The Voynich Ninja

(19-01-2021, 06:44 AM)ReneZ Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Really, that should be an ear of grain in the hand, rather than a flower...

Should be (Spica) but they often replaced it by a flower. Look at this one for example You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

I would find it in keeping with the rest of the ambiguous imagery for it to have been drawn to evoke the ideas of both a flower and a star. However,  there is also another flower in the image which would lead one to think of it as a star, perhaps Spica. This does a double whammy of subconsciously recalling every image of Virgo one has ever seen holding a plant of some sort, along with the idea of stars. It somewhat connects her to the nymphs also.



This collection has one with a hat, some holding grain, some with flowers, some with nothing. Some with blue dresses, some sitting similarly posed to our version. If you rolled them all into one you might get something like the vms Virgo.

It's stars and grain, as commonly found (Rene), and also as seen in the Persian example. Stars for the constellation. Grain for the harvest season. Seeing the moon through the trees doesn't mean they are *connected*.

I also agree that Montova is probably a cross. It's a bit too pixilated.

Also check the thread in this subforum: Females on Moons. This connects to an earlier investigation by VViews which proposes that VMs Virgo is a combination of astrological and religious elements. As the potential for a combined illustration may seem improbable to some from a single example, it may be deemed more acceptable as this adds to a growing list.

The Madonna image attributed to 1420 Ghent is an interesting comparison to VMs Virgo. Doesn't color count as a common factor?

Here is a (slightly) better image of the Mantova one. Yeah it might not be a star, but it would also be a weird way of holding a crucifix?

[img=400x400]You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.[/img]

It's still impossible to tell, but given the most common motifs, I would think it is also a form of vegetation. You can even see some green (leaf?) under the yellow head, especially on the right side.

When I see Virgo with this star, I think of Venus rather than a star.

Simply my thoughts.

The subject is certainly interesting, thanks to Gioynich for starting this thread! As always with ancient astrology, things are intricate.

A couple of observations:

1. You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. belongs to a different category than the other manuscripts that have been mentioned here. It is a scientific work presenting accurate images of constellations based on accurate measures of the position of each star.
This image compares the Virgo illustration with a modern star map.

[attachment=5203]

Note the position of the mirrored L that is also clearly marked in the manuscript as an abstract black line (much like constellations are drawn in modern maps). Also note the position of Spica: since the mirrored L traditionally represents the torso of the figure, the arm holding the ear of corn must be lowered.

All other illustrations mentioned above either are illustrations of the zodiac sign (they could all belong to this category) or are highly inaccurate illustrations of the constellation. One can think of these as emblems, where the details of the figure are irrelevant, as long as it is recognizable as a maiden. The VMS zodiac very clearly belongs to this second class.

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2. Tethered stars occur in two more Voynich zodiac medallions: Pisces and Scorpio. In Pisces, a blue line has been added, making the figure more similar to typical images of Pisces, but the original ink drawing only has two stars independently linked to the mouths of the two fish. Similarly the Scorpio-lizard has a star linked to its mouth.

Tethered stars are also held by the nymphs around the zodiac medallions. They also occur in Q13 (You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. and You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.) and appear to be used as paragraph markers in Q20. They are one of those features that show that the different sections of the VMS are not totally independent.

In my opinion, the best parallel for this zodiac feature is the beginning of  You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. (a manuscript whose relevance for the VMS was originally pointed out by Darren Worley).
Sadly, Virgo was not illustrated in this series. One should also note that in the Regimen each zodiac sign is marked with a star, so this is different from the VMS. Also, the stars are not tethered. According to Gioynich's system, the Berlin Regimen is the best overall match for the VMS, but he analysed another zodiac cycle that begins at You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view..
[attachment=5202]

You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. (Tuscany, 1450 ca) is another case in which each zodiac sign is accompanied by a star. Virgo is not holding her star and the overall style of all the signs is classical / Italian and quite different from what we see in the VMS.
[attachment=5201]

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I must also apologize for a typo: the De Predis ms Lat. 209 is at the Estense Library in Modena (not Mantova). The signature has been updated and is now You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.. IIRC, Blume pointed out that the illustrations are derived from this earlier You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., but here Virgo has no attribute. I agree with Koen in interpreting it as a flower or sprout.

[attachment=5200]

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Finally, a couple of collections of Virgo images:

• You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
  
• You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
  

Has this Virgo being mentioned before? I searched in the forum but couldn't find a mention of this manuscript: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view..
The dress and hat look pretty similar.
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I hadn't seen it before, I agree it's a good hat. There's even a star (?) painted on it.

Don't recall seeing it either. There isn't that much data on this topic. There's another thread posted recently on the ninja that references VViews' original blog. And that's it <afaik> - unless there is some previous incarnation of the topic - which no one has mentioned.

It's blue and she's got a blue hat.