Counting the Omer Week 5
Hod within the Heart
Beginning May 12th, 2025
Theme of the Week: HOD – Divine Splendor, Humility, and Devotion
As we enter the fifth week of the sacred journey of the Counting of the Omer, we begin to move into the temple of the lower body, into the humbling ground of the soul, where light bends, kneels, and reveals itself not in grandeur, but in the beauty of devotion.
This is the week of Hod, the Sefirah of Splendor, Humility, Surrender, and Sacred Offering. While Netzach (last week) taught us about divine endurance and will, Hod teaches us how to surrender with grace, how to become a vessel, a flute through which the Divine breath may sing.
Hod is not weakness. It is the inner strength of the one who knows how to bow, how to listen, how to let go of the need to control, and allow Shekhinah to move.
The Mystical Journey through the Days of Week 5
Each day of this week invites us to experience Hod in union with one of the seven emotional sefirot, as we refine different dimensions of our humility and sacred devotion.
Day 29: Chesed of Hod (Lovingkindness in Splendor)
How do I express love through my humility?
Can I offer compassion without needing recognition?
This day asks us to be kind without credit, to love without conditions.
It is the pure generosity of spirit that flows from an open, listening heart.
Practice: Offer kindness in a hidden way. Let your love be like dew on the petals—quiet, unseen, nourishing.
Day 30: Gevurah of Hod (Discipline in Splendor)
True humility requires healthy boundaries.
Today invites us to discern the difference between humility and self-erasure.
To kneel in reverence is not to disappear, it is to anchor yourself in truth.
Practice: Stand firm in a sacred “no.” Honor the strength in surrender.
Day 31: Tiferet of Hod (Beauty in Splendor)
This is the heart of the week, the mirror of balanced surrender.
Tiferet in Hod is the priestess at the altar, the Magdalene with her alabaster jar, pouring her offering with devotion and grace.
It is where humility becomes radiance.
Practice: Anoint yourself today. Offer a prayer of devotion. Let beauty arise from your heart’s offering.
Day 32: Netzach of Hod (Endurance in Splendor)
How do we persevere in humility?
This day teaches us that devotion is a long path, and surrender is not a one-time act, but a way of walking.
It is the strength of the quiet soul that prays and keeps praying, that trusts and keeps trusting.
Practice: Return to a devotional practice even if it feels dry. There is gold in your constancy.
Day 33: Hod of Hod (Humility within Humility)
This is Lag B’Omer, the mystical celebration within the counting.
It is the flame of hidden light revealed in the heart of surrender.
It is the day of inner radiance, when we become fully transparent to the Divine.
Practice: Light a candle. Whisper your name to the Divine. Let yourself be seen, not for ego, but for communion.
Day 34: Yesod of Hod (Foundation in Splendor)
Here we find the root of devotion, the inner altar where prayer and desire meet.
Yesod connects us to the living lineage of those who have bowed before the Infinite: the prophets, mystics, and keepers of the Red Thread.
Practice: Say a prayer in the name of your ancestors. Connect with your spiritual lineage.
Day 35: Malkhut of Hod (Presence in Splendor)
This is the embodiment of humility.
Here we realize that humility is not about shrinking, it is about presence.
To be fully here, fully open, and fully devoted is the highest form of Splendor.
Practice: Walk barefoot on the earth. Speak a blessing into the wind. Bow with your body.
May this week guide us into the gentle power of sacred surrender.
May we rediscover that our humility is our strength.
May our devotion refine us, reveal us, and root us deeper into the living altar of our soul.
Ahava,
Ana Otero
The Desert Rose Mystery School
