The Ethical Triad

Among the Tree's many divisions are three triads, each composed of three Sephiroth. These triads interweave with the various worlds, and map to five souls.

The second of these triads is the top triad of Yetzirah: Chesed, Geburah, and Tiphareth, referred to as the Ethical or Moral triad. This group is what we think of as our active consciousness.

This is also the fire Triad, whose ruling influence is the Sun. (A Triad's ruler, its governing influence, is the Sephirah in the middle pillar.) It is an active Triad, being both a builder (Chesed, Jupiter) and a destroyer (Geburah, Mars) plus the apprehension of the Divine (Tiphareth, Sun). About this Triad, we are told:

The union of the three primary emotions of the heart, chesed (72) gevurah (216) and tiferet (1081) equals 1369. 1369 is a square number (the square of 37), a sign of perfect interinclusion in Kabbalah (where every part of an object reflects all of its parts, as in a hologram).

The Triads are divided from one another by veils. Above this Triad sits the Abyss, separating it from the Supernals; and below it sits Paroketh, holding it apart from its lower subconscious.

Some teach that this Triad is the Superconscious, which I assign to the Supernals. That assignation doesn't make sense to me, so I don't use it. You should bear in mind, however, that much of what I say about the Triads is my own thinking, and not something you will generally find other systems agreeing with.

You can think of this triad as the active principles — apt, since we already noted that this is the conscious, separate from the subconscious. This being so, it relates in some way to the right pillar, Mercy. Its base is Tiphareth, the Sun. Of the four elements, it aligns with fire (will) and air (intellect).

There is some confusion here if you follow the Jewish method[1] of assigning letters to paths. There, the mother letters bind the left and right pillars together. There are only three traditional Hebrew elements, and they associate with the mother letters in their capacity as the principles of thesis (fire), antithesis (water), and synthesis (air). In that system, this middle Triad associates with Alef (א), air — which, while consistent with the Soul Ruach (whose name means breath or spirit), is rather at odds with our view of this Triad's attribution as fire principles.

Those of you familiar with Robert Pirsig's Metaphysics of Quality might think of this Triad as social patterns. These are the rules we construct for the purpose of dealing with others, and the stories we tell ourselves that let us make sense of and choose how to investigate the universe we inhabit.