Kabbalah (TV)
According to Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), the sefirot are 10 emanations, or illuminations of G!d’s infinite light as it manifests in creation. As revelations of the creator's will, the sefirot should not be understood as 10 different deities, but rather as 10 different channels through which the one G!d reveals G!d’s will. In later Jewish literature, the 10 sefirot refer either to the 10 manifestations of G!d, the 10 powers or faculties .of the soul; or the 10 structural forces of nature
Taylor Swift's musical journey has unfolded through ten distinct eras. Taylor Swift's eras unveil various aspects of her musical and personal evolution. This post draws connections between Swift’s eras and the 10 Sefirot.
יסוד [Yesod] - Foundation
According to Jewish Kabbalah, Yesod is the foundation upon which G!d has built the world.
Taylor Swift (her self-titled album) is the foundation upon which Swift built her career and fame.
נצח [Netzach] - Eminence
According to Jewish Kabbalah, Netzach is "endurance," the fortitude, and patience to follow through on your passions.
Fearless is the most awarded country-music album in history, it was the Album of the Year at the CMA Awards AND the ACM Awards in 2009, and it’s still some of Taylor’s most timeless work.
תפארת [Tiferet] - Beauty
According to Jewish Kabbalah, Tiferet has connotations with "Spirituality", "Balance", "Beauty", "Miracles", and "Compassion".
Speak Now was entirely self-written, and it is characterized by romantic optimism and Taylor’s burgeoning self-awareness.
כתר [Keter] - Crown
Keter means "crown", it is interpreted as both the "topmost" of the Sephirot and the "regal crown" of the Sephirot.
Red was Taylor’s break into the pop world, and her re-record (Taylor's Version) was widely lauded. All Too Well (10 Minute Version) also feels like Taylor’s crown jewel.
הוד [Hod] - Splendor
Hod, literally, 'majesty, splendour, glory', is the eighth sephira of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life.
Swift named 1989 after her birth year and said it signified a symbolic rebirth of her image and artistry. Additionally, 1989 (Taylor's Version) is Swift's most commercially successful re-recorded album.
גבורה [Gevurah] - Strength
Gevurah, strength, is "the essence of judgment and limitation", and corresponds to awe and the element of fire.
In a 2023 Time interview, Swift described Reputation's creation as "a goth-punk moment of female rage at being gaslit by an entire social structure.”
חסד [Chesed] - Loving-Kindness
Chesed is 'kindness or love between people', specifically of the devotional piety of people towards G!d as well as of love or mercy of G!d towards humanity.
Swift has described Lover as a "love letter to love", and it describes a soft emotional side to her life.
חכמה [Chochma] - Wisdom
Chokhmah is associated in the soul with the power of intuitive insight, and implies the ability to look deeply at some aspect of reality and abstract its conceptual essence till one succeeds in uncovering its underlying axiomatic truth.
Taylor conceived Folklore during quarantine as "a collection of songs and stories that flowed like a stream of consciousness."
בינה [Binah] - Understanding
Binah is 'intuitive understanding', or 'contemplation'. It is likened to a 'palace of mirrors' that reflects the pure point of light of Chokhmah, wisdom, increasing and multiplying to infinity.
Evermore, Folklore’s “Sister Album,” is an anthology of tales about love, marriage, infidelity, and grief, exploring the endless complexities of human emotion.
מלכות [Malchut] - Glory
Malchut "governs the simple fact of existence in the physical world" - it is the sefir closest to the Human realm.
Midnights explores topics of anxiety, insecurity, self-criticism, self-awareness, insomnia, and self-confidence. It was a complete commercial success, and also humanizes Taylor’s successes.