The Middle Pillar is a foundational exercise of Western ceremonial magic and Hermetic Qabalah in which the practitioner awakens a series of energy-centres arranged along the central axis of the body, drawing spiritual light down through them from above. The name refers to the central column of the Qabalistic "Tree of Life," the diagram of ten emanations, or sefirot, through which, in Kabbalistic thought, the divine unfolds into creation; the exercise activates the five sefirot that fall along this middle pillar. Standing and breathing steadily, the practitioner visualises a sphere of brilliant light at each centre in turn, from the crown of the head downward, and vibrates a Hebrew divine name proper to each, until a shining column is established along the body's core.
The five centres run from the crown above the head, through the throat, the heart, the region of the groin, and the feet, corresponding to the sefirot of the middle pillar. Once they are established the practitioner circulates the awakened light around the body, balancing and charging the whole with the energy drawn down through the pillar.