Chesed is the fourth sephirah of the tree of life. It is directly below Chokmah and as we see the yellow shadow line connects to Daath. Chesed is the expansive tendency of energy and creative force of the tree. This Sephirah is the symbolic first day of creation in the Bible, when light came into being. Its attributes are limitless love and energetic expansion. Chesed is the first of the emotive attributes within creation and it is associated in the soul with the desire to embrace all creation and bestow upon its 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 the emotive force which succeed it in the soul(Gal Einai, 2014). The alternate name of this Sephirah is Gedulah, which means greatness and magnificence. Chesed means mercy and love. Its correspondence in the microcosm is our memory in the intellectual Ruach. Chesed’s virtue is obedience, but not obedience to slavery of course. It has to do with obedience to your kindness: we sacrifice much of our independence and egotism for sharing in the service of our social life. With egotism in general how are you going to cross the abyss, enter into higher awareness, and access the God within you? Chesed’s vices are bigotry, hypocrisy, gluttony, and tyranny. Its planet in the physical is Jupiter, astrologically it is the planet of prosperity, optimism, luck, generosity, spirituality, high thinking, philosophy, faith, and more. Thus Jupiter belongs to Chesed, another key for crossing the abyss is faith and belief you are going to succeed its going through risks that are hard to take.
