I’ve been spending a little time with the zodiac folios and related cycle diagrams in a loose, exploratory way. Nothing systematic yet, mostly looking, noticing repetition, and following my curiosity rather than trying to solve or identify anything.
What keeps catching my attention is how much of the structure can be read as temporal rather than symbolic. The way divisions repeat, how some sequences appear to stop or change rhythm, and how different folios seem to care about duration or flow more than labels. It feels less like decoding and more like watching how time might be handled or experienced across the pages.
I don’t know whether this overlaps with work that’s already been done, and I’m not presenting this as a theory. I’m sharing it simply as something I’ve been playing with visually and intuitively, in case it’s useful, familiar, or sparks a connection for someone else working in this area.
If this belongs somewhere else or connects to existing threads, I’m happy to be pointed in the right direction.
Hey y'all! I've searched all over the Internet. Yes, even in the third page of Google results. But, I didn't really find anything. I need some sort of thingy to work with when I start translating. The alphabets I've used in the past turned out to be just little fun fake thingies put together by random people.
This is probably a stupid question, but I'm just looking for an alphabet to use? Did anyone make that?
As some of you might know, I am a big supporter of the hypothesis that the VM has Arabic/Muslim influences, especially in the balneary section, which I believe to be Arabic Hammams (link to thread: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.). In this vein, I searched contemporary (14-15th century) Arabic manuscripts to see if there is something that ressembles the VM. I believe I have found something of interest.
The Kitab al-Bulan (or so-called Book of Wonders) is a late 14th century manuscript, more info here: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.. Here is an example of Voynichese characters in one of the folios:
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Note the gallows-like character on the right hand side as well as the other clearly non-Arabic symbols that closely ressemble Voynichese. Here is another example:
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As you can see, there is one of the gallows on underlined text in the center-right, as well as multiple characters that are in the VM that appear in the figure on the left hand side. Given that this text is written exclusively in Arabic, this seems odd, to say the least.
You can find a full scanned copy here:
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Here are a few interesting folios:
Folio 72: more Voynichese characters
Folio 78: several gallows-like characters
Folio 255: some kind of translation table
Folio 365: text with Voynich-like glyphs
Additionally, there is a weird ressemblance between the way the stars/dots are placed in folios 339 to 350, which closely ressemble the alignment of stars in the VM folio f68v1.
Is it possible that the symbols are some kind of proto-Voynichese encoding? Perhaps someone with the ability to read Arabic could try to parse the folios that look like translation tables. It would be interesting to understand what the author(s) were trying to do there. Maybe a cipher of some kind?
EDIT: The post somehow got published before I finished typing. Sorry for the many edits.
Hello everyone , I think the first few words of the first line in the voynich manuscript is
Facts move as OlauJ crow.
Translation to this is:
The book is saying The observable laws of nature operate exactly as the scholar Olaus proclaims.
Olaus was a student and scholar in 1420s when the voynich parchment was made in 1404-1438.
It makes perfect since as Olaus had diverse knowledge, he was incredibly educated and eventually became the bishop of turku. He would have known Latin, early German dialects and possibly secret shorthand used by scholars in Paris as he went to Paris for university.
It seems to me that the plant being depicted on folio f19r could be Mimosa pudica. Almost all features of this plant match the description. Here is a picture of Mimose Pudica:
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Two sets of leaves (large and clustered, as well as small and diverse) appear on the folio. The small bulbs that are characteristic of Mimosa Pudica also appear. The large flower on top, while not perfectly accurate, is also depicted.
A peculiarity of this plant is that if you touch it, it's larger leaves will automatically fold downwards and inwards. I believe this is eactly what is being shown in folio f19r. Here is a depiction of the plant's repsonse to touch:
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It is called "touch me not", because if you touch it, it will respond defensively using an electric inner reaction.
Could the striking ressemblance to the VM be merely coincidental? Maybe. The only issue is that this plant is native to South America only.
