Chesed: Sphere of Mercy

Chesed (Jupiter) is the fourth of the ten sefirot, and the first of the emotive attributes within Creation.

Chesed appears in the configuration of the sefirot along the right axis, directly beneath chochmah, and corresponds in the tzelem Elokim to the "right arm.''

Chesed is associated in the soul with the desire to embrace all of Creation and bestow upon it goodness. As the expansive force which impels the soul to connect with outer reality, chesed inspires, and thus implicitly accompanies, all the other expressions of emotive force which succeed it in the soul.

Chesed is seen as the first of the creative powers emanating from Binah, the first day of creation in which God says 'let there be light'. Chesed, as Lovingkindness, signifies God's ultimate Lovingkindness in pouring his energy into creation. Chesed is therefore associated with charity and expansion.

It is balanced by Geburah (Mars), which is God's other aspect as a punisher, who takes away that which is not needed. For that reason one must love God, and also fear God.

Both these aspects are essential for creation to exist, because Chesed, expansion, without limit, leads to imbalance, simply pure substance. The limiting aspect of Geburah is also needed in order to take the raw substance of Chesed, break it down, so individual and different forms can exist. These two aspects therefore find balance in Tiphereth, Beauty, which allows creation to exist by balancing these two forces in a correct proportion.

The name of God associated with Chesed is El, the archangel that presides over it is Tzadkiel, the order of angels that resides in it are the Chasmalim ( brilliant ones ) and the mundane chakra associated with it is Jupiter.

Some other common attributes is the pictorial of a king on his throne. Sometimes also depicted as a lawgiver or peace maker. 777 Describes its attributes as The four four's of the Tarot, Amoun, Isis, Friendliness, Indra, Brahma, Wotan, Poseidon, Jupiter, Unicorn, Shamrock, Amethyst, Sapphire, The Wand, Sceptre or Crook, YHVH, Cedar, Opium, Vision of Love, Among many others.

Attempts are made to reconcile the kabbalah with the chakras of Indian mysticism. One attempt is in trying to reconcile both Chesed and Gevurah with the Vishuddha chakra, concerned with creative expression, for which both these forces are necessary, and the ethical rules of yama and niyama, the do's and do-nots of yoga.

Chesed is full of the energy of abundance. It helps you to learn how to create more from what you already have. It is a good place to go for acquiring the energy to start a new job, new school, or any new endeavor. Chesed is often perceived as very materialistic only because in today's day and age we associate abundance with money. However Chesed is much more than that. For example, health is also an important aspect of life, and Chesed can help you to acquire more of it. So if you are sick or need some kind of healing, don't forget to stop off at Chesed to amplify those healing energies within you.

Also, because of Chesed's amplifying nature it also is a good place to go when you are dealing with the laws of chance. Chance is nothing more than manifestation of something from nothing and of course that falls into the energy of abundance.

Now the lesson in Chesed is that of obedience. It is by being obedient to details or to the laws of nature that you are able to manifest abundance. When you disregard the natural processes then you go against the universe's energy of abundance and you will experience lack or poverty in that area.

Obedience to natural laws leads to obedience to your inner spiritual self. It is this self that is in harmony with the universe and this self that must eventually be followed if you want to manifest abundance in every aspect of your life. The real esoteric purpose of Chesed and in the mystery schools was to amplify and bring out the spiritual quality of obedience from within the adept. After this spiritual quality was properly cultivated the laws of abundance activated naturally and all things from life flowed to the adepts. For this reason Chesed has often been seen as a sphere of acquiring wealth or luck. However the real truth is that it was the adepts strict following to their holy inner self that lead them to manifest these things in their lives.