“Our experience of anything is not the thing itself,

 but our reaction to IT”

… William Gray ..

                                                      Keywords

Illusion

Thought Forms

Dream World

Memory

 The Energy of the Sphere 

In Hebrew, the word Yesod means "foundation" and the "sod" portion alone means "mystery".  This should give clue as to the energies of the qabalistic sphere of Yesod. It is the stuff of dreams, fantasies, memory  and the dwelling place of true magick. This sphere holds  the key to the unknown and the unknowable. Just as matter itself resides in Malkuth,  the focus and energy which make it “living matter” is contained within the essence of Yesod. As we descend from the higher spheres  and move through the varied energies of each of the preceding we come to rest in Yesod,  the beginning phase of creation of a thoughtform , the storehouse of  images only,  without the benefit of the life energy needed before these images can move into a state of manifestation in Malkuth.

Yesod is known as the " Treasure House of Symbols".  It is here that the Akashic records which contain the  memory and experiences of every living being are held within the substance of aether (spirit). This attribute alone can give rise to illusion, false conceptions and a deluded sense of Soul's purpose. It is a world of  shadow and illusion; being held in a state of "in-between". It is higher than the physical plane of Malkuth- yet lower than the Divine/spiritual plane which would provide the necessary discernment to determine that which is illusion and that which is reality. By virtue of this state of mediator and filter the natural  access to the Astral that is the function of Yesod provides also the necessary accumulation of symbols and images that can be classified, processed, filtered and assimilated to allow movement to the higher realms coming from the place of the concrete manifest energy of Malkuth. Yesod is the place of allegory and allusion to things of a higher nature.  Because the information is often muddled or distorted (as in the fun house mirror) it becomes necessary to strengthen the emotion of Trust. Trusting that what is being shown  is the truth,  and trusting that you will be able to learn the appropriate lesson of the allegory.

Yesod is also known as Pure Intelligence.  It stands as the receptacle of downpour from Hod, the sphere of mind- and having received thought devoid of censoring, testing and analysis, Yesod serves to provide those checks and balances, sorting and reshaping what will pass through the filter of unbiased judgment. It purifies and clarifies through initiatory energy and transforms what passes through either to make fit for the ascent to higher realms or the descent into physical matter.

Yesod is notably the sphere of the moon. And, just as the physical moon of our world goes through its tides and cyclical changes and has great effect on our physical earth; the principle is also true of the interaction between Yesod and  Malkuth. The Moon was man’s first timekeeper and generated awareness of the  seasons , the water's ebb and flow, evolution and change.  It also gave light to the awareness of the cyclic nature of  life and the natural surroundings. On the Tree, moving trough the energies of Yesod is to move in accord with the Cosmic Law of Rhythm (check out The Kybalion at: http://www.kybalion.org/kybalion.asp?chapter=XI.).  The natural cyclic nature of all things and the evolution and transformation at the level of the Soul through these waters of higher life.

Yesod resonates to the sacral chakra and as such is the plane of sexuality and the potential underlying each act of coupling. It is the fertile breeding ground for all future spiritual development as you move upwards through the Tree. Its nature is that of fecundity and quickening. By definition, fecundity is:

1. The ability to produce offspring, especially in large numbers

2.  The ability to produce many different and original ideas

This energy is beyond simply being fertile. In Malkuth we were simply matter;  in Yesod we become matter quickened by greater  substance and spirit. We become the replication of all parts of self; each having the ability for quickening and enlivening.

Yesod is the psychological equivalent of the subconscious and through dream work and cultivating a state of emotional health and well-being, its energies reveal the greater work of the astral and inner planes in preparation for rising on the planes and experiencing the energies of the Higher Realm spheres. The  process of self awareness is begun in the sphere of Yesod, and the shadow world of the Astral is the symbolic underworld of the subconscious. This is where work is done around personal phantoms and the shadow self is encountered, assimilated and recognized as the Illusory Self.  The embracing and acceptance of this shadow or darker part of self is the necessary component for union of all parts of self and gaining mastery over this aspect gives strength to that part of the being that stands in the place of the light.  