I will try to list a few conspicuous systems in the Voynich manuscript that I personally consider to be (grammatical) markers or at least verifiable systems. my Assumption for this thread: a and y= a word search = voynichese.com
1) the regularitiy of c+h to ch more than 85% of the words that begin with the c+h also begin with ch (clustered words see nr. 2 not considered separately) over 85% (or more if we separate the clustered words) are the same "c+h" and "ch" (This system is already widely accepted) 2)The clusterd words: we find often words that occur both individually / separate and as word clusters. For example the word: tol F21r: tolchory we also find it separately tol and chory F 21v: toldc+hy we also also find it separately tol and dc+hy F39r: tolkchdy we also find separately tol and kchdy F38r: tolor we also find it separately tol andor F48r: tolkeol we also find it separately tol and keol
For example the word: chol F6v: choldar we also find it separately chol and dar F34r: cholchedy we also find it separately chol and chedy F22r: choldchy we also find it separately chol and dchy F29v: cholody we also find it separately choland ody F17r: choldc+hywe also find it separately choland dc+hy Some more clusted words that we find also as single words: cheodamor cheo anddam kamdamor kam and dam cheodaror cheoand dar qokalcheyor qotalandchey or qo kal ceey We frequently encounter these word clusters in the manuscript. However, there seems to be no specific system governing whether the words are written separately or together.
3)The system of prefix, baseword and sufix There are already several threads that deal extensively with the topic of word structure in the Voynich Manuscript, dividing word formation into prefix, base, and suffix. However, the question remains: what is the base word, and how can it be identified? Or on the other way, can we locate the prefixes and sufixes? (I will address the prefixes in this thread) the first prefix that is widely accepted as a prefix is qo- qo - In the first step, we could assume that the word qo- qo - is followed by the base word, possibly with a sufix. As for example: qotol, qokchdy, qokeor, qochol, qodal, qochedy, qodchy, qoody Qotol, qokchdy, qokeor, qochol, qodal, qochedy, qodchy, qoody In some cases, this does indeed appear to be the case. However, there are special cases in which it seems that the gallows characters or other prefixes following the prefix qo- before the baseword starts. (so the gallow sign can be both another prefix and /or the first letter of a word) Evidence for the function of prefixes as above mentioned: We find the word: eeesif we could assume that eees is a base word because we find the follwogin form, too: Also we find the word qoeeeswith the prefix qo, we find also oeeesbut neverqooeees So we can assume that the word oeees ist eees with the prefix o The same happend with deeeswe never find the word qodeees we can assume that dis an prefix of eees we find a possible evidence that the gallow signs in part are prefixes: we find the word qoteeesand oteees as above mentioned the baseword eees but never the word teees we can take the worddor (73x in the manuscript) we find the word as: qodorand also as:qotedor also asokedorandodorbut never as kedor The assumption that the root words have prefixes (as mentioned above) arises from a closer examination of the words; however, this is currently my subjective assumption. Therefore, I searched the manuscript for a system that works for a larger number of words.
