«Illyuziya Ryb (Astralnye otrazheniya)» — literally “Illusion of the Fishes (Astral Reflections)”—denotes a specific mode of consciousness encountered by the adept on the Path of the Samekh (Path 29). In this state, the solidity of physical existence dissolves into a fluid, mirror-like play of images: every object, thought, and emotion appears as a reflection cast from a higher, truer source. The name draws on the dual nature of Pisces—two fish swimming in opposite directions yet bound together—symbolizing the paradox of perceiving unity through division, and reality through illusion.

Position on the Tree of Life

Path 29 (Samekh) connects Yesod (the Foundation, sphere of the Moon and astral light) to Tiphereth (the Sun, sphere of harmony and the Higher Self). This is the “arrow” that pierces the veil of illusion, yet the consciousness described here is not the piercing but the experience of the veil itself—the adept, poised between the astral realm and the solar center, sees all phenomena as shimmering reflections, like fish darting in dark water. The step number 29 corresponds to the 29th path of the Sepher Yetzirah, attributed to the letter Samekh (meaning “support” or “prop”), which paradoxically supports the adept by revealing the insubstantiality of the apparent world.

Astrological and planetary correspondence

Though the named subject is not a direct astrological attribution of the path (Samekh is attributed to Sagittarius, not Pisces), the phrase “Illyuziya Ryb” invokes the zodiac sign Pisces—the last sign, associated with dissolution, dreams, and the boundary between the material and the infinite. In the context of the adept’s consciousness, this is the astral reflection of the Piscean quality: the world seen as a dream within a dream, where forms are but shadows cast by the light of Tiphereth onto the waters of Yesod. The “astral reflections” refer to the images that arise in the astral light (the sphere of Yesod) when the adept’s consciousness is sufficiently purified to perceive their illusory nature.

Historical context

The concept of “astral reflections” has deep roots in Hermetic and Neoplatonic thought, particularly in the idea of the anima mundi (world soul) as a mirror of divine ideas. In the Kabbalistic tradition, the phrase echoes the Zoharic teaching that the lower world is a “shadow” of the upper, and that the adept must learn to see through the veil of appearances. The specific term “Illyuziya Ryb” appears in Russian occult literature of the early 20th century, notably in the works of the mystic and translator Vladimir Shmakov (1887–1929), who synthesized Kabbalah with Theosophy. Shmakov described the 29th path as the “Path of the Arrow” that must be shot through the “waters of illusion”—the Piscean realm where the adept’s own mind creates phantoms that must be recognized as reflections of the Self. In the Liber 777 tables, this entry is placed in the column “Consciousness of the Adept,” indicating that it is not an external phenomenon but a state of awareness—the adept’s own perception of the universe as a hall of mirrors, where every form is a symbol, and every symbol is a doorway.

In the table of 777

At step 29 (Path 29), the cell “Illyuziya Ryb (Astralnye otrazheniya)” stands as the direct correspondence for the Consciousness of the Adept. It is the culminating vision before the adept descends into Malkuth, where the reflections coalesce into the solid world of action. This is the point where the magician, having climbed the Tree through the paths of fire, water, and air, now sees the entire universe as a single, shimmering illusion—and, seeing it, is freed from its bonds.