The Qabalah’s Tree of Life is a glyph that represents, simultaneously, two directions: the flow of the Divine from Above to Below, and the Path of Return to Source, Below to Above, for those on spiritual journeys of enlightenment. It is a glyph that represents all of creation and all the energies of creation.

The Tree of Life is comprised of ten circles called Sephiroth and the 22 paths that connect them. The Paths are subjective, and allocated to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet as well as the 22 Major Arcana of the Tarot. The 10 Spheres are objective and are considered emmanations of the Divine. They are allocated to the First Swirlings, the Zodiac, the six visible planets, the Moon and the Earth.

Leo represented on the Tree of Life through it’s associated Tarot Card, which is The Strength card. The Hebrew letter for this path is Teth, which means snake or coil, a direct symbolic echo of the kundalini serpent coiled at the base of the spine. It’s numerical value is 9, it is a simple letter - its “gift” is Taste.

One of the lesser known correspondences to the Strength card is that of the Kundalini energy. In kundalini yoga, awakening the kundalini is often described as igniting inner fire, rising from the Root Chakra toward the solar consciousness at the Crown Chakra. Hermetically, Leo also rules the spine — the path the kundalini serpent travels. This path relates obliquely to the Serpent Path or Path of Return on the Tree of Life. The Serpent Path travels upwards from the “Root” of the Tree, Malkuth, to Kether, also known as the “Crown”, in a path which winds its way upward, touching upon every path of the Tree, in a journey of return to the Divine.

The serpent has long been a symbol of wisdom, healing, and spiritual energy in Hermetic thought — visible in the caduceus, alchemical texts, and even Christian Gnostic interpretations. This symbolic serpent overlaps conceptually with the kundalini serpent, representing latent spiritual potential.

See The ALCHEMY of the sign of LEO for an ancient Chakra activation mediation.