Genesis · 2D

Tree of Life

Ten sefirot, twenty-two paths

The Kabbalistic map of creation: ten emanations (sefirot) joined by twenty-two paths, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

Sefirot: 10
Paths: 22
Pillars: 3

Open in SacredForm

Watch it drawn with compass and straightedge, hear the chord of its lines, and turn the Dimension dial to raise its form in space.

Facts

Every sefirah sits on a point of the Flower of Life lattice (toggle the grid).
Three columns: severity on the left, mercy on the right, balance in the centre.
10 sefirot + 22 paths = the "32 paths of wisdom" of the Sefer Yetzirah.
This layout follows the widely used Kircher / Golden Dawn arrangement.

History and meaning

The diagram took its classic shape in the 16th and 17th centuries (Cordovero, then Athanasius Kircher’s 1652 engraving). Each sefirah is an aspect through which the infinite (Ein Sof) becomes the world, from Keter, the crown, down to Malkhut, the kingdom.

Across the dimensions

Shadow of Tree of Life in 3DStand the Tree up: the outer pillars step back behind the middle pillar until each triad is an equilateral triangle. Face on, it casts the flat Tree.