The Hebrew letter Tzaddi (צ), in its final form ץ, is the 18th letter of the alphabet, with a numeric value of 90. Its name means 'fishhook' or 'to hunt,' and its glyph is traditionally drawn as a bent figure, often interpreted as a kneeling man or a hook. The letter is the root of the word tzaddik, meaning 'righteous one,' and is the first letter of tzedek, 'justice.' In the Sefer Yetzirah, Tzaddi is one of the twelve 'simple' letters, corresponding to the zodiac sign Aquarius, and its function is to govern the sense of taste.

Position on the Tree of Life

Tzaddi (in both forms) is assigned to Path 28 on the Tree of Life, which connects the sephirah Hod (Splendor) to Yesod (Foundation). This path is the 28th of the 32 paths of wisdom, and its title is 'The Natural Intelligence.' It is the path of the letter Tzaddi, and its Tarot correspondence is The Star (Atu XVII).

Astrological and planetary correspondence

Tzaddi is the Hebrew letter of the zodiac sign Aquarius (Deli), the Water Bearer. This association is ancient, appearing in the Sefer Yetzirah and later in the Zohar. In the system of Liber 777, this correspondence is fixed: Tzaddi = Aquarius. The planet of Aquarius is Saturn (Shabbathai), but the letter itself is not planetary; it is a zodiacal letter. The Tarot trump The Star, which is the image of a woman pouring water, directly reflects the Aquarian symbolism of the Water Bearer.

Historical context

The letter Tzaddi has a complex history in Western esotericism. In the Hebrew alphabet, it has two forms: the standard form (צ) used in the middle of words, and the final form (ץ) used at the end. Both are considered the same letter with the same numeric value (90). In the Kabbalistic tradition, Tzaddi is associated with the sephirah Yesod (Foundation) in some texts, but in the system of the 32 paths (as in the Sefer Yetzirah and later in the Golden Dawn), it is assigned to Path 28. The Golden Dawn's Book T (the Tarot attributions) assigns Tzaddi to The Star, but this was a point of contention: Aleister Crowley, in The Book of Thoth, controversially reassigned Tzaddi to The Emperor (Atu IV) and the letter Heh to The Star, based on a verse in The Book of the Law ('All these old letters of my Book are aright; but צ is not the Star'). This revision is not followed in Liber 777, which retains the traditional Golden Dawn attribution (Tzaddi = The Star = Aquarius). The final form ץ appears in the Hebrew word aretz (earth) and in ketz (end), and its shape is sometimes linked to the concept of the 'end of the righteous.'

In the table of Liber 777, the letter Tzaddi (צ ץ) appears at step 28 of the column 'Hebrew Letters,' corresponding to Path 28. Its sibling cells in the same row (for other columns) include the Tarot trump The Star, the zodiac sign Aquarius, the number 90, and the color violet (in the King scale). The letter itself is the core glyph of this path, embodying the qualities of righteousness, aspiration, and the pouring forth of spiritual waters.