Angel Piercing the Heart (Aurora Consurgens)

An angel with large, pale green wings stands centered against a radiating gold mandorla and a red background. The figure, depicted with dark skin, wears a simple, sleeveless white gown and stands atop a dark circular orb resting on a blue base. With both hands, the figure drives a sword downward into a red, shield-like heart shape positioned over their solar plexus. The composition is highly symmetrical, with the figure's face turned in profile toward the left, displaying a calm, stoic expression.

This illumination is from the 'Aurora Consurgens', a 15th-century alchemical treatise attributed to pseudo-Aquinas, symbolizing the 'death' or purification of the alchemical soul. The act of self-piercing represents the dissolution and refinement of the materia prima necessary for the Great Work.