The Voynich Ninja

I think that the vast majority of forum members will agree with me that almost all the herbs we see in the Voynich are invented by the author or authors. There may be some more real and even identifiable ones, but overall these are fantastic plants.

What I want is to share this logical reflection: if it is about fantastic medicinal herbs, what can a text, any text, say about them? The conclusion is that they are indescribable, nothing can be said about them, unless we think that the authors wrote a text with their invented properties, which would lead us to think that they also wrote the same or almost the same on the pages where there are no plants drawn.
  
 I think that this way of looking at it leads us to a reductio ad absurdum (otol everywhere)

Why not set up a poll to see how many forum members agree?

(08-06-2022, 07:54 PM)Antonio García Jiménez Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I think that the vast majority of forum members will agree with me that almost all the herbs we see in the Voynich are invented by the author or authors. There may be some more real and even identifiable ones, but overall these are fantastic plants.

I think that many of the plants in the VMS seem to be composite. The roots of one species have been fastened to the leaves of another, with flowers from a third.

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Have a nice day everyone!

I don't want to be a killjoy, but what is the relationship between plants and the thread title?

(09-06-2022, 10:49 AM)Ruby Novacna Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I don't want to be a killjoy, but what is the relationship between plants and the thread title?

The presumption that these are fantasy plants for which no description is needed is to confirm Antonio García Jiménez's theory that the text is not one. Thus, there is a reference to the thread.

I have difficulty reconciling the ideas that:

1. It is a code
2. It is a language
3. It is full of meaning
4. Its meaning consists of made up properties of indescribable things that don't exist; otol everywhere.

The problem is that we are all lost and each one forms his own idea about the images or the script. I believe that the first step that must be taken is to try to see if there is any antecedent, if there is something similar to the Voynich in medieval times.

And yes, there is something like it. It is the lapidary of Alfonso X the Wise, which follows the tradition of Dioscorides in which both minerals and plants had medicinal properties. The originality of the lapidary of Alfonso X is that it links the property of each stone to each of the 30 degrees of each zodiacal sign. In addition, each medicinal stone receives its virtue from one or more stars.

Bearing this in mind, there is a conceptual framework for understanding the Voynich imagery. And once the images are understood, the consequence is logical. The script is nothing more than a system that links the stars to the fantastic medicinal herbs. It's just a coordinate system, like a medieval astronomical table in which each glyph is a visual symbol.

(10-06-2022, 07:55 AM)Antonio García Jiménez Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I believe that the first step that must be taken is to try to see if there is any antecedent, if there is something similar to the Voynich in medieval times.

What do you think many have been doing for the last 10 years?

Again i have difficulty reconciling

1. a coordinate system, ie astronomical table
2. Visual symbols which link stars to fantastic herbs

It is culture that is antecedent to the VMS. It's a combination of history and tradition that is referenced to a particular time and place, and yet the VMs is still an object without a full explanation. The VMs is strange because strangeness was built into it. Ambiguity is intentional. Deception becomes obvious, once the trick is known. Duality of interpretation clearly exists in certain illustrated examples. Appearance is altered, but traditional markers of color, pattern and placement remain.

Having nymphs as representatives of various 'attributes' is common in the Classical perspective. The connection between stars and plants is also representative of medieval beliefs. How does this further VMs investigation? Does it give a direct access to VMs language?

If all the VMs Zodiac nymphs are generic representations of stars, why are the images so dissimilar? If each 'Stella' were generic, the Zodiac nymphs might all be similar. They are, however, quite diverse. This opens a field where various representative interpretations might be (have been) placed. The interpretations are historically and traditionally valid. The cardinal's red galero and the Fieschi coat-of-arms are a unique heraldic combination validated by history.

Most of the nymphs may be generic spirits, sympathetically connected to stars and plants. That is how things are disguised and hidden. A few of them are connected to history and church tradition. And they provide a better path of investigation. A path that leads to historical grounding and is a combination of traditional, biblical pairing and astronomical, zodiac pairing with historical, heraldic pairing.

The wild card is in the use of heraldic canting. That is the use of rebus interpretation within the heraldic tradition. See example: Crequy

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Just looking at the heraldry; if you know the explanation, it's just a play on words. However, if you start with just the insignia, ... I mean, tell the VMs botanists, that is the heraldic representation of a cherry tree, with fruit hanging up.  Should be no problem.

Heraldic canting is built into the VMs Zodiac. The hidden nymphs are connected to and interpreted by the colors and the patterns on their tubs.