SciShow published a video about the Voynich manuscript: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
Quote:The Voynich manuscript is a subject of fascination with its mysterious drawings of plants, people, and stars, as well as its indecipherable text. But rather than hiding ancient secrets, this book might be a medieval fraud, created by an algorithm executed with nothing more than a pen.
script is a subject of fascination with its mysterious drawings of
Medieval illustrations with two crabs (lobsters or crayfish) like in You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. are rare.
Shown below are two examples from German manuscripts.
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., 1415
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., circa 1450–1475, probably You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
Attached to this article is a document containing the alphabet of the Voynich Manuscript, a translation of two lines of its text, as well as visual confirmation of the truth of the interpretation of some of its symbols by comparing one of the images of the manuscript with its inscription.
I analyzed the text structure of the Voynich Manuscript, and came to the conclusion that it is not an
encrypted text, which is written in Latin letters in English, with significant additions of Latin and
words from French. There are also small inclusions of other Romance dialects, and, theoretically,
words present in both English and German, however, with the addition of additional Germanic
meanings. Apparently, the text could not be recognized primarily because of the stylization of the
letters, which differed from the generally accepted stylistic forms. I've been working on the
manuscript for less than a week, and I haven't had time to translate much, however, a few days ago I
figured out what the signs of the Voynich Manuscript mean. Next, I provide an explanation of the
alphabet of the Voynich Manuscript, and I provide a translation of the lower part of the numbered
page of the 2nd sheet (two lines), as well as visual evidence of the correct interpretation of some of
the letters, based on a comparison of the inscription near one of the images of the roots of the
Voynich Manuscript (on the numbered page of the 99th sheet)
I guess I am new to the topic but decided to give it a try nonetheless as it is fascinating enough. I tortured myself and Chat GPT for a couple of weeks to produce a result below. Decided to obtain your feedback before I venture too far in a possibly wrong(?) direction. Many thanks in advance!
Title: POLER-D Method: Transparent Translation Framework from a Curious Independent
Hello everyone,
I’d like to take a moment to share the methodology I’ve been developing and refining over time. A phonetic (oral) framework I call POLER-D, short for Phonetic-Oral Linguistic Encoding Reconstruction-Diachronic variant. Recently I began posting translation snippets and findings from this process over on X (Twitter) under @VoynichUnleash for critique, but wanted to offer an overview here on Voynich Ninja. Both for transparency and to welcome any feedback from those more experienced in historical linguistics, cryptography, or manuscript studies.
First and foremost this isn’t a commercial venture, nor a gimmick. I’m not selling anything. I’m driven by deep curiosity and respect for the mystery of the Voynich Manuscript. I believe it's good to explore any method (however unconventional) that helps unlock the possible history within it. I understand that skepticism is healthy and necessary, and I welcome it. But I also want to be clear that this is not a “solved it” post. This method is a work in progress, and one that has already challenged many of my own original assumptions. In fact, most of my early theories have been overturned through application and cross testing. I’m not afraid of being wrong, but it would be a shame not trying.
What Is POLER-D?
POLER-D is built around the idea that the Voynich Manuscript uses a disguised phonetic encoding system. Drawing from spoken (and often unwritten or drifted) dialects from Northern and Eastern Europe and nearby regions as they existed after 1300AD.
Here’s how it works:
We begin with EVA (European Voynich Alphabet) transcriptions of the manuscript text. Then carefully align with standardized formats available in public datasets.
Each word is then broken down phonetically, not visually, using oral sounding reconstructions as if the scribe was encoding sound, not meaning.
For example:
shedy > skaidan / skēd (Germanic root: to speak)
kai > kaido / kaijan (Baltic: keeper/guardian)
chol >chwal / sol (Slavic/Hebrew: soul)
From there, we test drifted linguistic matches against known post-1300 forms in a selected group of languages (listed below), adjusting for diachronic shifts.
We also match results against imagery on the same folios like plants, figures, cosmological diagrams, etc. This is not cherry picking, it's about whether what we decode reflects what we see.
Each translation is checked against a stable pool of phonetic and written languages, with no additions unless justified. Results that don’t fit are discarded or flagged for review.
Languages We Use (Post-1300 Parameter Tightening)
To avoid the common pitfall of “too many possible matches,” we’ve restricted POLER-D to languages and dialects that were actively spoken or transitioning after 1300, including:
Proto-Germanic derivatives: Middle High German, Old Norse, Old Saxon
Celtic: Gaulish remnants, Middle Welsh, Irish phonetics (oral influence)
Slavic: Old Church Slavonic, Old Czech, Old Polish
Romance: Vulgar Latin, Middle French, Occitan, Italian dialects
Greek: Koine and transitional forms
Hebrew: Classical/Biblical Hebrew (as a known scholarly base)
Finnic/Uralic: Karelian, Hungarian
Latin alphabet: All reconstruction uses era-consistent Latin script, no anachronisms
As a base study we tested historical languages throughout the world with POLER-D and none worked beyond the northern and eastern European tribal areas.
