One very important part of the study of the Qabalah is a symbol that addresses many aspects of existence. It is known as the Tree of Life. There is a small representation of it at the top of this essay. You will be given the opportunity to look at a larger, more definitive rendering of the Tree soon, but first, it would be worthwhile to find out just a bit more about it. Above the Tree there are often shown three emanations (for the lack of a better word) which are not included in this rendering, because they are usually depicted as nothing more than three nested, curved lines above Kether (the first Sephirah, or circle), with each having an arc at the top and with each arc curving downward to the sides, just above Kether. They deal with the concept of Limitless Light coming from "No Thing", and even though they have not been depicted, they have been described here because of their importance. Beginning with Kether, there are ten Sephiroth, which indicate (among other things) the order of origin, following a zigzag of motion from Kether to Chokmah to Binah to Chesed, etc. The Tree of Life that has been depicted for you here is traditional, with the Sephiroth, beginning with Binah, representing the planets known at the time the Qabalah was formulated, and including the Sun and Moon. There are thirty-two different Paths that are a part of the Tree. Ten Paths are the ten Sephiroth and twenty-two of the Paths connect the Sephiroth in various ways and are symbolically associated with the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew Alphabet (you will see additional information about the three groupings of these Hebrew letters in the Tables of Correspondences).
There is a more modern, more correct version of the Tree of Life shown in the book, The Seven Rays of The Q.B.L. by Frater Albertus. That Tree is shown in the book on Color Plate 11. The more modern version of the Tree includes Sephiroth for additional (more recently discovered) planets. Be aware, however, that you will never see a fully complete and fully correct Tree of Life in print, because ALL knowledge of such things has never been and will never be given to any single human person.
It is not meant to be implied here that a depiction of the Tree of Life constitutes the complete Qabalah, for there is a good deal more in the study of the Qabalah, including the writings of the Zohar and the Sepher Yezirah that need not be dealt with here at this time. That is not because they lack importance, however, since the opposite is true. There is also a great deal of additional symbolism connected with the Sephiroth of the Traditional Tree depicted here, but it would be neither practical nor appropriate to include it at this time. These matters are not considered here for several reasons; the most important being that such a detailed study is not the focus of this essay, but also because of the great depth of study that such a consideration would entail. Many books have already been written on these subjects. It may be said, however, that the Tree consists of three columns, upon which are the ten Sephiroth. When facing the Tree, the rightmost column is known as the Pillar of Mercy. It is associated with the masculine aspects of the Tree, and is concerned with the future. It is considered to be positive. The leftmost column is known as the Pillar of Strength or Severity. It is associated with the feminine aspects of the Tree, and is concerned with the past. It is considered to be negative, but this term, as used here, has no association with anything derogatory; it instead has more to do with polarity. The central column is the Pillar of Mildness. It is concerned with the present. By some it is known as the Mystic Path, or Gold Pillar.
Perhaps it would be wise, at this point, to issue a word of caution about the study of the Qabalah. There are those who are so concerned about having things the way they want them, that they attempt to make use of principles that some might call Qabalistic Magic. The use of Magic in general, whether "white" or "black", in order to have a certain outcome based on what the "perpetrator" wants to have happen, is strongly discouraged (by this author) as a practice. In the movie, The Last Unicorn, we are shown that the young "magician" has far better results when he uses the approach that says "magic, magic, do as you will" (let Your will be done) than when he tries to accomplish that which he believes to be the best solution. If you don't find that convincing, you should certainly be able to see the lesson in the book Zanoni when the young novice meddles with principles that he can't even begin to understand. The results are frightening, to say the least. Let this be a word to the wise, if the wise will but permit and heed it.
The Tree of Life, like the rest of the Qabalah, and like other Paths of study, is intended to impress upon the consciousness of those who study it, Truths about existence, about life, about themselves, and about Creation and the Creator. Like the Tree, "rooted" in Malkuth, the Earth, with its "branches" reaching into the "heavens", we all have a similar duality, with our feet grounded on Earth, in the physical world, and our Spirit reaching for the "heavens".
After reading through all of that, perhaps now, you would like to take a better look at a larger depiction of the Tree of Life.