To put it in a nutshell.
Agnus Dei (Ecce Agnus Dei) and the Golden Fleece, which is also known as the Order of Philip the Good, are certainly not the same thing.
Agnus Dei stands for Jesus Christ and takes over the sins and is certainly never drawn without a head.
The golden fleece has a mystical and magical meaning and comes from Greek mythology.
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And while I'm at it.
There is neither a cardinal's hat nor a papal crown in the VM.
But there is a chapperon (without ribbon) and an imperial crown.
See the picture on the left.
And other examples. Mode um 1400
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The headgear is also nice to see. VM without feather
Old open tile. Location: Ruin 150 metres around the corner from me. Burnt around 1380.
This is what the fashion of the upper classes really looked like.
Even better is the partially reconstructed hat on the far right. It has that long tail that is comparable with the VMs Sagittarius medallion. As to other possibilities, it has been noted, that while the description of the galero is fairly concise, the artistic record of its representation is somewhat more variable, according to Wikipedia. Leave it to VMs artistry for a good dose of ambiguity, as far as appearance goes. But don't forget the structure and the color. A red hat and a blue-striped tub combined on a single nymph on VMs White Aries. Either this is a representation of information relevant to the origins of the Catholic tradition of the cardinal's red galero, or it is some sort of coincidental or erroneous interpretation.
If the interpretation is misguided, then there is a need to explain the presence of structural confirmations built into the illustration beyond the specific choices of pattern and color already mentioned.
There is a dual interpretation of pattern orientation built into the illustration. That demonstrates an intention to disguise. There is a pairing of patterns, where pairing is a confirming indicator based on Deuteronomy and relevant to historical events.
If the nymph with the red hat and blue stripes in the inner ring is a cardinal, what about the other nymph with the same pattern nearby in the outer ring? A reflection of historically substantiated nepotism. Not to mention the origins of this particular tradition of ecclesiastical heraldry. The Fieschi origins, according to armorial heraldry.
If these two nymphs have potential, religious interpretations, then - as cardinal in the inner circle and pope in the outer circle - this presents the proper hierarchical placement in the celestial spheres compared to other placement possibilities. The second structural confirmation is that both nymphs are in the most favored heraldic quadrant - compared to other possibilities. Those other possibilities might aid in the disguise, but any other option would negate this heraldic confirmation.
The third confirmation is that this religious representation is combined with the White Aries medallion. White animals are suited to celestial sacrifice. Popes and cardinals were "celestial representatives" if you will. It's not the same as using Scorpio for instance.
The fourth structural confirmation is found on the two preceding pages of the VMs zodiac sequence. It shows how far ahead the VMs artist is 'playing the game'. In the outer ring of Pisces and in the inner ring of Dark Aries, there is one tub pattern that looks like scale mail. Correctly naming it is half the challenge. Identifying the relevance of these elements with the corresponding placement, in quadrant and in sphere, regarding the two religious examples of VMs White Aries opens the option for heraldic canting.
In my book, this sort of built-in confirmation is very hard to ignore, even though appearance is not what one might like it to be. As investigators we have to ask, 'What the heck is going on?' What is the artist trying to do? Do the illustrations somehow reflect something that might be historically relevant, and if so, do they correspond with a "1400-1450" perspective? From cosmic diagrams to shirt sleeves, I believe a number of these investigations must be compatible.
From the perspective of church heraldry, red hats are for cardinals, white hats were for Premonstratensians, and green hats were for abbots, with examples on VMs Pale Taurus. I think we have to consider the possibility that the VMs artist was aware of such historical facts and traditions and incorporated that information into some of the VMs illustrations.
The same thing applies to the cosmic spindle and Ananke. They are associated one to one in mythological tradition and in the medieval artistic representations based on that tradition. How would the VMs artist have treated that information? If there is some other interpretation in which one is separate from the other, that would seem to constitute an intentional deconstruction of tradition.