29-07-2026, 09:00 PM
Hello all,
As part of the ongoing zodiac rating/collection project, approximately 230 depictions of Aries (from ~160 sources) have been logged in order to compare them to the VMS Aries symbols. Exciting or interesting examples are... rather scarce.
There are multiple aspects of the VMS symbols that are simply plain missing in the vast majority of Aries depictions. The horns are almost never curved correctly, the body type is more often short and stubby, the tail is often far too long, and the animal is almost never interested in a tree or plant.
So.. is the VMS aries depiction simply rare?
The Depiction (eating a tree on a rocky slope)
Many of you may be familiar with this example from You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.:
[attachment=16831]
Well, this depiction (of a creature reaching up onto a tree, or reaching higher, rocky ground) is a semi-common Capricorn depiction. Not Aries. Here are a whole bunch of examples i've come across so far:
[attachment=16878]
[attachment=16871]
[attachment=16872]
This is perhaps the best evidence that VMS aries is actually inspired by a depiction of capricorn: the depiction of a creature on a rocky slope, trying to reach for a tree or high ground.
How can it be Capricorn? It's between Pisces and Taurus!
Examples of this happening
So far, I have come across 2 examples that demonstrate instances where this mix-up / mixing of styles happened:
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
This example (that I just mentioned above) is in the Aries section, but is actually based on capricorn. The goat beard gives this away:
[attachment=16874]
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
This example has aries and capricorn mixed-up: The capricorn is depicted in march, and aries is depicted in december:
[attachment=16873]
This was not a binding error; these depictions were indeed on the verso of those months.
So interestingly, the two examples with this capricorn depiction displayed in the "aries section" seem to have different reasons for having happened. One is seemingly a mistake, and the other seems to have been a conscious choice to use the typical capricorn depiction for aries.
Similar designs for aries and capricorns within manuscripts
Quite often, the designs of Aries and Capricorn are rather similar within the same manuscript. Even in cases that capricorn is a sea-goat, the mammal-half is often similar to the Aries within that manuscript. Here are a couple of examples, but there are many more:
[attachment=16879]
Other attributes that suggest a capricorn inspired design
The horns - Horns on Aries entries are very often curled, twisted and bobbly. Capricorn horns are often smooth (not always), and generally a longer version of the shape found in the VMS.
The tail - Tails are more often small tufts on the capricorn designs, similar to the VMS. The tails on aries designs is more often far longer.
The body - Capricorns are generally depicted as relatively slim creatures with longer legs, as opposed to the common fluffy, poofy build found in many Aries.
Common Capricorn attributes missing in the VMS
The Beard - Capricorns are normally depicted with a little goat beard, which is missing in both depictions found in the VMS. However, this is not a universal feature; there's already an example of a beardless example above in this post. But I looked through quickly and found a few:
[attachment=16875]
What I'm suggesting
I believe that the design for Aries may have been inspired by a capricorn depiction. This does not necessarily mean that the intended sign IS capricorn, only that the VMS depiction of Aries was inspired by it. Frankly, the only reason we assume this to be an Aries design is its location between Pisces and Taurus. If we had only these VMS pages in isolation, without Pisces and Taurus, the logical conclusion would not be that they are Aries at all. It would be that they are Capricorn.
The next steps to confirm and research this would be to incorporate capricorn depictions into the rating spreadsheets, rating them alongside the Aries examples to gauge how well they score. This depiction of capricorn -if relevant- is a lead that may produce some valuable hints on where the VMS artist was from, or at least hints on where they were likely not from. My initial tests have shown that mammal capricorns rate quite highly on average, but I'm yet to finalise criteria that would rate them effectively and fairly (and punish them for their capricorn features, like beards).
Another step is simply to add more manuscripts to the lists, but that takes time
As part of the ongoing zodiac rating/collection project, approximately 230 depictions of Aries (from ~160 sources) have been logged in order to compare them to the VMS Aries symbols. Exciting or interesting examples are... rather scarce.
There are multiple aspects of the VMS symbols that are simply plain missing in the vast majority of Aries depictions. The horns are almost never curved correctly, the body type is more often short and stubby, the tail is often far too long, and the animal is almost never interested in a tree or plant.
So.. is the VMS aries depiction simply rare?
The Depiction (eating a tree on a rocky slope)
Many of you may be familiar with this example from You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.:
[attachment=16831]
Well, this depiction (of a creature reaching up onto a tree, or reaching higher, rocky ground) is a semi-common Capricorn depiction. Not Aries. Here are a whole bunch of examples i've come across so far:
[attachment=16878]
[attachment=16871]
[attachment=16872]
This is perhaps the best evidence that VMS aries is actually inspired by a depiction of capricorn: the depiction of a creature on a rocky slope, trying to reach for a tree or high ground.
How can it be Capricorn? It's between Pisces and Taurus!
Examples of this happening
So far, I have come across 2 examples that demonstrate instances where this mix-up / mixing of styles happened:
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
This example (that I just mentioned above) is in the Aries section, but is actually based on capricorn. The goat beard gives this away:
[attachment=16874]
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
This example has aries and capricorn mixed-up: The capricorn is depicted in march, and aries is depicted in december:
[attachment=16873]
This was not a binding error; these depictions were indeed on the verso of those months.
So interestingly, the two examples with this capricorn depiction displayed in the "aries section" seem to have different reasons for having happened. One is seemingly a mistake, and the other seems to have been a conscious choice to use the typical capricorn depiction for aries.
Similar designs for aries and capricorns within manuscripts
Quite often, the designs of Aries and Capricorn are rather similar within the same manuscript. Even in cases that capricorn is a sea-goat, the mammal-half is often similar to the Aries within that manuscript. Here are a couple of examples, but there are many more:
[attachment=16879]
Other attributes that suggest a capricorn inspired design
The horns - Horns on Aries entries are very often curled, twisted and bobbly. Capricorn horns are often smooth (not always), and generally a longer version of the shape found in the VMS.
The tail - Tails are more often small tufts on the capricorn designs, similar to the VMS. The tails on aries designs is more often far longer.
The body - Capricorns are generally depicted as relatively slim creatures with longer legs, as opposed to the common fluffy, poofy build found in many Aries.
Common Capricorn attributes missing in the VMS
The Beard - Capricorns are normally depicted with a little goat beard, which is missing in both depictions found in the VMS. However, this is not a universal feature; there's already an example of a beardless example above in this post. But I looked through quickly and found a few:
[attachment=16875]
What I'm suggesting
I believe that the design for Aries may have been inspired by a capricorn depiction. This does not necessarily mean that the intended sign IS capricorn, only that the VMS depiction of Aries was inspired by it. Frankly, the only reason we assume this to be an Aries design is its location between Pisces and Taurus. If we had only these VMS pages in isolation, without Pisces and Taurus, the logical conclusion would not be that they are Aries at all. It would be that they are Capricorn.
The next steps to confirm and research this would be to incorporate capricorn depictions into the rating spreadsheets, rating them alongside the Aries examples to gauge how well they score. This depiction of capricorn -if relevant- is a lead that may produce some valuable hints on where the VMS artist was from, or at least hints on where they were likely not from. My initial tests have shown that mammal capricorns rate quite highly on average, but I'm yet to finalise criteria that would rate them effectively and fairly (and punish them for their capricorn features, like beards).
Another step is simply to add more manuscripts to the lists, but that takes time