Chesed, Mercy
 
Chesed
Chesed, Mercy

Four: Fire from Water;
With it He engraved and carved
the Throne of Glory
Seraphim, Ophanim, and holy Chayot
and Ministering angels
From these three He founded His dwelling
as it is written:
"He makes His angels of breaths,
His ministers of flaming fire."[1]
— Sepher Yetzirah

Chesed is the Builder, the framework of Manifestation, the loving Father who is King, the receptacle of all power. It is conditioned creativity, reflecting the unconstrained creativity of Chokmah but moderated by the boundaries imposed by Binah. Chesed creates within the boundaries established by Binah, and wants to push those boundaries around. It is the beginning of the possibility of form, the first day of creation where form begins to emerge from the possibility of form established in the world above it.

Planet Jupiter (Tzedeq, ‎צדק‏)
NameChesed, ‎חסד‏, mercy (kindness); also called Gedulah, ‎גדולה‏, greatness (majesty)
Divine Name El, אל
ArchangelTzadkiel (צדקיאל‎)[2], Prince of Mercy and Beneficence
Angelic host Chasmalim (חשמלים), Brilliant Ones (also called Order of Dominions or Dominations)
Tarotthe four fours
ColorBlue[3] [K:deep violet; Q:blue; Pr:deep purple; Ps:deep azure]
Yetsiratic Attribution[4] Measuring or Cohesive Intelligence (Settled Consciousness, Sekhel Kavua, שכל קבוע), because it contains all the holy powers, and from it emanate all the spiritual virtues with the most exalted essences: they emanate one from the other by the power of the primordial emanation (The Highest Crown), blessed be it.
TriadEthical

חסד is 72, 2 x 6 x 6; as such, it represents the 72 hidden names of God.

Also called Gedulah (גדולה, Magnificence), this sephirah is where godhood begins to descend into worldliness. It is the first of the emotive attributes, the expression of Divine Love below the Abyss and the desire to bestow that Love upon all of Creation. It is also the first day of Creation, day one (יום אחד -- from Genesis 1:5):

ה. ויקרא אלהים לאור יום ולחשך קרא לילה ויהי־ערב ויהי־בקר יום אחד
5. And Elohim called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, day one.

I said above that Chesed is the beginning of the possibility of form. In geometry, four points (remember, Chesed is the fourth Sephirah) are the minimum number required to have a three-dimensional figure. The simplest figure in solid geometry is the triangular pyramid, which has four faces and four points.


[1]Psalms 104:4:
עשה מלאכיו דוחות משרתיו אש להט
[2]From צדק, a root meaning righteousness, this name means Righteousness of God
[3]Colors listed are in the Queen scale. The complete set of colors are:
Deep violet - King scale (Atziluth)
Blue - Queen scale (Briah)
Deep purple - Emperor scale (Yetzirah)
Deep azure, flecked yellow - Empress scale (Assiah)
[4]From the 32 Paths of Wisdom, often printed as an appendix to Sepher Yetzirah. However, see this article for additional (and contradictory) information on these Paths.
[1]Psalms 104:4:
עשה מלאכיו דוחות משרתיו אש להט
[2]From צדק, a root meaning righteousness, this name means Righteousness of God
[3]Colors listed are in the Queen scale. The complete set of colors are:
Deep violet - King scale (Atziluth)
Blue - Queen scale (Briah)
Deep purple - Emperor scale (Yetzirah)
Deep azure, flecked yellow - Empress scale (Assiah)
[4]From the 32 Paths of Wisdom, often printed as an appendix to Sepher Yetzirah. However, see this article for additional (and contradictory) information on these Paths.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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An Interactive QabalahThe Mother lettersSeven of Swords A Brief Introduction to QabalahNepheshSix of Swords Kether, the CrownNeshamahFive of Swords Chokmah, WisdomThe Veil of ParokethFour of Swords Binah, UnderstandingPermutations of the NameThree of Swords Daath, KnowledgeThe Three PillarsTwo of Swords QliphothThe ProfaneAce of Disks Chesed, MercyReflectionKnight of Disks Geburah, StrengthRuachQueen of Disks Tiphareth, BeautySefer Yetzirah, the Book of FormationPrince of Disks Netzach, VictorySeverityPrincess of Disks Hod, SplendorThe simple lettersTen of Disks Yesod, FoundationWhat is a Soul?Nine of Disks Malkuth, KingdomThe SoulsEight of Disks AlefThe Supernal TriadSeven of Disks BetThe FoolSix of Disks GimelThe MagusFive of Disks DalethThe PriestessFour of Disks HehThe EmpressThree of Disks VauThe EmperorTwo of Disks ZainThe HierophantAdjustment ChethThe LoversAeon TethThe ChariotArt YodAdjustmentThe Chariot KaphThe HermitDeath LamedFortuneDevil MemLustThe Emperor NunThe Hanged ManThe Empress SamekhDeathThe Fool AyinArtFortune PehThe DevilThe Hanged Man TzaddiThe TowerThe Hermit QophThe StarThe Hierophant ReshThe MoonThe Lovers ShinThe SunLust TauThe AeonThe Magus The Qabalistic WorldsThe UniverseThe Moon Atziluth, ArchetypesAce of WandsThe Priestess Briah, the CreativeKnight of WandsThe Star Yetzirah, the FormativeQueen of WandsThe Sun Assiah, the ActivePrince of WandsThe Tower The court cardsPrincess of WandsThe Universe The AcesTen of WandsHebrew alphabet transliterations The KnightsNine of WandsThe Triads The QueensEight of WandsThe Qabalistic Veils The PrincesSeven of WandsThe Name of Names, YHVH The PrincessesSix of WandsAlef The TensFive of WandsAyin The NinesFour of WandsBet The EightsThree of WandsCheth The SevensTwo of WandsDaleth The SixesAce of CupsThe double letters The FivesKnight of CupsGimel The FoursQueen of CupsHeh The ThreesPrince of CupsKaph The TwosPrincess of CupsLamed The 32 Paths of WisdomTen of CupsMem The AbyssNine of CupsThe mother letters Adam Kadmon, the Body of GodEight of CupsNun AlchemySeven of CupsPeh The Alef-Bet in Space and TimeSix of CupsQoph The Ari TreeFive of CupsResh The Astral TriadFour of CupsSamekh BalanceThree of CupsShin The double lettersTwo of CupsThe simple letters The Ethical TriadAce of SwordsTau the Flash of LightKnight of SwordsTeth The Gra TreeQueen of SwordsThe Tree of Life The 72 Hidden Names of GodPrince of SwordsTzaddi The Tree of LifePrincess of SwordsVau The Hebrew alef-bet letter classesTen of SwordsYod MercyNine of SwordsZain The Presence of the Most HighEight of Swords