Necheshthiron (נחש ת ירוֹן) is a Qliphothic order whose name derives from the Hebrew nechesh (נחש, “serpent”) and a suffix suggesting a chariot or continual motion—literally “the serpent chariot” or “those of the serpent force.” In the 777 system this entity stands as the infernal correspondence of the 24th Path, the Path of Pe (פ), the Mouth, which in the Yetziratic tradition governs the sphere of Mercury and the intellectual power of articulate speech. Where the angelic intelligence corresponding to this path shapes coherent expression, Necheshthiron embodies the twisted, venomous outflow of speech used for deception, slander, and magical coercion.

Position on the Tree of Life

Necheshthiron is the Qliphoth of the 24th Path, the Path of Pe (Letter 17), which connects Hod (Splendor) to Netzach (Victory) across the Abyss of the lower triad. In the Order of the Qliphoth, it follows the fire-serpents of Shalehbiron (Path 19) and precedes the bronze-serpents of Necheshiron on Path 25. Its placement in the crossing of the Pillar of Severity (Hod) and the Pillar of Mercy (Netzach) makes it a current that corrupts the very bridge between form and feeling—turning expressive talent into poisoned rhetoric.

Astrological and Planetary Correspondence

In the 777 system, the 24th Path corresponds astrologically to the planet Mercury and the sign Mutable Gemini, though the Qliphoth of this path are not given a separate planetary ruler in the standard tables. The serpents of Necheshthiron are thus bound to Mercurial functions: communication, commerce, trickery, and the rapid circulation of thought. Where the angelic Aniel (the Mercury of Yetzirah) governs pure transmission, Necheshthiron governs the corrosive current of the “forked tongue”—the use of words to bind, confuse, or ensnare.

Historical Context

Necheshthiron belongs to a family of Qliphothic names ending in -iron (ירוֹן), a class that includes Thagiriron, Tzalalimiron, and A’abiriron—collectively called the “Qliphoth of the Shadows” in later Kabbalistic and Thelemic-tantric syncretism. This suffix appears to derive from Aramaic y’ron (יְעָרוֹן, “forest” or “thicket”) but in the 777 context was interpreted as a designation of distinct infernal “houses” or “gangs.” The specific term necheshthiron appears only in the Qliphothic schema of Mathers’ The Kabbalah Unveiled (1888) and Crowley’s expanded Liber 777 (1909), where it fills the gap left by the otherwise vacant Path 24. Medieval Jewish sources such as the Zohar and the Tikkunei HaZohar name the Qliphoth of Pe as “Nechesh” (simply “serpent”) or “Nechesh Ha’Ofel” (the serpent of the twilight); the -iron suffix is a later occult elaboration—likely Crowley’s own invention—giving the serpent a structural place alongside the other scaly orders like Necheshiron (Path 25) and Dagdagiron (Path 26).

The serpent symbolism is paramount: Necheshthiron is the cosmic serpent coiled around the mouth of the abyss that prevents the innocent from speaking truth and ensures that all Mercurial emanations enter the world already poisoned. In the Thelemic reinterpretation of the Qliphoth (as in Crowley’s The Vision and the Voice, Aethyr 24), this order is the “Serpents of the Voice” that whisper only what serves the ego’s isolation. It is traditionally linked to the demon Satan under his aspect of the Accuser (the Satan Malak), and its chief prince is sometimes named Necheshthel or Samael-Ben-Nechesh in late-Qabbalistic grimoire traditions.

Necheshthiron in Liber 777

In Liber 777 row VIII (Orders of Qliphoth), column 24, the name entered is simply “Necheshthiron.” Its corresponding divine name for this path is left blank (denoted by the table’s three zeros), as is the angelic order. The table thus presents Necheshthiron as a pure shell—an infernal current with no corresponding sanctified intelligence of the same Path in the Qliphotic spectrum, reinforcing the idea that this Path, when inverted, produces a form of speech that cannot be redeemed except by being shattered.