Tree of Life · 8 of 10
Hod: splendour
Hod names splendour. The Mercury correspondence gives Hermetic readers a way to consider language and the form in which an idea is communicated.
- Position in this diagram
- Left column
- Hermetic correspondence
- Mercury
Making an intention communicable
The name and the planetary interpretation are different layers. Splendour is a translation of Hod; communication is an interpretive connection made through Mercury.
Read alongside Netzach: victory.
Original teaching analogy
An everyday example
A group agrees that its shared studio should be welcoming. Someone writes opening hours and clear instructions for borrowing equipment. In this original Mercury-based analogy, Hod concerns the expression that others can understand. The written agreement can be checked against what the group does.
The Mercury correspondence
Mercury supplies the planetary correspondence. It does not establish intelligence or educational ability. A calculated Mercury placement remains a separate astrological input.
This association comes from Mathers's 1887 table, introduction section 53.
Compare all ten correspondencesContext and sources
The sefirot belong to Jewish Kabbalah. Chabad's account of the ten sefirot explains the names and counting variants; its Sefirot chapter explains the religious context. The planetary association used here is a later Hermetic layer.
The everyday example is an Astriel analogy, not a traditional quotation. Reviewed 20 September 2026.