The Voynich Ninja

The VMs is difficult to interpret for several reasons: indecipherable linguistics, mediocre artistry, obscure representations, and the investigative failure to follow the VMs rules. This results in the inability to separate valid and useful interpretations from those that not valid and extraneous.

If the growing number of subtle, religious references are accepted, it is also reasonable to consider that this religious content is part of a religious frame of reference. Therefore, if we wish to discover what is valid, we need to see what the VMs can show that is valid, and how that sort of demonstration takes place. And to see that it takes place in a way that cannot itself be invalidated.

Well, surprise! Such a system exists. It is basic. It is simple. And it is Biblical. It comes from the laws of Deuteronomy. It is the ancient law that validation requires two witnesses. [Deut. 17:6 and 19:15] It is a law that is repeated twice. In the VMs, it is the rule of pairing. Pairing is validation.

Validation of what, you may ask. First, in the Zodiac sequence medallions, pairing validates that pairing is an operative system in the VMs. That like objects make obvious pairs, but complimentary opposites are just as valid. And second that heraldic pairing can establish historical grounding. Paired heraldic insignia: paired bendy, argent et azur, paired papellony furs, paired red galeros (Catholic cardinals), paired white galeros (Premonstratensians)

Appearance may be deceptive, in some cases intentionally so, but pairing as an aspect of traditional structure provides a significant insight into the workings of the VMs. The recognition of pairings in certain VMs illustrations can demonstrate how the VMs artist has created the VMs disguise. 

The VMs cosmos combines the "Parisian" cosmic structure of BNF Fr. 565 (Oresme) made c. 1410, and Harley 334 (De Metz) made c. 1430, and the plain nebuly line version of a cosmic boundary from the Berry Apocalypse, with the 'wheel and curved spokes" image of Shirakatsi's Eight Phases of the Moon diagram.

The so called VMs mermaid combines the generic "mermaid and other creatures' representation as found in Harley 334 (above) and in the illustrations of Diebold Lauber's version of the Buch de Natur, with the Luxembourg version of the mythical Melusine. 

The VMs critter of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. combines a representation of the Burgundian 'Golden Fleece" with a specific structural representation of an Agnus Dei image from the Apocalypse of S Jean (BNF Fr. 13096) created in 1313, but later a part of the Burgundian library.

A second representation of the Golden Fleece, as a companion of Melusine, then validates this identification as part of a pairing. Don't be fooled by appearance. The Valois ancestry from the Luxembourg version of mythical Melusine and the Burgundian Golden Fleece are one and the same. They are verified by the historical description of 'The Feast of the Pheasant', and further connections between the Duke of Berry (d. 1416) and the Lusignan version of Melusine are very well documented.

Don't be fooled by VMs trickery. Pairing indicates validity.

Well it's probably not that easy not to get fooled when the VMS is difficult to interpret for several reasons, is it?

But assuming that what you argue is true, then what do you think was the reason for including all those subtle (or, for 1400s, let's say, not-so-subtle) allusions in the VMS? Was it just for pun/fun? Or some kind of carnival satire or medieval trolling? Or some kind of mnemonics to help one understand the underlay writing? Have you any opinion on this subject?

Well, that's the trick, isn't it? Not to be fooled by VMs deception. And that means the investigative discovery of certain cultural, religious, mythical or other types of icons that might be seen in certain VMs illustrations. It's an attempt to identify the various historical icons that would be relevant to the time of the C-14 dates.

The identification of the Golden Fleece goes back in VMs investigation so far that the sources of this hypothesis are unclear. This interpretation is within the last years of the C-14 determination. It was a cultural icon historically, but the VMs representation, (f80v) is not that convincing.

The investigation of the VMs cosmos, in comparison with historical images from BNF Fr. 565 and Harley 334, shows an uncommon structural version of the cosmos. Both examples came from Paris and fit the C-14 dates. A small part of this cosmic iconology concerns the recovery of proper heraldic terminology for the nebuly line.

A nebuly line is by definition a cloud-band, and a cloud-band is one version of a cosmic boundary. The VMs artist demonstrates that knowledge, the use of a cultural icon, in the VMs cosmos, and that knowledge carries over to the previous example of the VMs critter. What critter deserves a cosmic boundary? Only the Agnus Dei. And the VMs example follows the same three-part structure: Sheep / cosmic boundary / droplets - as an old Apocalypse text that belonged to the Dukes of Burgundy.

Melusine is an icon. So is New Jerusalem, the hidden 'rho-chi', the nymph(s) with the mystical cross and ring, or the Fieschi popes, etc. There's a growing web of potential connections for things that have come from many sources, that all could fit the mid- to late 1430s. Even the potential of something unseen, something hexagonal in the central Rosette, the Well of Moses is the perfect, invisible cloud-bunny. It is hexagonal. It was in place by 1405. And not only does it tie in with the Golden Fleece of Burgundy, it is the second specific identification specifically tied to Dijon. [La Sainte Hostie de Dijon[

I sometimes see the VMs as having an outer façade. And these cultural icons have been "hidden" away. But is the nebuly line really hidden or was it just unknown. It has been my experience that something unknown is almost completely hidden. Nevertheless, when it comes to the use of combined images and the presence of dual interpretation, it should be clear that intentional manipulation has taken place. Trickery is afoot. Appearance is ambiguous, but pairing, position, tradition and structure provide the confirmations that validate the potential identifications.

If disguised illustrations are probable, then secret motives are possible. Too many of the best pages are missing to understand the purpose, but if there is a visual connection to specific segments of VMs text, then VMs White Aries is probably going to be significant.

What about the nymph holding the thing above the Agnus Dei? I was digging into it a bit and found an article about the goddess You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. holding whats supposed to be called “The spindle of Necessity”.

That forced me to search for The You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.. Did anybody tried to find the connections with this legend and the VM?

Hi Ranceps, do a forum search for "plato" and you get 3 pages of results with the Myth of Er mentioned once.
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Koen has a blog post that mentions it :"Spinning: A Thread through Voynich Q13a?"
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A quick google showed little but there is probably more out there.

As I recall, there are a number of "spinner" stories in mythology. 

Necessity is the spinner of fate. It's a workable interpretation, but is there anything more in the way of making a more solid identification? Could it be Arachne or Penelope or some other spinner and weaver, even Medea, who would be tie in with the Golden Fleen?

The Burgundians changed the mythic source for the Order of the Golden Fleece. They changed from the tale of Jason and the Golden Fleece to the story of Gideon and the flees. That what I call Malleable. It seems fit in with all of the literary 'Christianization' of Classical mythology like the Ovide moralise and de Pizan's Epitre d'Othea that was happening in the C-14n times.

Here again there are connections to manuscripts from the Berry and Burgundy ducal libraries.

The thing about the VMs image is that it seems so obvious. If the "thing" really is a spindle. Then this is a reference to a mythical spinner. Is the other image, the combined image, Golden Fleece + Agnus Dei (1313) an important thread that needs to be followed to 'read" more from the VMs illustrations?