Where The Lightning Forms

An exploration of Yesod, Hod, & Netzach.

The Moon is the closest body to Earth and has the most direct influence.  One of its chief influences on the physical world is causing predictable rising and falling in sea levels known as tides.  

Each night, as the sun sets, the waters of the ocean push further onto land.  And when the sun rises again, they recede.  

During a full and new moon, when the Earth aligns between the moon and the sun, the gravitational forces of both the sun and the moon combine causing high tides to be higher and low tides lower.

Just as the moon and sun affect the waters of our planet, so too does it affect us, as we are like water, moved and formed by forces we do not understand.  It is our destiny to move beyond the influence of the Moon and the other planets.  This is the process of learning and, more importantly, unlearning.  This is visually represented as the ascension up the Tree of Life.  To break the bounds of gravity and to choose the manner of movement we wish to take. 

As Qu’o said, 

“As each planetary influence enters the energy web of your sphere, those upon the sphere are moved much as the moon which moves about your sphere moves the waters upon your deeps.

Your own nature is water in that you as mind/body/spirit complexes are easily impressed and moved. Indeed, this is the very fiber and nature of your journey and vigil in this density: to not only be moved but to instruct yourself as to the preferred manner of your movement in mind, body, and spirit.”

Last time, we discussed Malkuth, where the outpourings of the One Infinite Creator manifest and those returning to the One begin their journey home.  

The manifestations from the higher realms can come about as suddenly as a lightning flash. Lightning is the result of the interaction between positive and negative charges in the atmosphere, which naturally insulates them and prevents them from discharging.  When the differences in positive and negative charges become too great, the insulting capacity of air breaks down and there is a lightning strike. 

Where lightning strikes is in Malkuth.  Where it is formed happens in the first group of 3 Sephiroth on the tree, the Astral Triangle consisting of Yesod, Hod, and Netzach.  The interaction of these spheres is what allows the higher to take a form and manifest into the lower and the lower to understand the higher, allowing for ascension up the tree.  This group of spheres is also known as Yetzirah or the formative world.

Let’s begin first with the last sphere of the formative world:  Yesod, the foundation sphere. 

Yesod

Yesod is commonly associated with the lower “astral” plane.  It is, as the author Robert Wang writes “the realm of images cast off by mankind, bright and dark” and “is the raw material from which visual images are built on the Astral Plane.” 

Yesod is the sphere of “illusion”.  This is because, according to occultist Dion Fortune, it reflects the “aether of the Earth-sphere, and corresponds in the microcosm to the Unconscious of the psychologists, filled with ancient and forgotten things, repressed since the childhood of the race.”

In terms of a physical metaphor, Yesod is strongly associated with the Moon.  In occult traditions, the Moon is extremely important, being that sphere that is involved in manifestation.  It is a body that has the power to lift the veil, allowing energies through.  

This is why there are invoking and banishing rituals designed for both the full and new Moons.  The cycle of a full Moon can assist in banishing unwanted energies, while the new Moon can assist in manifesting wanted energies.   

The Moon does not generate its own light and acts as a receptacle for the light of the Sun, the planets, and the cosmos.  And just like the moon, Yesod acts as a receptacle for the emanations of all the Sephiroth.   

As the occultist Israel Regardie writes, 

“Yesod, the sphere of Luna, on the Tree of Life is placed immediately under Tiperath, the sphere of the Sun, thus reflecting - the creative forces from above”

We can imagine Yesod within ourselves as the “lower consciousness”.  Not lower as in bad, but lower as in the waking consciousness that we all inhabit.  However, like the Moon, our lower consciousness does not generate its own light.  It is a reflection of the light emanating from the Higher Self.  Thus, the lower self is susceptible to illusions and the “chimeras cast by the shadow of the Moon”.

The Middle Pillar on the Tree of Life represents consciousness and located on the bottom of the pillar is Yesod, which again is the lower consciousness most easily accessed by everyone.   Above Yesod is Tiphareth which represents the Higher Self.   

Yesod, being below Tiphareth is actually the lower consciousness of the Higher Self, which is itself the lower consciousness of the One Infinite Creator, or the “Sun behind the Sun”.

The journey upwards towards the Sun, or Tiphareth requires first being able to navigate the chimeras of the mind, located in Yesod.  

The movement of the Moon regulates the ebb and flow of etheric energy on Earth, much like its movement affects the ebb and flow of the tides.

It is used symbolically to represent the unconscious and the element of water, as the Moon moves the waters of the Earth as well as the waters of our mind. 

