The Voynich Ninja

In the scenario where the VM is (or pretends to be) a medical compendium, what is each section's function? At both ends of the known history of humanity's interpretation of the manuscript, from B(aresch) to Z(andbergen), medicine in the broadest sense of the word plays an important role. So let us assume for this thread that the VM is indeed, or at least explicitly drew inspiration from, a collection of imagery from the medical sphere. Then what is each section supposed to represent at first glance? 

• Large plants, this seems obvious: a herbal manuscript.
  
• Astro diagrams: I'm not sure, probably medical astrology? Other forum members must know more about this.
  
• Zodiac section: I have seen various ideas here; something related to women's health, or a calendar of good and bad days to take a bath?
  
• Q13a: f77 is the one where people see internal organs. But what about folios 76, 77, 79, 80, 82, 83? I have no idea.
  
• Q13b: therapeutic bathing (like Balneis)
  
• Three 4-way diagrams on rosettes recto: I don' know.
  
• Rosettes: I don't know, what could this be in a medical context? Or should we broaden the scope and include things like mappa mundi? But even then the 9-circle layout is weird, isn't it?
  
• Small plants: pharmaceutical jars and ingredients.
  
• Q20: this isn't imagery, but it seems structured like recipes (either for remedies or for food).
  

Again, this is about the general impression, without getting lost in details. What is the whole section supposed to look like?

Old saying.
Eating and drinking right keeps body and soul together.

Altes Sprichwort.
Richtig essen und trinken hält Leib und Seele zusammen.

I would still speculate that Q13 is largely about the production and use of aqua vitae ( water of life / quintessence). This is in any case an (alchemical - ) medical interpretation. It is my overall impression which I admittedly ( yet ) can not present in detail.

Basically, I agree with bi3mw.
I think Q13 is not just about distilling alcohol. It's more about the general processing.
Generally cold brewing or boiling. Fermented as wine and later distilled into alcohol. Left to stand until vinegar.
Thickened as syrup or cream to mineral. Various salts or sugars.

For me, the book has the following content.
What it is.
When to take it.
What and how to make something from it.
A small part about general food, nutrition.
Composition.

It's a different story with the rosette. The big difference in the presentation between the right and left side leads me to suspect the following.
On the right the worldly side and on the left the spiritual, heavenly, psyche, soul.
Summarised, the spiritual and the physical condition, and in the middle the medicine with its vessels that encompass everything.

Translated with You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. (free version)

Right. But what I mean is this: no matter which actual interpretation we have, it looks as if the imagery was based on certain genres. The large plants clearly mimic the layout of Greek and Italian herbals. Q13 resembles the Balneis tradition to a degree that cannot be a coincidence. The small plants resemble images about preparing antidotes and remedies, like the Paris Nicander. Q20 resembles recipes.

All of those sources of inspiration are from the medical world. Can this really be a coincidence? I agree that an additional interpretation is required since there are a lot of peculiarities.

Following this line of reasoning, we may expect the rosettes to be based on an existing image as well. But does this exist, or was it entirely invented?

I am on my phone and I cannot easily link stuff. Touwaide 2016 includes a relatively detailed discussion of the various sections as parts of a medical collection. I will post a quote when I get back home in a few days.

About the Rosettes, I see Byrhtferth's diagram as a significant (though far from perfect) parallel. The Ms that contains it ( St John's College ms 17) also contains medical information.

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(22-06-2021, 08:58 AM)Koen G Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Following this line of reasoning, we may expect the rosettes to be based on an existing image as well. But does this exist, or was it entirely invented?

I would say that in principle there is also a template for the rosettes. However, with a high degree of abstraction that allows a direct interpretation only with difficulty. Since I assume that the VMS is a collective manuscript, it is very well possible that the individual sections treat different topics. So it doesn't have to be a consistent theme like medicine. These thematically mixed manuscripts are relatively common in the Middle Ages.

I don't know if it would be appropriate to copy the text from my blog here, but since you are asking, and to save time, I'll quote the summary from my post "Water of Life from the Moon", with a few additions.

