Contained within the Binah of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, Tzaphqiel is a mighty archangel also known as IHVH Elohim, who presides over the heavenly angelic choir entitled Aralim. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Binah, it is the ultimate feminine element within the Kabbalah, and the archangel Tzaphqiel represents it within the realm of Briah. Tzaphqiel is also associated with the darkness and primal waters. She is also associated with forgiveness, unconditional love, compassion, and non-judgement. Occasionally you will hear Tzaphqiel referred to as The Great Cosmic Mother. The name itself Tzaphqiel translated from Hebrew into English means the Knowledge of God, or God's Knowledge. If you are having trouble pronouncing her name, it is spoken in English as Tza-feek-key-ell. Now do bear in mind that depending on which language Tzaphqiel's name is translated into, you might come across an array of different spelling variations for it.
Within the realm of Kabbalistic inspired occult or angelic worship groups, Tzaphqiel is often referred to as the Watchtower of God. Occult beliefs often associate Tzaphqiel with universal knowledge and wisdom, and the guardian of God's spiritual or heavenly library, that great place where all truth is supposedly stored. It is said that if you summon her through prayer, that you can bind her essence to your own spirit, and in doing so seeking the truth on any subject will become much easier. During these summoning rituals, often times occult followers will bind the spell with some sort of trinket or charm, which the person doing the summoning will then need to wear against the skin. This odd magical spell of bestowing one's self with Tzaphqiel powers will only last as long as the person wears the charm. If the charm is removed from the body or skin, it's binding powers will then be broken, releasing the archangel's essence from the binder's control.
In the world of art, there doesn't seem to be an abundant volume of earlier period representations of the archangel Tzaphqiel. Most paintings and sculptures that you will find of the angel are contemporary works. Probably the most common artistic representation is a painting that features Tzaphqiel standing on the clouds within heaven, and with her long white angelic wings being fully outstretched. She is draped in a long flowing white robe, with a red sash flung over her right shoulder. She also is holding a golden chalice with both hands, which is said to represent the flowing river of knowledge, or the waters of truth. This representation as I've described it is probably the most common depiction you will see if seeking out paintings or other works of art featuring the archangel. If you decide to search for artworks of the angel yourself, then do be sure to search for them using both of the name variations, which are Tzaphqiel and Tzaphkiel.
In a sort of bizarre story, I have only met one person during my lifetime that has claimed to have seen an angel, and that angel just so happened to be Tzaphqiel. The guy claiming this is a Jewish hippie vegan dude named Peter, and he claims that he regularly hangs out with Tzaphqiel, that they sing songs together, hike together, and have lengthy dialogues through meditation. At first I thought Peter was joking with me, but after a couple of years of hearing the same story, I have concluded that Peter is not joking, and actually believes what he's saying. Other than that one serious oddity about the guy, he seems fairly balanced, nor does he have a history of past drug use or mental illness. I asked him why Tzaphqiel, and he claims that he doesn't know, it's just the angel that appeared to him, and that he had no say in the matter. Do I believe Peter's story? No I don't, but I do find his delusions to be funny. Cheers, I hope that you enjoyed this brief article.
