Julian Bunn has characterized the VMs in terms of 'puzzles' and 'tests'. I certainly agree and have long supported those ideas in my investigations of the VMs Zodiac.
Among the puzzles I have found are 1) the Zodiac medallions, 2) the Zodiac tub patterns & 3) the combination of the first two.
The solutions are 1) pairing - basic pattern recognition, 2) heraldry - traditional pattern recognition & 3) the combination of pairing and heraldry as an additional indicator of intentional construction, where separation would tend to contradict any combined purpose.
The VMs tests are tests of recognition. The medallions for the various houses in the VMs Zodiac sequence have received a lot of attention for various reasons. The fact that each of the first five houses is represented by images that are paired is so far down the list that it really isn't on the list for many investigators.
It is this sort of omission, the test of recognition *failed*, that diverts so much of current investigation into less relevant areas. The tests of recognition built into the VMs Zodiac include the illustration on f71r. This is the Genoese Gambit. The author has posed a test question. Is there sufficient reason to investigate this potential identification further, assuming a potential identification can even be suggested? White Aries is not a simple illustration. Superficial disguise is contradicted by several objective, positional confirmations, then overwhelmed by the discovery of heraldic canting. The existence of historical grounding is a strong indicator of significance, but the VMs puzzle is only partially solved.
Among the puzzles I have found are 1) the Zodiac medallions, 2) the Zodiac tub patterns & 3) the combination of the first two.
The solutions are 1) pairing - basic pattern recognition, 2) heraldry - traditional pattern recognition & 3) the combination of pairing and heraldry as an additional indicator of intentional construction, where separation would tend to contradict any combined purpose.
The VMs tests are tests of recognition. The medallions for the various houses in the VMs Zodiac sequence have received a lot of attention for various reasons. The fact that each of the first five houses is represented by images that are paired is so far down the list that it really isn't on the list for many investigators.
It is this sort of omission, the test of recognition *failed*, that diverts so much of current investigation into less relevant areas. The tests of recognition built into the VMs Zodiac include the illustration on f71r. This is the Genoese Gambit. The author has posed a test question. Is there sufficient reason to investigate this potential identification further, assuming a potential identification can even be suggested? White Aries is not a simple illustration. Superficial disguise is contradicted by several objective, positional confirmations, then overwhelmed by the discovery of heraldic canting. The existence of historical grounding is a strong indicator of significance, but the VMs puzzle is only partially solved.