Hod (in Hebrew הוד “majesty, splendor, glory”) is the eighth sephira of the Kabalistic Tree of Life. Hod is below Gevurah and across from Netzach in the Tree of Life; Yesod is southeast of Hod, and has four paths leading to Gevurah, Tiphereth, Netzach, and Yesod.
Being at the base of the Severity Pillar, Hod is the first shaping energy we encounter on our ascent path. It belongs to the lower triad – Hod, Netzach, Yesod – where Hod and Netzach respectively represent the strength and form of what is on the psychic plane of the individual, which is reflected in his unconscious in Yesod, and finally manifests itself in Malkuth. Hod is the Sefirah where thoughts are formed, animated by Netzach’s energies. In Hod resides the logical-rational intellect, where one can act by controlling one’s thoughts to consciously shape them. Acting in Hod’s sphere, you realize the illusion of sensory information and you can consciously process it.
Hod is associated with the left leg, as if he has the power to continuously advance, with determination and perseverance, towards the achievement of goals in life. The left leg (Hod) and the right leg (Netzach), carrying out their functions together, allow to walk and move forward, and are defined in the Zohar “the stairs of justice”. These two sephirot can be, as well as the loins, two halves of a single body, and are responsible for the general state of balance, and for this reason, are sometimes considered as a single Sefirah associated with the divine name Tzabaoth.
The word “glory” is one of the most used in the Bible. In the Old Testament, the word is used to translate several Hebrew words, including hod and kabod, while in the New Testament it is used to translate the Greek word doxa (δόξα). In the Greek versions of the Bible the word doxa can also mean judgment, opinion and, by extension, good reputation, honor. If according to Cicero glory is “a frequent mention of praise for a man”, for St. Augustine the concept of “hod” may have different translations but still refer to a single concept defining it as “brilliant notoriety with praise” (“clara notitia cum laude”).
- Attribute:
GLORY – Hod and Nezah are often considered as a complementary pair, and in fact so are the right leg and the left, Moses and Aaron, and eternity and glory. Glory is a very great fame, a universal honor that one acquires for one’s virtues, exceptional merits, and acts of valor. Whoever does not choose the more “abstract” part of eternity (Nezah) can continue towards the more “concrete” one (Hod). - Biblical characters associated:
•AARON – Moses showed great “strength”, an “eternal perseverance”, but Aaron his brother followed the “way of glory” thus deserving the Levite lineage forever, the elder brother of Moses became High Priest. Yet he did not grow up in Pharaoh’s house like his brother, but he and his older sister Miriam remained with their relatives in the eastern borderland of Egypt (Goshen). When Moses first confronted the Egyptian king to free the Israelites, he used Aaron’s strength as his spokesman (Exodus 7, 1).
Aaron was then granted the priesthood for himself and his descendants forever, becoming the first High Priest. - Associated body part:
LEFT LEG – The element associated with this sephira is the left leg. The left leg is not the first one someone should move, but it is the strongest. Jacob also suffered from pain in his right leg; in fact, it is believed that the patriarch (during his famous fight in Genesis 32:22-32) was injured in his right leg, the weaker one, although there are two opinions in the Talmud (Chulin 91a). One confirming that the leg that was offended was the right, and another that it was both. Aaron was the stronger, or to put it better, determined party between those two brothers, and Moses initially got help precisely because he was aware of this attribute of his.
After “reaching” Yesod, one may continue either to the right side (Netzach) or to the left side (Hod). Those who choose this “path” have fully understood the power of works, that is the tangible things that lead to a result, whatever it may be. Aaron knew that his eloquence and faith (if constantly nurtured) would take him to the top, and it did. Glory on Earth, even for more material things is not to be repudiated in all cases, and in fact in the case of Hod one can “pass” even through this “stage” to then continue on upward to “rigor” or “beauty” (stations 7 and 5). The attributes to be demonstrated are:
- Strength:
• Feeling strong because we believe in what we are doing. We are righteouss, even when you falter, you remain confident in your strength. - Merit/Credit:
• Deserve to be what we have been recognized as (like Aaron as High Priest of the Most High GOD). To be worthy of praise, or of recognition, not to elevate oneself above others, but to be assured that we are proceeding on the Righteous Path, that we will have to commit ourselves to walk always with humility and submission to GOD.
- Malkut (through 1 – aleph – א)
- Yesod (through 5 – he – ה )
- Netzach (through 7 – zayin – ז )
- Tipharet (through 9 – tet – ט )
- Geburah (through 20 – kaf – כ )