4) the "e" extention o/a/y to eo/ea/ey This could be one way to identify the root words. Words whose second letter is "o" or „a/y“ (a/ybeing less common) tend to change their stem by adding an "e" before the "o" or „a/y“
Here some examples:
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This system could be one approach to separating prefixes from word stems. It doesn't always work since not every word has a partner with „e“ However, after analyzing the word structures in the manuscript and considering the strong arguments for a prefix-base-suffix system, it could help answer the question of prefixes and word stems. If we find and analyze enough words with the word structure "e", we discover the same prefix systems even in words that don't have an "e" extension. The system shown below illustrates how the prefixes repeat themselves in the same form. If we allow for a moment the assumtion, that e.g. daiinis a baseword because we find also deaiin we can search for the Prefixes:
we can use also examples in which the above mentionted system doesnt take place. What we see ist that the system is the same. We always find the same prefixes. kaiin (no keaiinfound) but as we use the word kaiinas baseword we find the same prefixes as above:
Ykaiin, okaiin. Qokaiin, qykaiin, chkaiin, c+hkaiin, chokaiin, sykaiin, kokaiin, chekaiin, skaiin, lkaiin, olkaiin, cheykaiin, ykykaiin, chekaiin, c+hekaiin, qekaiin, cheekaiin, ekaiin, oekaiin, qoekaiin, one question what I asked me is how could it be sure that kaiin is the baseword? Could kalso be the prefix of aiin (as we find aiin in the manuscipt with all prefixes, too) but if you broaden your search you findchkeaiin, qokeaiin, okeaiin with the same prefixes as we still know. There are for sure still the last possibility that ke ist a prefix too (as it coud be), so we would deal with the word aiin but as we find the word kokaiin it is nearly sure that kaiin is the baseword because we never find kok as prefix. We can make more expample: kor (keor) okor, ykor, qokor, qekor, oekor, chkor, chokor, cheokor, lkor, chekor, c+hokor, olekor,
The word cho (cheo) ocho, ycho, qocho, dcho, scho, tcho, otcho, pcho, opcho, kcho, okcho, ofcho, ykcho, ytcho, qotcho, qofcho, qokcho, chetcho, qokecho,
example: chain (cheain) ychain, schain, dchain, qokchain, kchain, opchain, we can also seach for the prefixes of cheain - ycheain, tcheain, ocheain
Although it is debatable because of the letter spacing in the manuscript, some of the single prefixes seem to occur both connected to the base word and on their own. (as we can see under point 2 based on the clustered words)
so we find the following single prefixes: o, y, s, l, d, ch, c+h, e, q, t, k, p, f and also the form of two letters: do, so, qo, qy, qe, ol, po, py, pe to, ty te ko, ka ke cho, cha, and three letters (cho, chy to cheo, chey) cheo, chey, 5)The gallow signs If we start with prefixes, base words and suffixes, we must also look at the topic of the gallow signs as they are used as prefixes and also as part of the base words. As mentioned earlier, we find gallows signs as prefixes. If we look at word stems that begin with "ch", we find those in which the gallows symbols are located within and before the "ch". chor, cheor, pchor, kchor, fchor, tchor, kcheor, pcheor, tcheor, cPhor, cKhor, cKhor, cpheor, ckheor, cpheor next word: chol, cheol, pchol, kchol, tchol, fchol, tcheol, kcheol, pcheol, fcheol cphol, ckhol, cthol, cfhol, cpheol, ckheol, cfheol, ctheol next word: cho, cheo, pcho, kcho, tcho, kcho, pcheo, kcheo, tcheo, cpho, ctho, ckho, cpheo, ctheockheo, cfheo next word: choy,cheoy, kchoy, fchoy, pcheoy, cphoy, ckhoy, cfhoy next word: chs, ches, kchs, fchs, ckhs, cfhs, cths, cthes, next word: chd, ched, pchd tchd, tched, pched, cthd, next word: chod, cheod, tchod, pchod, kchod, tcheod, cphod, cthod, ckhod, ctheod, ckheod next word: chaiin, cheaiin, pchaiin, kchaiin, tchaiin, cthaiin, cphaiin, ckhaiin, cfhaiin, next word: chody, cheody, kchody, tchody, pchody, cthody, ckhody, cphody, pcheody, tcheody, kcheody, fcheody, ckheody, cpheody, ctheody, cfheody next word: chdy, chedy, kchdy, tchdy, pchdy, fchdy, cthdy, ckhdy, cfhdy, pchedy, tchedy, fchedy, kchedy, cthedy, ckhedy, cphedy, next word: chy, chey, kchy, pchy, tchy, fchy, ckhy, cphy, cthy, ckhy, kchey, pchey, tchey, fchey, ckhey, cphey, cthey, cfhey
What we see is a repetition-based prefix system, so we can assume that the base word is always the same and only the prefixes change.