Quote:Considering the Voynich MS as the whole treatise, I would call it “The Book of the Moon” or “Liber Lunae” in Latin manner. Of course, it contains different sections and includes also solar and zodiacal diagrams, but, I think, in fact, the main figure here is the Moon and different aspects of its influence. The Voynich scenario in this case may be:
I section – The herbal.
It can contain herbs [for women health, including ones] of the Moon (moonwort, mugwort, water lily, violet, poppy, etc.) which must be gathered according to the phase of the Moon or any plants for preparation of the “lunar” tinctures. As I think, the especial lunar plants are marked with different hints which are described You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view..
II section – You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.–You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.. Astronomical:
the lunar, solar and luni-solar diagrams representing astronomical cycles and their influence, supposedly, on water and other fluids, such as juice of plants, fluids of a body (blood, urine, lymph, liquid of brain and eyes, etc.) I suppose that lunar influence is dominant for the author. As I wrote earlier, I think that several diagrams represent the lunar and luni-solar influence on the tidal motion where the phases of the Moon, its appearance during a day and a year, solstices and equinoxes are taken into account.
III section – You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. – You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.. Probably, [1) calendar-description of a certain process of a liquid transformation (preparing); or] 2) the lunar calendar which, sometimes, was called Lunarium (Greek: Selenedromion).
It usually comprised a schematic 360-day calendar that traces the zodiac sign that the moon traverses for every day of a year composed of twelve 30-day months. Such calendars reflected many aspects of the lunar influence: it could be a calendar of unlucky (fatal) days for blood-letting (one of them counts 32 such evil days) or a calendar predicting gender or character of a child, as well, an appended to a calendar text, could be the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. which gives a prediction according to the position of the moon in the zodiac when the thunder clap occurs (thunder omens), and so on.
Besides of that the different figures of the diagram can depict good and bad days, probably, some special figures of men and women in these diagrams may mean the lunar influence in aspects with the other planets. For example, the old man may signify the Saturn, the woman in a crown – Venus, etc. I’d pay attention to the colors in the Zodiac diagrams which can also signify the influence of planets (red – Mars, blue – Jupiter, green – Venus, and so on).
We all know that the signs of Aries and Taurus are divided in two parts: the “white” (light) sign and the “dark” one, in particular, the “green” /”brown” / “grey” Aries and the “red” Taurus. It could be interesting in the alchemical context, as the stages of  the Opus Magnum are: Nigredo with intermediate “greenness”, Albedo, Citrinitas and Rubedo.  I won’t claim that they mean exactly these stages, maybe, they just indicate beginning, culmination and finish. I’d note that April (Aries) and May (Taurus) are months when the alchemical dew or, sometimes, the water of rain (with lightning storm) was to be collected. I think it depends on a region and its climate. Possibly, that’s why they are distinguished among the other signs. Some consider March (Pisces) for this, too. Maybe, therefore it stands first – as the beginning of the “celestial water” harvesting.

The spirit of the dew of May is prepared in the following way. Take a sufficient quantity of May dew or rainwater, or snow in the same way, obtained in March or the beginning of April, and distil its spirit in the ordinary way – Spiritus roris maialis paraiur sequenti modo. Recipe roris aut pluvice maialis, aut itidem niuis exeunt Martio aut ineunte Aprili collectct q. s. ex iisque modo ordinario spiritum destilla.( You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.)