Yesod is the great initiator and to come to an understanding of its nature is to have progressed through an initiatory process of death and rebirth ;  moving from the mundane realm (Malkuth) and having passed  through the shadows and mystery of the astral to heightened awareness. Through this process intuitive insight and a quickening of the Divine- life force within is the result of the synthesis of all the accumulated information gained from the symbols and images of the Yesodic plane.  Yesod is the ninth sphere and it is interesting to note that in the Major Arcana of the Tarot  the card attributed to the number 9 is The Hermit. The Hermit is the seeker on the path who turns within in search of the inner light. Removing himself from the mundane needs of the physical (Malkuth) world and gaining the necessary insight to provide the quickening of the Higher Self in a place of mystery, darkness and seclusion. In numerology, the number 9 relates to death and rebirth, just at the gate of moving into a new state of being. And it is in this state of awareness, inner light and true wisdom that we are made ready to ascend back to the place of the Source of All - Kether.

" ...the philosophical principle concerned (with Yesod) is that the Moon is the reflector of the Sun. 

No one can look directly at the Sun without risking blindness, but the Moon can be seen clearly enough. 

Thus, it symbolizes a quality of Divine Mercy, in adapting the overpowering light of Truth

into more diffuse and softer rays, which our Human natures can comfortably bear….

                excerpted from the  …Ladder of Lights by Walter Butler

Location on the Tree

Yesod sits at the base of the Astral/Lunar Triangle. On the ascent up the Tree this is the first place of co-joined effort.  The place where the dominion and energy of the 3- fire and transformation- positive-negative and neutral- work in harmony towards rising towards the higher vibration and energy of the upper spheres of emanation.  On the descent from the place of Kether and its subsequent emanations Yesod becomes the Divine receptacle that filters, refines, remolds and gives the finishing touches before the word-the thought-the creative urge- becomes manifest.  It is also the first sphere that connects the first set of outer paths of the Tree. It is the unifier and middle point of balance before the designation and split into the pillars of Mercy and Might- Force and Form.

Yesod is also placed at the Apex of the point  of the triangle before the  descent into matter. Conversely it is also the point of the first triangle of spheric energy encountered on journey towards the  God-head of Kether.  Its position serves as a gateway separating our physical being before it is filtered through the Astral to emerge within the Higher Realms of understanding or Pure Intelligence. 

There is a constant interchange and balance  from the consciousness of Malkuth  through the subconscious - that energy first encountered in  Yesod on the ascent upwards on  to the unconscious of Yesod at Higher spectrum just before moving to Hod. At a conscious level we live in Malkuth. Within the subconscious we find the answers in Yesod in its state as Pure Intelligence.

  Yin/Yang of Malkuth and Yesod

The Spiritual Experience

Vision of the Machinery of the Universe

The wheel of time turns and the cogs are maintained and well oiled to ensure there is no cessation to this mighty endeavor. It is the inner workings of all that exists- past-present and future- all entwined within the memory and temple of creative flow. This is our independence based on what we already know to be true at a manifest level, which is then filtered , modified, and  adapted by the allusion of Yesod to prompt a closer look.  Yesod acts to hold together the form - enmeshing the denser particles of matter which create the physical realm, one of the principles of Quantum Physics and the theory of the Field.

The Illusion of the Sphere

Delusion

We move through the world intent upon our course and create and construct truisms and beliefs that are often, when more closely examined, not of our creation at all. Yet we cling steadfastly and with strength and conviction to the declaration that these are indeed our truths. We choose to remain in a dream state because this absolves us from the consequences that our awakened choices may have.  Spending some time cultivating the imagination is a pleasurable and rewarding pursuit, but allowing  the illusion of what is merely imagination to replace or consume  what is viable food for creative outpour is the folly of Yesod.  To remain in the place of dreams is to be veiled forever.

The Briatic Color

Violet

 Magickal Image

A Beautiful Naked Man, Very Strong

One could think of Atlas in this imagery. The beauty lay in the seamless union of man and world. Yesod works to support the weight of the upper spheres of the Tree in much the same way.  All being dependent on its strength to allow what transpires in the heavenly worlds above to be held just beyond the actual grasp of mankind until he has proven his determination and effort towards reaching those lofty aims.