Water, or etheric energy, is formless.  It remains formless until given direction and responds and molds itself accordingly.  It acts as the scaffolding of the universe, being the energy that provides the interface between the physical and the ethereal.  

The Greek philosopher Thales described water as “…the primal principle or element, upon which the Earth floats like a ship.”

However, the Moon itself isn’t water, it is what moves the water, thus Yesod itself represents the quality of Air.  Air is the medium that connects the physical with the Divine and is associated with the mind and intelligence.

Yesod represents the etheric body, commonly referred to as the indigo body.  Ra refers to the indigo body as the “form-making body” as this is the part of ourselves responsible for informing the physical. 

Yesod acts as scaffolding, directly supporting Malkuth.  Changes to the scaffolding directly affect the physical.  Thus, our etheric body is directly responsible for life itself. 

While Yesod and the etheric impress themselves upon us, we, too impress ourselves upon Yesod.  

Thought creates reality and it is through the interaction of the spheres within the astral triangle, those of Yesod, Hod, and Netzach, that the formless thought can transform into formed reality.  

Taking Yesod into the microcosm, we can imagine ourselves, from birth, taking on the impressions of our environment.  These impressions form within ourselves imbalances, disorders, thought forms, etc which have an effect on us until we consciously balance them.  

This process isn’t limited to childhood but happens throughout our lifetime.  Our environment is constantly impressing itself upon us and likewise, we impress upon our environment. 

Collectively, we impress upon the Earth and also the Astral World.  Visiting the lower astral, you’ll find it is full of the “stuff” of humanity, the dreams, fears, hopes, desires, likes, emotions, etc.

Each of us absorbs impressions into our consciousness where they are either processed immediately or stored in our unconscious. These stored impressions can later emerge as the sources of our desires, thoughts, actions, and more.

The interaction of Yesod, Hod, and Netzach forms the lower personality of the individual, and Yesod is the intelligence that is the foundation of the lower personality.  

Etheric energy is generative, thus Yesod is also associated with the generative organs and is strongly associated with sex.  

In Western magical traditions, the element of Air is utilized similarly to how Qi is employed in Chinese esoterism and Kundalini in Yogic practices. Kundalini is often described as being "coiled in Yesod," indicating its foundational role in mystical and spiritual systems.

Robert Wang, in his book The Qabalistic Tarot, discusses the association of Yesod with sexual energy,

“This force is sexual, and it is seen that in Microprosopus Yesod covers the generative organs. Those who excite this force through meditation, prayer, sexual stimulation, or ritual methods, do so using precisely the same mental mechanisms. It has been said that God is sex, and the records of ecstatic union made by those such as Saint Theresa are highly erotic. 

When the Astral Light of Yesod, the sexual forces, are directed consciously, and circulated throughout the body as in the Qabalistic Exercise of the Middle Pillar, the effect can be overwhelming. The Astral Light has often been described as an electrical, or magnetic current. Indeed, as one "brings down the Light," the effect is of one's body being highly charged. Yet this is an energy which is plastic. It is mentally malleable. 

Not only can it be circulated throughout the body, or projected in certain spiritual operations, but it is the raw material from which visual images are built on the Astral Plane.”

This is one reason why sex is very powerful, especially when used magically.  It is directly linked to the "raw material" of the Astral plane, embodying the generative power of Yesod. 

This topic is much too vast and advanced to explore in this article and it’s worth it to meditate on this yourself to come to your own understanding.

Hod

“From the Water, he formed Fire and made for himself a Throne of Glory with Auphanim, Seraphim, and Kerubim, as his ministering angels; and with those three he completed his dwelling. . .” 

- Sefer Yetzirah

The universe consists of form, force, and equilibrium.  Without form, force is just chaos and without force, form is lifeless.  Force requires form and form requires force.  Life moves due to the interaction between form and force.  And the way force and form interact is through the equilibrating function of consciousness.  In the macrocosm, this manifests as the formation of galaxies, stars and star systems, planets, and so on. 

In the microcosm, this manifests as the stuff of our lives, growth, evolution, learning, and so forth.  At its essence, life is the interaction between force and form.

On the Tree of Life, Hod is located on the pillar representing form, called the “Pillar of Severity” or Form. 

The Pillar of Form is the left pillar.

Form has limits.  Thus, the Pillar of Form is considered negative, or receptive.     

Hod translates to "Splendor" in Hebrew, a term derived from the Latin word "splendere," meaning "to shine.