Note: Etruscan and other unrelated ancient scripts were excluded deliberately. This isn’t about guessing or using every ancient language. It’s about limiting our pool to reasonable cultural and temporal candidates. We continue shrink parameters when possible.
Current Findings
We’re seeing internal consistency across a number of tested folios. Including those from the herbal, cosmological, and so-called "recipes" sections. Some patterns emerging:
Ritual herbalism, not just plant identification, but instructions, applications, and contexts
Ritualistic bathing, including symbolic language around purification and preparation
Astronomical cycles, likely ritual calendar components tied to lunar or planetary phases
Hermetic influence, recurring themes of balance, fire/water opposites, ascension, and transformation
Interpretations match imagery surprisingly well so far. We continue to apply this method across random folios (e.g., f1r, f67r, f54r, etc.) to test for stability.
I’m documenting the process in real time, including changes as they happen, at @VoynichUnleash on X. You’ll find raw phonetic samples, before/after comparisons, and posts noting where translations are being adjusted. This is about open research, not a closed theory.
Sample Entry
Here’s a real breakdown using POLER-D from f1r:
EVA: otedy shedy laram ychor
POLER-D Phonetic: ot-ed-ē / skēd / lar-an / i-khor
Possible Translation: “To speak the flowing essence (divine fluid)”
Matched Imagery: A root based plant drawn as if exuding fluid, possibly used in ritual speech or invocation.
POLER-D is evolving. We expect some variation in future translations as our parameters improve and mistakes are corrected. But the method is holding strong so far under repeated tests. If you’re skeptical, that’s good. This project is self funded and critique is free.I welcome engagement, suggestions, and yes, critique. I’m not a credentialed linguist or cryptographer, just a persistent researcher who’s stumbled my way into a tool that appears to be uncovering something meaningful.
Now strongly suspected that the Voynich Manuscript was authored by multiple classically trained scribes, not a single individual. This theory is supported by earlier work from paleographers like Lisa Fagin Davis, who identified at least five distinct scribal hands based on letter formation, writing angles, and stylistic patterns across the manuscript. Our findings align with hers, subtle shifts in phrasing, vocabulary range, and glyph formation all suggest collaboration. These scribes likely shared training in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, but also picked up oral phonetic dialects through travel, allowing them to encode their knowledge in ways that reflected both elite training and folk wisdom.
We believe the Voynich Manuscript represents a collection of ritual practices, likely from preChristian or pagan traditions. Encoded not merely to protect “secrets,” but possibly to shield the content from persecution or prejudice. The use of a disguised phonetic script, rather than a true cipher, supports this idea. About 6 months ago AI was brought in to use to speed up the process and is now showing amazing potential. It took time to enter in all the parameters used, but once AI learned everything it began returning word by word and phrase by phrase to be assessed. I now feel it's a proper methodology to share on multiple platforms and began several days ago.This has been countless hrs spanning yrs of work prior to AI’s introduction. I want that to be cclear.i welcome all critique.
Posted by: Koen G - 14-06-2025, 08:07 PM - Forum: Voynich Talk
- No Replies
Today, I'm posting the three last polls of the group stage. After that, only 12 plants will be left (the winners of each group), which we will eliminate down to 4 in the semi-finals. But first, here is group N - vote for your favorite!
I split this from the Aberil thread. Many people have found interesting month series over the years that match in various ways to the VM Zodiac inscriptions. Since these are fragmented, shared in different formats and on old websites and blogs, it might be interesting to collect them all here in a unified way.
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Please post/link any old or new examples in this thread. When I have time, I will add them to the spreadsheet.
The color codes are:
Green: complete match or spelling variation of the same word (letters like v-u and i-j were interchangable). Yellow: has one or more salient features of the VM version. Red: far off.
My apologies if this belongs elswhere and / or has been aswered but I am looking for a list showing which pages are on which bifolios for the entire VM and the structure of quires from outer to inner. Like the outermost bifolio of Q5 consists of folios 33 and 40 and so on.
I have it for mixed quires from Lisa's paper but not for all. I wish the folio browser could display bifolios, that would be a nice improvement.
![[Image: cpg794105.jpg?token=e66ca13c-e110-435b-a...attachment]](https://heidicon.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/api/v1/export/84434/file/assets/cpg794105.jpg?token=e66ca13c-e110-435b-a8c6-cd3255fae816&disposition=attachment)
![[Image: default.jpg?download=0b64bffc-ea6e-4e79-...size=small]](https://media.getty.edu/iiif/image/0b64bffc-ea6e-4e79-9783-7aa0f83f08b7/full/726,/0/default.jpg?download=0b64bffc-ea6e-4e79-9783-7aa0f83f08b7_726.jpg&size=small)
I tortured myself and Chat GPT for a couple of weeks to produce a result below. Decided to obtain your feedback before I venture too far in a possibly wrong(?) direction. Many thanks in advance!
