Zadkiel, who is also often known as Tzadqiel or Hesediel, is a great and mighty archangel of mercy, freedom, benevolence, and absolute forgiveness. Translated from ancient Hebrew into English, the name Zadkiel is said to mean Righteousness of God, The Righteousness One, or God's Righteousness. On a rare occasion you might also come across the name Zadkiel spelled as Tzadkiel, Zedekiel, Sachiel, Zedekul, or even Zadakiel. According to Rabbinical teachings Zadkiel is the Patron Archangel of all humans who exhibit forgiveness, and he is also the heavenly prince of mercy. Legend has it that Zadkiel was the holy archangel that stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac. Orthodox Jews also believe that the holy archangel Zadkiel and Jophiel are the two mighty standard bearers who follow the great archangel Michael each time that he marches into battle. Along with Michael and Jophiel, Zadkiel helped cast the great prince Lucifer out of heaven.
With regard to rabbinic scripture, the archangel Zadkiel is ranked among the great order of Hashmallim, which is on par with the order of Dominions and Dominations. Zadkiel is also considered by many to be the great commander or ruler of the Hashmallim order. With the Maseket Azilut, the archangel is also considered to be the co-captain or co-commander of the holy order of Shinanim, with it's other commander being the renown archangel Gabriel. Being the archangel of mercy as Zadkiel is said to be, he is widely accredited with being the unnamed canonical archangel that prevented Abraham from killing Isaac with a knife. Many Jewish and Christian scholars share this belief, which makes Zadkiel an official canonical scripture backed archangel, which is significant because many of the archangels are derived from the noncanonical scripture such as the Book of Enoch. These noncanonical backed archangels usually have trouble staying recognized.
With regard to the odd world of occult and Western Judeo Christian inspired ritual magic, Zadkiel is well recognized as both a great archangel, as well as the watcher of the planet Jupiter. Zadkiel also holds the fourth position within the Sephirot, which is the position of mercy. There are many New Age or mysticism driven magic rituals featuring Zadkiel, for example I came across several excerpts within spell books and charm books which call for a mercy driven binding spell. It is claimed that if a prayer or summoning is conducted to draw out Zadkiel's power, that it can be aimed at someone who's heart if full of vengeance, and once touched by the archangel's holy essence, they will let go of their grudge or ill will. In some of these magic rituals a group will bind Zadkiel's power of mercy with a small crystal, and then that crystal is to be given as a necklace or bracelet to the person harboring unforgiveness or a grievance against the magic spell's binder.
When it comes to artistic representations of the archangel Zadkiel, there are many beautiful contemporary pieces in circulation. Zadkiel is often associated with the color violet or purple, and thus most of the paintings that you will see that feature the angel are bright and colorful. In many of these paintings that exist, some of which are earlier period pieces from centuries past, Zadkiel will be seen wearing a long flowing violet colored robe and sash, and having outstretch pure white angelic wings. The angel is also usually seen with a flaming sword, a symbolic reference to the fact that Zadkiel is a warrior archangel, who serves under Michael. There are also many digital created paintings and artful interpretations available that feature Zadkiel. All of these are contemporary pieces obviously, and most of them are breathtaking in the range of violets and pastels that they possess. I will post some these photos of Zadkiel here in the very near future.