In Hod, the splendor of the One is revealed in Nature.  One can look upon a tree and see the universe in all its splendor.  Nature appears to quite literally shine from the radiance of the One.  It is not a physical light, however.  It is the negative light of Ain Soph, radiating behind the limited form.    

The splendor of the One is seen as an inner light or shimmering brilliance.  This “negative light” is the key characteristic of Hod - as light informs, this is the sphere that informs the formless. 

In this sphere, we see the true nature of form revealed and the archetypal energies present behind the form are more easily accessible. 

It is here where “the all in all things” as the German Alchemist Basil Valentine wrote, can be found.

In Hod, the archetypal frameworks coming from the Logos find a “form” to take.  

Consider the traditional form that angels are believed to take. Angels are viewed as higher, benevolent beings, each embodying an aspect of the Logos and governing a particular facet of reality. 

They reside in higher spiritual realms and when perceived by humans, they often appear in forms that are familiar to us, shaped by our collective unconscious. Commonly, these forms include winged beings, typically male and sometimes female.  

For instance, the entity known as Gabriel might appear differently in various cultures, yet the fundamental essence of the angel remains consistent.

The form and names associated with the angels provide a useful framework from which we can call upon them.

Angels represent archetypal energies, manifested as forms of intelligence. They don't possess physical forms as we understand them. It is suggested that if angels do have a true form, it would be geometrical. However, geometric shapes are abstract and challenging to reconcile with the concept of an intelligent being that interacts with us.

So, through Hod, an appropriate vehicle is chosen and thus, archetypal intelligences dawn them when interacting with us. 

Throughout human history, we have conceived of various gods and goddesses, the majority of which are now either lost to history or relegated to myths and history books.  

However, perhaps the gods of old were indeed real archetypal forces just taking on different forms. 

The authors Denning and Phillips in their book The Sword and the Serpent write that,

“Just as man covered the walls of his caves with pictures and began shaping fragments of bone or of rock into figurines, so he began to fill the delicate Astral world about him with shapes of dominant force:  Great Bison to command the bison, Great Bears to command the bears, Men to befriend him or to give commands in his name, and the Woman who was mother and bride and daughter.  Man’s understanding became greater; deduction fortified intuition.  He imagined gods for himself, and those images tool walked the Astral.”

Given enough focus and attention, the imaginings of the mind can, indeed, become real in the Astral.  Denning and Phillips also write that “those forms created by man which are of sufficient strength and sufficient sephrotic purity become real channels.”

If the forms created by man resonate with higher, more pure energies, they can become appropriate forms for the energies to take when interacting with us.  

This would explain the seemingly related natures of various gods found in different cultures.  The higher energy is the same, the form is different, however.   

Thus, when interacting with angels, you are interacting with very real archetypal intelligences, the image of which is generally formed from the collective understanding of what an “angel” is, however. 

Forms are transient.  They change, depending on the culture.  For instance, Gabriel has associations with Isis of ancient Egypt and Selene of ancient Greece.  The deities of this culture which we associate in our present age with the name Gabriel are the exact same being, clothed in a different form.   

You can see the dynamic between the human imagination and archetypal concepts coming from the higher planes.  The archetypes are truth, the imagination is false, yet when the imagings of the human mind are clothed in archetypal truths, they find a footing in this dense realm.

While Yesod is associated with Air, Hod is associated with Water.  Alchemists call Water the "root of all minerals” and that “the Universe and all that it contains comes from the Waters.”

Water is fluid.  It has no inherent form until it is shaped by something.  It is receptive and representative of the feminine.  

The Sefer Yetzirah describes Hod and Netzach as the sphere of “prophecy and inspiration”.  Indeed, Hod can be seen as a “prophetic” sphere in the sense of unveiling the formless potential and guiding it into manifestation through divine illumination.

Hod deals with the comprehension and articulation of the divine, acting as a realm where abstract concepts are understood.

Thus, Hod is form and its counterpart, Force, is in the sphere Netzach where one can find the fire that brings the form to life.

Netzach

 “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”

- I Corinthians 15: 54-55.

Netzach is located on the bottom of the right pillar of the Tree of Life, called the Pillar of Mercy.  This is the pillar representative of Force or action. 

Netzach represents, at its core, the abstract beginnings of concretized form.  Where Hod can be seen as the sphere where archetypal forces dawn their form, which is created by resonating imaginings from the Will of our intelligence, Netzach is the intuitive inklings of feeling, which allows those sensitive to comprehend the archetypal energies that make the form.  

