The Joust of Sun and Moon (Aurora consurgens)

This illumination depicts an allegorical joust between two figures against a solid red background. On the left, a figure with a radiant, golden, sun-like head wears blue armor and rides a naturalistic tawny lion; they hold a shield featuring a dark, moon-like crescent. On the right, a nude figure with a dark, lunar face rides a large, blue-feathered griffin and holds a blue shield displaying a radiant sun with a human face. The two figures engage in a joust, their lances extended toward one another, symbolizing the union or opposition of celestial opposites in alchemical tradition.

This image is from the 'Aurora consurgens', a 15th-century alchemical treatise attributed to Pseudo-Aquinas, and illustrates the alchemical 'coniunctio' or marriage of opposites (Sol and Luna). It represents the transformation of matter through the blending of masculine and feminine, solar and lunar principles.