The Chemical Wedding of the King and Queen

This woodcut features a crowned King on the left, standing atop a radiating sun with a human face, and a crowned Queen on the right, standing atop a crescent moon. Both figures hold long stems that cross in the center, where a dove descends from a six-pointed star above, holding a three-leafed sprig in its beak. The figures are dressed in traditional royal attire, their hands clasped in the center, representing the alchemical union of opposites, or 'chymical marriage'.

This image is a seminal illustration from the 'Rosarium philosophorum', a foundational text of 16th-century alchemy detailing the stages of the Great Work. It symbolizes the 'coniunctio' (conjunction) of the Sol (King) and Luna (Queen) necessary for the production of the Philosopher's Stone.