To put it another way, you can think of Hod as the sphere of the Magician, or the Scientist, and Netzach as the sphere of the mystic, the artist, or the Shaman.  One is more ordered, almost scientific, and rational, and the other is much more abstract, feeling-based, intuitive.  

Now, the Pillar of Mercy is considered masculine and the Pillar of Form feminine.  Why?  This may seem contradictory to what we commonly understand as “feminine” and “masculine”, or receptive and active.  After all, we typically associate intuition with feminine qualities.  It is helpful when studying the Qabbalah to disregard the societal expectations of men and women.  We are all masculine and feminine in composition and these terms are not the same as the terms we use to describe the societal roles for men and women.  

The Pillar of Form is considered feminine because it represents the higher feminine concept of embodying form, giving form to the formless.  While the Pillar of Mercy represents the concept of active force.  The force requires a form to be understood otherwise it is chaotic, and likewise, the form requires a force in order to have life. 

Thus, the Sephiroth on the Pillar of Form creates limits, which provide a way for Force to manifest.

This is why Dion Fortune wrote this about Hod, “The Keys that unlock the doors of the Treasure House of Images and enable us to command its denizens are to be found in Hod, the Sphere of Magic. It is truly said in the Mysteries that no degree becomes functional until one has taken the next. Anyone who tries to function as a magician in Yesod soon learns his error, for although he can perceive the Images in the Treasure House, he has no word of power with which to command them.”

In ritual, simply reciting words and performing motions is ineffective.  One must also invoke feeling.  Therefore, Hod and Netzach work together and the synthesis of these two, formed in Yesod is what can be channeled through the mind and what can be channeled into the mind to reach the higher. 

Ritual is performed in order to elicit a result in the real world.  The result can come about only by the synthesis of Hod and Netzach, managed by the Will of the magician.  

For example, in planetary magick, the magician will petition the energies of the planet Mercury for assistance in some task related to communication or intellect. 

Depending on the ritual, the magician may write the petition on a certain colored paper, with a colored candle and a certain type of gem or incense.  This is all in an effort to get the mind to focus on the resonating energies of that particular planet. 

The rituals can seem unnecessary, however, they are useful to create resonating “forms” that are compatible with the energies the magician wishes to invoke.  

If the magician were to simply ask the planet Mercury without any resonate image in mind, it is likely their petition would go unanswered as the resonate energies of Mercury would have no “footing” upon which to ground in our reality.  

Of course, after a certain stage of development, ritual does not need to occur as one can simply ask, or rather, direct their Will towards those resonating energies and they will respond without the focusing assistance of rituals.  

Perhaps this is one reason why Netzach means “victory” in Hebrew.  

The root word of Victory is the Latin word Victus, or Victoria which means “To conquer”. 

Ra describes the nature of the unconscious as being one of “concept” rather than “word”.  They say,

 “The nature of the unconscious is of the nature of concept rather than word. Consequently, before the veiling, the use of the deeper mind was that of the use of the unspoken concept.”

To get to the concept requires the word, however, to transcend the word means one has direct access behind the veil.  They have achieved “victory” over matter by gaining a direct line to the higher.

The relationship between Hod and Netzach can be seen as a gateway of sorts to the higher spheres. Without being able to follow intuition and clothe it in rational forms, one cannot gain a strong enough footing to stand in the higher.

This brings to mind Ra speaking about the progress of adepts.  They say,

 “Few there are which are successful in grasping the light of the sun. By far, the majority of adepts remain groping in the moonlight and, as we have said, this light can deceive as well as uncover hidden mystery.”

Perhaps this explains Netzachs association with the element of Fire. Fire is a creative force, however it is also destructive.  In ancient Egypt, the scorpion was used as a symbol representing both wisdom and deceit and was considered a “guardian of the gateway of the sun” for the fire which the Scorpion controls is capable of illuminating as well as consuming.  

Those who can pass the “fire trial” can achieve victory and thus can stand reborn, and ready to handle the higher spheres.

The challenges posed by Netzach’s fiery energy are essential; they test the adept's resolve and purity of intention. Just as fire refines gold by burning away all dross, so too must the adept be purified of personal illusions and attachments to access the higher spiritual realities.

This purification process, emblematic of passing through Netzach’s fire, is what prepares the adept to approach the higher spheres not just intellectually, but with a refined soul capable of comprehending and embodying higher spiritual truths.

Thus, the combined forces of Hod and Netzach serve as a crucial gateway, beyond the deceptive allure of the moonlight, reaching toward the clarity and brilliance of the Sun, in Tiphareth.