I find the most interesting that people in tubes are appeared only in the signs of Pisces, Aries and Taurus. So, obviously, tubes mean the period when the water must be gathered in receptacles, according to this, we can assume that the last ten days of Taurus in the VMs diagram and the rest months (signs) are useless for this.
Even visually I have an impression that the light sides of Aries and Taurus are, rather, favorable and fruitful for that work as the figures are mostly colored and dressed. [As well, possibly, the dressed figure means a soul in a body, but naked one - a soul purified from a body]. Probably, those figures implies the luckiest days, but naked figures – vice versa, rather, useless, hollow. It is considered that the favorable time to pick off the dew is the time when the Moon is waxing until Full Moon, while I can say nothing about the rest aspects.
IV section – You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.. The Purification.
I believe it shows female humid power of the Moon to purify and to revive. I am inclined to think it really represents souls, cleansing in the Lunar Waters of Life, likewise they are represented in Plutarch’s myths. But it is not excluded that it is just abstract depiction of the feminine, moist, purifying and cyclic properties of the Moon and its celestial dew filled with the celestial fire of the Sun.
V section – You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.. The lunar influence on human body fluids, including, the excretory system.
VI section – You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.. [The process of the Aqua Vitae making in detail].
I’m not sure that all these pages belong to the same separate chapter, so, it is a biggest assumption among the rest. Possibly, it describes the alchemical process (Albedo) of preparing of the White Elixir (Aqua Vita), including the inner stage – the Peacock’s tail (Cauda Pavonis). The f85 and f86, I think, reflect this process exactly in the Hermetic cosmogonic context. Thus, the Rosettes page is a culmination of all this. I will reveal my thought about this in the very end.
VII section – You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.–You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.–You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view..  As it is fairly considered, the Pharma section.
I think it is based on the herbal section and the section about the preparing of the Aqua Vita, i. e., on instructions on the plant gathering according to the lunar phases (for example) and the Aqua Vita “recipe”, and describes the making of the alchemical (spagyric) herbal tinctures.
Ebenezer Sibly, later, in XVIII century, invented the division of tinctures on Solar (masculine) and Lunar (feminine). The solar tinctures were used for masculine diseases and lunar ones – useful for women (pregnancy, diseases). The earlier division seems to be unknown, but if is needed to be more examined.
VIII section – You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.–You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.. The list of…
Actually, I’m not sure that it is exactly a collection of recipes. Of course, it is possible, but the red and yellow stars accompanying the text give me another association. First of all, these stars may correspond to the stars of the Zodiacal diagrams, but also the division in two colors, on my view, is not accidental and can relate to the similar division in the lunar diagram on the f67r2. Undoubtedly, it must be found out what this division means, I will repeat myself again, maybe, it marks positive and negative influences or predictions.
It can be the Brontologion or the part of the Lunarium of blood-letting, births, dreams, illnesses, etc.

Even more succinctly, I'd summarize that the Voynich manuscript is a treatise related to herbal or healing alchemy, later Paracelsus called it Spagyric.
From Wikipedia:

Quote:Some people have coined the use of the word to mean an You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. produced by You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. procedures, particularly in the context of Paracelsianism. These procedures involve You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., and extraction of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. components from the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. of the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.. These processes were in use in You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. alchemy generally for the separation and purification of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. from You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. (see 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. from You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. and other You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view..
...
Spagyric most commonly refers to a plant You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. to which has also been added the ash of the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. plant. The original rationale behind these special herbal tinctures seems to have been that an extract using You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. could not be expected to contain all the medicinal properties from a living plant, and so the ash or mineral component (as a result of the calcination process) of the plant was prepared separately and then added back to 'augment' the alcoholic tincture. The roots of the word therefore refer first to the extraction or separation process and then to the recombining process. These herbal tinctures are alleged to have superior medicinal properties to simple alcohol tinctures, perhaps due to the formation of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.-like compounds from the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. and the basic salts contained within the ash. In theory these spagyrics can also optionally include material from fermentation of the plant material and also any You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. component such as might be obtained through distillation. The final spagyric should be a re-blending of all such extracts into one 'essence'.

As for the Rosettes, I think, it is three or even four layered scheme:
1) alchemical process of the transformation of certain liquids;
2) hermetic process of the rebirth or salvation of the Soul, depending on a religious background;
3) religious mythology (Salvation, apocatastasis, reincarnation, etc.) explaining processes of the first two layers;
4) astrological structure and influence interweaved into religious and hermetic context.
All these theses are described in detail in my posts: "You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.", "You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.", "You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.", "You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view." and, maybe, "You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.".

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@Koen
I understand what you mean.
I have not yet seen the rosette variant in such a direct way.
But I have seen something like that.
As the example picture shows, we have the spiritual side above.
God, excerpt from the religious story.
In the middle, the worldly happening. The human and daily.
Below, nature with the other creatures.
The book, 100 pages and the same system throughout.
Here we have also combined 3 different points of view.

Not the same, but possibly a similar view of things.

The composite nature of the VMs has led it to be called an alchemical herbal. That works for me. The question is whether the VMs really *is* an alchemical herbal or whether it merely has the appearance of an alchemical herbal and this is a façade for something else. For that determination, we need to know the written language, and we don't know the language.

All we have is a book full of illustrations. Every picture tells a story but the interpretations are problematic as well. That is because the representations were intended to be problematic. The use of combined and altered images shows a clear intent to disguise. Meanwhile, structure, pattern, color and number remain as the objective keys to identification. The duality of VMs White Aries confirms intentional ambiguity. And now an increasing selection of the historical objects of identification have been shown to belong in the same time frame as the C-14 dates.