Rosettes foldout: cardinal directions?

[Antonio García Jiménez]

For what I said before, I think it is useful to remember that in the Middle Ages the sun and the moon were considered planets. In the Voynich we don't seem to see Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn, but we do see the Sun and Moon, the other medieval planets, frequently. That is why the planetary aspects or geometric relationships that we see in the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. are relevant. They are the relationships between the sun and the moon and we see them duplicated, two suns and two moons, in order to form the geometric figures of the aspects: trine, quadrature, etc.

In the Rosettes folio we see the astronomical clock with a trine aspect, that is, the sun forms a triangle with the moon (two moons, one on each half of the sphere). It should be noted that this aspect, the trine, was one of those considered to be the most positive, which marks the Rosettes with a beneficial aura.

I think this is of secondary relevance to the Voynich, but it is a sign of the importance of medieval astrology in understanding the book.

[R. Sale]

Then, if "it is a sign of the importance of medieval astrology in understanding the book.", what part of the VMs gives the strongest indications relating to astrology? It's the VMs Zodiac sequence, not the Rosettes diagram.

The typical zodiac sequence of the European, early 15th C. would generally begin with the house of Aries, the ram. The VMs begins with the house of Pisces. So right off, there's a distinctive factor. Is this structure a "genuine cultural artifact" or is it part of a tactical scheme?

Pisces is the first of five sequential zodiac houses in the VMs Zodiac sequence where the occupants of each house have been paired. Quite the trick with Aries and Taurus; simple and effective. Perhaps the number 'five' is important. Perhaps 'pairing' back to Deuteronomy is important. A pairing of paired aquatic animals, and two pairs of land animals. Pairs in historical heraldry. Pairing provides the paradigm for interpretation. The evidence is in the VMs illustrations, in the VMs Zodiac, in VMs White Aries, a red hat and blue stripes. The confirmation is in the prior placement of the heraldic patterns, an obscure fur and heraldic canting.

The use of this technique, the creation of this structure, reveals a level of sophistication, on the part of the artist, that has no way to function without the necessary, heraldic details being recovered from their obscurity.

[nablator]

Top-left (small eyes = sleepy?):
   

Bottom-right (smiling):
   

[Koen G]

It's possible, though the degraded condition of the drawing makes it hard to tell. Overall, looking at faces of celestial bodies in the VM astronomical diagrams, the all appear grumpy. This would make the hint of a smile in the bottom right rosettes sun an exception.

[nablator]

It's possible, though the degraded condition of the drawing makes it hard to tell. Overall, looking at faces of celestial bodies in the VM astronomical diagrams, the all appear grumpy. This would make the hint of a smile in the bottom right rosettes sun an exception.

It's more than a hint.

Visible in better focus with the help of a sharpening filter (unsharp mask), especially the "old" (2004) scan.

Old:
       

New:
       

[Koen G]

Wait, so the part of the line on the left is part of the smile? That's one satisfied sun.

[Aga Tentakulus]

Happy sun.
So this is the west. Satisfied because the work is done and I can finally go home.
While East has just got up, a little tired and angry because she has to hurry to avoid being late.