Several authors have already proposed the idea that the VM is a women's health manual. There are several reasons for thinking along this line: a disproportionate amount of attention given to the female body in the manuscript, the taboo nature (and therefore willingness to encode) such a subject matter, as well as other sexually explicit imagery. Nonetheless, this is difficult to prove as the different themes in the manuscript cannot be linked to a specific set of contemporary practices, places or objects.
In my opinion this is not true, and I can give three arguments in favor of there being Arabic or Persian inspiration for women's health practices in the book.
Argument 1: The balneary section (the baths) are depictions of 15th century Hammams
A Hammam is basically an Arabic bathhouse. It features many advanced technologies such as a sophisticated tube system, gravity-assisted water provenance, and water spouts coming from walls, an early form of the shower concept. They were also heated, and had steam inside. Note that while these were totally absent in European baths at that time, Arabic Hammams in the 15th century were already equipped with these.
There are many examples, one of them being the Hammam al-Mokhfiya, in Morocco, built in the late 14th century. Another one is the Hammam as-Sarah, in Jordan. This latter already had a complex system of pipes built in. You can find an archeological survey about this bath here: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
Some of these baths were powered using Qanats, another islamic invention for a dynamic underground water supply system. Many folios, including You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. in the VM, could allude to such a system. Here is a description of a Qanat: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
Qanats were initially used for irrigation, but then also for other water supplies, such as hammams. In this picture, you can see the cross-section of a Qanat system, which reminds one of some of the VM tube drawings: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
Another point of similarity with the VM is that it depicts baths with only women in them, and the concept of gender-segregated hammams was already common in Arabic hammams (sometimes called "hammam al-nisa"). There are several depictions of muslim baths with only women in them, in contemporary arabic miniatures, easy to find on internet.
Finally, in hammams, the pools were often connected to one another using pipes in which water flowed. This is reminiscent of folio f78r, or f81r, for example, which show exactly such a scene. On top of the image, you can even see what I believe is a system of pipes coming from a Qanat.
On folio f81v, you can see water being supplied to what appears (to me) to be a hammam supplied with water from a hammam pipe coming from a Qanat.
On folio f75r, you can see a woman in the middle enjoying the hammam bath water. I believe that is because the water is warm, which is typical of contemporary hammams.
On folio f82v, you can see women standing in small pools of water. This seems to me to be the part of the hammam where you clean your body before you actually enter the pool.
So it seems to me, that the idea that the balneary section depicts islamic hammams, seems to "fit" with the images in the manuscript. Of course, I could be totally wrong, too.
Argument 2: The containers and vessels might depict contemporary Persian oil lamps
The containers on folios f88/f89 have been the subjects of many debates. Are they ink vessels or apothecary storages? To me, they look like oil lamps. While not available in Europe at the time of the carbon dating of the VM, such lamps were available since the 11th century already in Persia. What makes them stand out as candidates to the VM vessels (as opposed to ink stands or apothecary bottles), are the following features: (1) the tripods are characteristic to oil lamps of that time in Persia, (2) the multi-layered design of the containers is typical of such lamps, and (3) many lamps were either decorated in blue paint or covered in copper, which then fades away with time and becomes green, which is what we see in the images of the VM.
Here are a few examples: 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..
Note that these would have been colored at the time of creation.
Argument 3: An Arabic or Arabic-inspired women's health manual would be worth encrypting to avoid persecution
Women's health was already a taboo at that time, women preferred talking to each other in order to exchange ideas or secrets about gynecology, menstruation and other health topics, instead of putting everything into a book. So a book on this subject, especially with foreign (non-Christian) origin or inspiration, would definitely be a cause for enciphering its contents.
This might (or might not) also explain why there are no mentions of Jesus or other Christian symbols in the entire manuscript.
Finally, I will add that the calendar section is heavily focusing on the Moon and its phases, which is the typical time keeping method in Arabic/Islamic countries and cultures at that exact time.
