The Tree of Life is a living map of Divine procession. Its three columns hold the mystery of balance and movement, but the central axis bears a special role, since it binds the heights of the Crown with the depths of the Kingdom. This vertical line is the living current through which the unseen breath descends and the human cry ascends. Along it there are the two great luminaries of creation: the Sun in Tiferet and the Moon in Yesod. The one radiates splendour and truth, the other reflects and transmits; together they form a dyad of light by which the soul understands revelation and concealment. To contemplate them is to see the same relation in heaven and in the heart: the Sol of Beauty in the centre, and the Lunar Foundation carrying that radiance into the body of the world.
In Hellenic astrology the Sun and Moon were never counted among the wandering planets. They were called luminaries, the two lights by which life itself was governed. The Sun, master of the diurnal sect, carried the principle of clarity, measure, and vitality; the Moon, mistress of the nocturnal sect, ruled generation, flux, and the hidden tides of fortune. When placed upon the central column of the Tree these qualities appear as Tiferet and Yesod. The solar heart governs order and splendour, the lunar foundation reflects and transmits.
I. The Sun at the Heart
Tiferet is in the centre of the Tree, the sixth sephira, binding the higher triad to the lower. It is the harmony of opposites, the reconciliation of mercy and severity, the place where dissonance is resolved into beauty. The Sun has always been tied with this sphere, as the source of vitality, rhythm and clarity; in the same way, Tiferet is the origin of equilibrium in the soul. It holds within itself the royal image of the Logos, shining through the many veils of manifestation.
In the Christian mystery, Tiferet is often read as the Christ-centre: the Son radiant in the middle of the Tree, mediating between the hidden Father above and the receptive Mother below. The Sun of Justice rises here and the Divine light passes unbroken into the lower worlds. Without the Sun there would be no day; without Tiferet the sephirotic body would collapse into division. It is no accident that mystics place the heart of prayer in this sphere, since it unites intellect, emotion and will, whereas the Sun unites the senses and measures time.
II. The Moon as Foundation
Beneath the Sun lies Yesod, the Foundation. If Tiferet is splendour, Yesod is transmission. The image of the Moon belongs here because it gathers the rays of the Sun and pours them into the dark. The Foundation is the mystical organ that takes the higher radiance and channels it towards Malkuth, the world of matter and embodiment.
Yesod is also the domain of dreams, visions, and the fertile imagination. It mirrors what is above and renders it visible below. The Moon waxes and wanes, and so Yesod teaches the rhythm of flux; nothing remains static, but the cycle is faithful. In biblical symbolism, the Shekinah is often evoked as lunar: the divine presence that rests upon creation, luminous yet hidden. In Marian devotion, the same current is honoured when the Virgin is called “fair as the moon”, as she reflects the Sun of her Son without stain. Yesod is the womb of manifestation, the mirror where the invisible prepares itself for birth.
III. The Axis of Reconciliation
Between Tiferet and Yesod runs the essential bond of Light. The Sun without the Moon would blind, leaving no gentle rhythm for the senses. The Moon without the Sun would remain cold and empty, bereft of radiance. Together they form a syzygy on the central axis, joining splendour and reflection, source and transmission.
This union is also the secret of the spiritual path. The ascent of prayer rises through Yesod towards Tiferet, clothed in images and longing. The descent of grace flows from Tiferet into Yesod, dressed in dreams and sacraments. When they join, the whole axis shines: Kether above releases its hidden Fire, and Malkuth below embraces it as living form.
The mystics taught that the perfection of the soul rests upon this alignment. To live in harmony with the Sun of the heart and the Moon of the imagination is to become transparent to the Divine current. Christ as Tiferet, Mary as Yesod: in their union the Word is made flesh, the light becomes life. The Tree itself becomes a ladder of Jacob, a pillar uniting heaven and earth.
Fiat Lux.