Geschiedenis van Kaïn en Abel

Cain stands over his brother Abel, wielding a jawbone as a weapon while Abel cringes on the ground. In the background, two altars demonstrate the source of Cain's envy: his offering of fruits produces heavy, earth-bound smoke, while Abel's sacrifice of a lamb sends smoke directly up toward the divine light. To the left, a third figure—likely Adam—clutches his head in despair at the sight of the first murder.

In the Western esoteric tradition, the story of Cain and Abel is often interpreted through the lens of spiritual alchemy or Kabbalah as the division of the human soul into opposing material and spiritual principles. Jacob Boehme later expanded on this narrative as a cosmic struggle between the 'wrath-fire' and 'light-world' within the human condition.