Aretz (ארץ) is the Hebrew term for “earth” or “land,” and in the context of the Kabbalistic world of Assiah—the World of Action, the lowest of the four Qabalistic worlds—it names the most material of the heavens. Unlike the celestial spheres assigned to the Sephiroth (e.g., Shemesh for Tiphereth or Levanah for Yesod), Aretz is not a planetary sphere but a firmament of pure physicality, the ground upon which all manifested existence rests.

Position on the Tree of Life

Aretz appears at scale step 32 bis in the column “The Heavens of Assiah.” This step is an adjunct to the 32nd Path (which traditionally corresponds to Malkuth), and it represents the ultimate condensation of the divine light into the tangible world. Where the 32nd Path is the sphere of Malkuth itself, 32 bis is the heaven that encloses that sphere—the “earth” heaven that is the most concrete and least spiritual of all the firmaments.

Astrological and Planetary Correspondence

No direct planetary or zodiacal attribution is given for Aretz in the 777 schema. Its nature is elemental rather than astrological: it corresponds to the element Earth in its most inert and receptive aspect. In the hierarchy of the Heavens of Assiah, Aretz is the terminus of a descent that begins with Rashith ha-Gilgalim (the sphere of the Primum Mobile) and ends with the solid ground of physical existence.

Historical Context

The word aretz appears throughout the Hebrew Bible, most famously in Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (ha-shamayim ve’et ha-aretz).” In early Jewish mystical literature, such as the Sefer Yetzirah, the 32 paths of wisdom include the 32nd as “Malkuth,” but later Qabalistic expansions—particularly those systematized by Moses Cordovero and Isaac Luria—introduced additional subdivisions within Assiah. The 777 table, compiled by Aleister Crowley from these sources, lists Aretz as the 32 bis heaven, a rare and specific attribution. It likely derives from the Zohar’s discussion of the seven earths (e.g., Eretz, Adamah, Arka, etc.), where Aretz is the lowest and most material. In this tradition, Aretz is the realm of the Qliphoth’s most external shells, the “earth” that is both the foundation and the prison of the soul.

In Liber 777

In the table, Aretz occupies the 32 bis cell of the “Heavens of Assiah” column, flanked by Ath (31 bis) above and the 32nd Path (unnamed in this row) below. It is the final heaven, the last veil before the abyss of non‑manifestation—the solid ground on which the entire edifice of Assiah rests.