So, could it be that the VM is inspired by Arabic women's health secrets? Or perhaps a translation from an Arabic health manuscript? What do you think?
Hello community,
After months studying the Voynich, I had a "click" moment looking at the balneological section as a diagram of the circulatory system (anti-reflux valves, blood renewal). I tried extending the idea —simple anagrams in old Italian + perpetual flow theme— to the rest of the manuscript, and the coherence left me amazed.
I've attached a short paper detailing the step-by-step process, with hypothetical examples per section. It's speculative (not a full decipherment), but unifies everything under a holistic vision: circulation from human blood to the cosmos, like a living universe.
I'd love your feedback: does it fit? What folios would you test? Ideas to refine?
PDF attached. link: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view..
Thanks for reading —hope it sparks good discussion!
Hugo Rodia
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I think we have been a bit hasty in dismissing his effort as 'slop'.
What he seems to be saying is that if each paragraph were to be on a uniform topic then there would be similarity in the words, that you would see certain words not randomly used throughout the manuscript but closely congregated in places, and this would be apparent if you were to do a statistical comparison of successive lines. But his analysis seems not to show this. His conviction: "we would expect a higher overlap in function words or core thematic vocabulary", "VMS text behaves as if there was a 'reset' at almost every line break", "lines are very independent".
I cannot believe that any AI program can ever be clever enough to initiate such an effort and find ways to do the statistical analysis.
I would very much like to see some more on this idea. It might turn out to be significant.
I would like to encourage Guido to continue with his idea, but perhaps to present it in a different way.
My theory is that the Voynich manuscript is a personal handbook created by a physician for daily practical use. Until the text is fully read and deciphered, everything said in this field inevitably remains at the level of theory. However, based on the research I have conducted so far, I consider my theory to be internally consistent.
I believe that presenting my theory under a set of basic headings will make it easier to follow.
Content of the Manuscript
The Voynich manuscript consists of four main sections. The first section deals with medicinal plants. The second section contains principles and diagrams related to determining the appropriate timing of treatments according to the movements of celestial bodies. The third section concerns bodily humors. The fourth and final section addresses therapeutic baths—their types, timing, effects, and rules of application.
I believe the manuscript was written shortly after the Black Death, in the first quarter of the 15th century. During this period, Avicennian medicine spread rapidly throughout Europe and was accepted as the foundation of medical practice for many years. The content of the manuscript is largely consistent with the knowledge presented in Canon of Medicine. However, there is a crucial distinction: while the Canon functions as a database, this manuscript operates as a user interface designed for practical daily use.
Place of Composition
I believe this manuscript was produced in Padua, by a student of botany and medicine associated with the University of Padua during the first quarter of the 15th century. Founded in 1222, the University of Padua was one of the most powerful and prestigious institutions of its time in medicine, philosophy, and law.
Mode of Writing
In the early 1400s, within the intellectual environment surrounding the University of Padua, knowledge was regarded as something that should be disclosed only to those who were competent and prepared. For this reason, texts were not encrypted in the modern sense but were deliberately written in layered, symbolic, and implicitly accessible forms. I believe the Voynich manuscript follows this tradition.
Language of the Manuscript
The author wrote this manuscript in a language intended to be understood only by himself. I propose that the text may have been written in Ottoman Turkish concealed beneath a Latin-looking alphabet. Ottoman Turkish uses Arabic letters, but its word and sentence structures differ entirely from Latin. It is a consonant-based language with no written vowels, read from right to left, and its roots can acquire different meanings depending on context. Letters are highly flexible and may sometimes appear only as a single stroke, tail, or loop.
Many researchers who have studied the manuscript have assumed that the language is Latin. This assumption is understandable, as Ottoman Turkish and Latin share an almost identical sentence structure. However, Ottoman Turkish exhibits a more flexible and organic compatibility with the Voynich text.
