The ten Sephirot (singular: Sefirah) are the ten attributes or emanations through which the infinite God (Ein Sof — "Without End") reveals itself and creates the world. They are arranged on the Tree of Life from the most divine and abstract (Kether, the Crown) to the most material and manifest (Malkuth, the Kingdom). Each Sefirah has a name, a divine quality, planetary correspondence, colour, body association and many other attributes that link it to the broader esoteric system.
The first emanation — pure undifferentiated consciousness, the first moment of divine self-expression before any quality or attribute. The Crown is above and beyond all the other Sephirot; it is the point where the infinite Ein Sof first becomes something that can be mapped. Associated with the primordial will of God — not a thing but the first stirring toward being.
Planet: Neptune/Pluto
Colour: White/Brilliant
Body: Crown of head
Divine name: Eheieh
The first active principle — pure undirected force, the masculine pole of creation. Chokmah is Wisdom as a raw flash of inspiration before it has been given form or direction. The Great Father principle — dynamic, outgoing, yang. The first point in space, the first direction, the first "word" of God. Associated with the zodiac as a whole.
Planet: Uranus/Zodiac
Colour: Grey
Body: Left hemisphere
Divine name: Yah
The first receptive principle — the divine feminine that receives the force of Chokmah and gives it form. Binah is Understanding as the womb of creation — the great sea of potential from which all forms emerge. The Great Mother archetype: containing, gestating, giving birth to all that exists. Also associated with time, limitation and the form that defines and therefore limits.
Planet: Saturn
Colour: Black
Body: Right hemisphere
Divine name: YHVH Elohim
The first emanation below the Abyss — Chesed is the divine quality of unconditional love, mercy and expansive generosity. The impulse to give without limit, to create without restriction. Jupiter's qualities — abundance, growth, blessing and the magnanimous generosity of a loving ruler. Balanced by Geburah's discipline, Chesed without Geburah becomes undisciplined excess.
Planet: Jupiter
Colour: Blue
Body: Left arm
Divine name: El
The principle of divine severity, strength and justice — the necessary counterpart to Chesed's mercy. Geburah is the quality that cuts away what is superfluous, imposes discipline and enforces divine law. Mars energy: courage, decisiveness, the righteous use of force. Balanced by Chesed's mercy, Geburah without mercy becomes cruelty; mercy without severity becomes indulgence.
Planet: Mars
Colour: Red
Body: Right arm
Divine name: Elohim Gibor
The heart of the Tree — the central Sefirah that harmonises and balances all the others. Tiphareth is the principle of divine beauty, harmony and redemption. The mediating consciousness between the divine and human worlds. Associated with the sacrificed and risen god (Christ, Osiris, Dionysus) — the principle of loving sacrifice that transmits divine energy into the lower world. The solar principle at its most radiant.
Planet: Sun
Colour: Yellow/Gold
Body: Heart/chest
Divine name: YHVH Eloah
The sphere of emotion, desire, nature and the instinctual life — where the divine force becomes individualised feeling. Netzach is the realm of the gods of nature, the arts, beauty and the deep currents of desire that drive all living things. Venus energy: love, creativity, sensuality and the overwhelming power of the heart's longing. The source of artistic inspiration and romantic love.
Planet: Venus
Colour: Green
Body: Left hip
Divine name: YHVH Tzabaoth
The sphere of the rational mind, language, communication and magic — where the raw emotions of Netzach are given form through thought and language. Mercury energy: quick intelligence, adaptability, the power of names and words. The realm of magical ritual — because ritual works through precise language and symbol. Also the realm of science, mathematics and the analytical mind.
Planet: Mercury
Colour: Orange
Body: Right hip
Divine name: Elohim Tzabaoth
The foundation upon which Malkuth (the physical world) rests — the astral plane, the collective unconscious, the realm of dreams and psychic phenomena. Yesod is the sphere of the Moon: cyclical, reflective, the medium through which higher forces descend into physical manifestation. All the energies of the higher Sephirot are gathered and focused in Yesod before manifesting in Malkuth.
Planet: Moon
Colour: Violet/Silver
Body: Genitals/abdomen
Divine name: Shaddai El Chai
The physical world — the kingdom in which we live and the final expression of all the higher Sephirot. Malkuth is both the lowest point of the Tree and the foundation of spiritual practice, because all true spiritual work must ultimately be grounded here. The Shekinah (divine presence) dwells in Malkuth — the divine feminine in exile, awaiting reunion with her consort Tiphareth. The entire Kabbalistic path is the journey from Malkuth back to Kether.
Planet: Earth
Colour: Earth tones
Body: Feet/base
Divine name: Adonai ha-Aretz
Daath — The Hidden Sefirah
דַּעַת · Knowledge · The Abyss
Daath is the "hidden" or "invisible" Sefirah that appears on some versions of the Tree at the centre of the Abyss — the great gulf between the supernal triad (Kether, Chokmah, Binah) and the lower seven Sephirot. It represents Knowledge in its deepest sense — the union of Chokmah (Wisdom) and Binah (Understanding), and the crossing point between ordinary and divine consciousness. Some traditions count it to reach eleven Sephirot; others regard it not as a Sefirah proper but as a state achieved in crossing the Abyss.