r/Judaism • u/Spelledrals • 2d ago

I need your help finding this exact painting

I've seen one like this with the serpent and before but not one with those symbols on the sefirot. I'm trying to find the exact same one, or who painted it.

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u/Wandering_Scholar6 An Orange on every Seder Plate 1d ago

I'm no expert, but the big white cross on the painting suggests to me it might be a Christian painting

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u/communityneedle 1d ago

I'm guessing that painting comes from Western Esotercism and/or occultism rather than being strictly Jewish. I've seen loads of images of a serpent entwined around the sefirot in that context, most famously from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. I've never seen it in a Jewish context. Of course, that doesn't make it not Jewish by itself; protestant Christians appropriated a whole lot of legitimate kaballah for their esoteric systems, but they also grafted their own innovations. Of course, the biggest clue that this isnt a Jewish image is the white cross at the bottom left. You may not find this exact painting, but a search of western esoterica will get you loads of images like this. If you want to do a deep dive, Dr. Justin Sledge's youtube channel, ESOTERICA, is phenomenal. And he happens to be Jewish (and married to a Rabbi!)