Modern Turkey abandoned this alphabet in 1928 due to its ambiguity and susceptibility to misreading. Today, Ottoman Turkish is no longer in active use. However, in the 15th century, it was one of the principal languages of medicine. Many European physicians were proficient in it. Moreover, Italy and the Ottoman world had centuries-long cultural interactions. One well-known example is the Galata Tower, one of Istanbul’s landmarks, which is an Italian construction.
The manuscript may have been written from left to right, while the words themselves are meant to be read from right to left. In such a writing system, natural gaps would occur within lines. The author may therefore have filled these gaps with filler glyphs that are not part of the actual reading of the text. Consequently, some glyphs may serve merely as spacing elements, while others carry the core of one or two consonantal letters.
In this process, the author may have unintentionally left a crucial clue. While writing meaningful segments, he may have been more careful, and while writing filler elements, more careless—resulting in a noticeable difference in pen pressure. This pressure contrast may provide a key for isolating the meaningful components of the text.
Botanical Pages
I believe the plants depicted on the botanical pages were selected from the Canon of Medicine. These plants are grouped according to their hot, cold, or sedative properties. From each group, species that were accessible and present in Northern Italy were included.
The drawings do not aim for strict botanical realism. The primary concern is not the visual likeness of the plant but which part of it produces which effect. The colors used on flowers correspond not to their natural appearance but to their medicinal effects. The placement of text follows the same logic: if the effect relates to the leaves or flowers, the text appears in the upper part; if it relates to the stem or root, the text is placed below.
Medicinal plant descriptions from this period follow a specific formula, and I believe the explanations in the manuscript conform to this pattern. An example structure would be:
The temperament of this plant is cold and dry; it cools in the second degree. Its root and leaves are used, while the flower has little benefit. It is harvested in spring, dried in the shade, and kept away from moisture.
This plant is harmful to hot temperaments and beneficial to cold temperaments. It calms bilious heat and agitation of the blood, relieves heaviness and dizziness of the head. It cools the heat of the stomach and strengthens digestion; however, excessive use weakens the stomach and suppresses appetite.
When its decoction is drunk, it quenches thirst and aids insomnia. When prepared with honey as an electuary, it softens the chest and calms coughs. Applied externally, it reduces redness and swelling.
However, excessive consumption is harmful; it is especially damaging to those with weak hearts and cold temperaments. Such individuals should correct it with anise or ginger. It should not be given to pregnant women.
The most suitable time is early morning; it is taken for three consecutive days and discontinued on the fourth. Continued use beyond this is not permitted.
Zodiac Pages
In Avicennian medicine, the human body is believed to contain four fundamental humors, and all diseases arise from an imbalance among them. Treatment aims to restore this balance. Celestial bodies—especially the Moon, as well as Venus, Mars, and others—were believed to exert direct influence on these humors. Therefore, the timing of treatment was determined according to the positions of these bodies.
These pages represent a usage interface far ahead of their time. While such information was typically conveyed through tables and long texts, the author transformed all treatment timing charts into diagrams, creating an exceptionally practical system. In a single diagram, one can see the Moon’s passage through the zodiac, the bodily conditions associated with specific days, which treatments are beneficial or harmful, and which temperaments are suitable for which interventions.
Textual versions of these diagrams exist in contemporary manuscripts. For example, the distance of stars held in the figures’ hands indicates treatment suitability, while the vessels they stand in represent treatment methods.
Bodily Humors and Bath Pages
These pages address the four fundamental humors—blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile—and their effects on the organs. They also explain, through text and imagery, which bathing cures should be applied to which organs, at what times, and in what manner.
The Author of the Manuscript
In the Vatican archives, I identified an ownership note on the final page of a Canon of Medicine manuscript. This note states that a botany and medicine student from the University of Padua, Johannes of Androna (written at the time as Ionnes), purchased this book in 1401. It is therefore plausible that the Voynich manuscript was written by Johannes himself.
I thank everyone who has read this far and wish success to all who take part in this enigmatic journey.
