gabriel bestows the divine gifts of vision, hearing, psychic abilities, life procreation and equilibration. It interesting to note that; Gabriel appear sometimes as a female, but more often as male.
Study Questions for Yesod: Please cut and paste these questions and put in an email to the Mystery School with Qabalah Lesson 11 in the subject line. If you can include your report of the exercises below in the same email, that would be great.
1. What is the Yetziratic Title for Yesod?
2. Name the Angelic order of Yesod.
3. What position on the Tree of Life does Yesod hold?
4. List two symbols of Yesod.
5. What Chakra corresponds to Yesod?
6. What Pillar does Yesod dwell on?
7. Many Qabalists believe that Yesod is the Astral Plane. True or False.
Exercises for Yesod: Send a report when you've finished the following short exercises to the Mystery School with Qabalah Lesson 11 Exercises in the subject line (or send it in the same email as your answers above).
-Create a Correspondence card for Yesod as per previous instructions
-Do a Web Search on the Internet on the topic of the Astral plane and Astral Projection. Write a small essay on the information that you find.
-Write an invocation to Gabriel asking that he enter you life and bless you with the Divine Gifts associated with Gabriel.
Reading Assignment:
- Read pages 53-54 in a Garden of Pomegranates by Israel Regardie
LESSON 12
The Tenth Sphere:
MALKUT
| The Correspondences of MALKUT
Hebrew Translation: Kingdom *In case you are wondering what the heck the Triangle Art is, see the end of this lesson... |
 Sandalphon, twin of Metatron. Sandalphon is considered the Messiah or the carrier of the Messiah's soul. Sandalphon thus may have a female counterpart, the female Messiah. Indeed he and his brother Metatron sit in the very presence of the Divine, the lines of distinction between Divine and angels blur in the Throneroom. God becomes angels, angels become God again, and sometimes angels become men/women. |
Malkut the tenth and final Sephirah means "the Kingdom" in Hebrew. Malkut is the last sphere on the Middle pillar and thus represent both masculine and feminine energies in equal proportions. Malkut is the final sphere of manifestation were the feminine form and the masculine force meet, it is the physical universe. However Malkut is much more than the ground beneath of feet is physical manifestation of the four elements Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.
Malkut is often called the inferior mother because it's the ultimate manifestation of form as opposed to the Great Mother, Binah who is the beginning of all form. As the tenth and final Sephirah it is sometimes called the "Gate" because when we pass on and leave this life on Malkut we transcend this mortal coil only to pass on to Gate of the higher realms of Qabalah
Sandalphon is the Archangel of Malkut. He is considered male, but has a secret
female counterpart as explained in the caption under his picture above.
His/Her divine duty is to refine and sort out the different material
energies that are brought into being into the physical universe. He/She teaches
us the beauty and natural powers of the world. It is interesting to note
that Sandalphon may be a name channeled to us because it has no clear
etymological base in any language. Many authors have tried to provide a Greek
etymology for this name but without much agreement by Qabalistic scholars.
The Ashim are the rank of angels assigned to Malkut. It is the task of the
Ashim to fashion and bind to together physical matter. The name Ashim means
"soul of fire." They are often said to be a special class of messengers for
the Divine. Our Qabalistic scholars believe that the Ashim are human souls
and not angels at all. Therefore, if their function is to bind physical
matter, this would make them Magi, or practitioners of what the world calls
"magik."
| What the heck is a Triangle Art? As you noticed above, one of the symbols for this Sphere is called the Triangle Art. Initiate Frater SNE / Michael L., an expert in Qabalah, writes: The Triangle of Art is a scrying mirror -- a black mirror mounted within a white triangle with Barbarous names painted in black upon the triangle. I found this image (see right) on a webpage but please note it is NOT correct. The author of the webpage contends that is based on Solomonic tradition but even so it is still not correctly formed but should give you a general idea of what a Triangle Art looks like. |  |
Study Questions for Malkut: Please cut and paste these questions and put in an email to the Mystery School with Qabalah Lesson 12 in the subject line.
1. What position does Malkut hold on the Tree of Life?
2. What is the Divine name associated with Malkut?
3. Name the two main symbols of Malkut.
4. What is the precious stone of Malkut?
5. True or False. Malkut is the last Sphere of the Tree of Life
6. Is there a Chakra associated with Malkut?
7. What is the name of the Angel of the Malkut?
Exercises for Malkut:
-Take a 3 x 5 card and write all the correspondences of Malkut on one side and color the other side of the card with Malkut's colors. Then place the number 10 in circle on that colored side of the card.
Reading Assignment for Malkut:
-Read pages 54-55 in A Garden of Pomegranates by Israel Regardie.