The Voynich Ninja

Today, I would like to present further compelling evidence regarding Athanasius Kircher's influence on the creation of the VMS. His work *Turris Babel* (1679) contains numerous depictions of the Tower of Babel; in it, Kircher addresses human pride and other vices. On the VMS map, this Tower of Babel is situated on the line connecting the seventh and eighth heavens, as described in the Book of Enoch. To me, this serves as further proof that the map is a cosmological depiction of the universe featuring celestial spheres. After all, the Tower of Babel symbolized humanity's desire and pride in attempting to draw closer to God. I believe this also warrants a re-evaluation of the date when the content of certain VMS folios was created.

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Surely, the biblical Tower of Babel won't be shown in any finished form?

(21-08-2026, 09:15 AM)Koen G Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Surely, the biblical Tower of Babel won't be shown in any finished form?

In the aforementioned book by Athanasius Kircher, it appears in its complete form, just as he envisioned it; there are drawings of it. In the VMS, the blue color is visible—representing the upper, unfinished section—the part that related to the divine.

I could even agree that this tower in Rosettes is somehow inspired by the drawing of Tower of Babel with a spiral staircase around it, a bit lamely copied by the Voynich artist.

One thing - depiction of the Tower of Babel with a spiral staircase is older than Kircher.

For example: Bedford Hours, 1430:


Some inspiration for it may be real Middle East architecture like Samara Minaret:

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(21-08-2026, 07:33 AM)Radim Dobeš Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.as described in the Book of Enoch.

Well, there are some towers in the Book of Enoch:

1 Enoch 5:37
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Quote:And those three that had last come forth grasped me by my hand and took me
up away from the generations of the earth, and raised me up to a lofty place, and
showed me a tower raised high above the earth and all the hills were lower.

But it's not Tower of Babel. Tower of Babel was built by humans on the Earth and here we have some celestial tower in Heaven.

Maybe some scholar (or more likely Chat GPT   ) confused these towers.

(21-08-2026, 11:44 AM)Rafal Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.One thing - depiction of the Tower of Babel with a spiral staircase is older than Kircher.

For example: Bedford Hours, 1430:

This is a nice parallel, but note the crucial absence of a spire or other roof structure. The whole idea of the Tower of Babel was that it could not be finished because God confused people's languages and scattered them across the earth.

(21-08-2026, 11:54 AM)nablator Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

(21-08-2026, 07:33 AM)Radim Dobeš Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.as described in the Book of Enoch.

 

A reference to the Book of Enoch regarding the 7th and 8th heavens—it probably came across poorly in the translation.

(21-08-2026, 11:44 AM)Rafal Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I could even agree that this tower in Rosettes is somehow inspired by the drawing of Tower of Babel with a spiral staircase around it, a bit lamely copied by the Voynich artist.

One thing - depiction of the Tower of Babel with a spiral staircase is older than Kircher.

For example: Bedford Hours, 1430:


Some inspiration for it may be real Middle East architecture like Samara Minaret:

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However, only with Kircher is it possible to see a version with a completed upper section and a tip.

Quote:However, only with Kircher is it possible to see a version with a completed upper section and a tip.

Possibly.

But there are also other similar structures in the art 

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