the red ink labels on f. 67r2 and medical astrology

[Linda]

The image highlights the obvious point that the page shows the moon in each of the 12 sections of the circular diagram, which may be related to medieval physicians considering the position of the moon in the Zodiac and its influence on different parts of the body.

I do admit to coming across various mentions of similar topics, the zodiac man, humours not to be let during certain phases of the moon. It appears the moons are in a 23 day position or thereabouts if the new moon is day 1. This might mean the full moon is on its way so don't temp the tide effect and wait out this waxing period.

I agree it's hard for any transcription to do justice to the glyphs themselves. It's just a convenience since it's so much easier to type anything in Latin letters, especially online. I've also recently become convinced that the "Cuva" transcription that Rene's site describes is actually probably a better and more accurate system than Eva. But most people who research the Voynich ms text are very used to Eva by now, so it's hard to break away from. In the Linear B research back in the day, the syllabary was so big that they had no choice but to use two-digit numbers to represent each character. Sometimes I wonder if that wouldn't be better for us too, to get us away from preconceived notions that may unconsciously arise from the habit of using Eva letters to express Voynich glyphs all the time.

Interesting, i hadnt been aware of Cuva. The number idea is interesting too, to deter unconscious analogy with the workings of the eva sounds or forms and ascribing them erroneously to being related to Voynichese.

An humourous aside... autocorrect just turned "Voynichese" to "Confused". Ha.

Yes, there are many types of phrases with repeated related word stems. Other examples are "king of kings", "lord of lords", "host of hosts", in languages where "of" is not a separate word or where the possessive or genitive concept is expressed with a suffix or prefix. Deliberate alliteration and assonance are also very common literary devices, and especially so in certain languages and literary traditions such as Hebrew, Aramaic, and Syriac. (Scholars have noted that New Testament Greek lost some of the alliterative and assonant word play of some of Jesus's sayings in the original Aramaic, which the Syriac Peshitta version of the Bible in some cases captures better.)

I was thinking alliteration as well. But if, for example, the glyphs stand for other things, like coordinates, two similar vords side by side could be indicative of adjacent places. It could explain why so many seemingly repetetive strings exist, and why many labels in quire 13 are so similar. Or it could be they stand for other words, numbers, or visual attributes. In this case they would not act the same as if they were what we usually think of as words.

I think a list of body parts could allow for more repetition because the same body part might appear under multiple Zodiac signs, especially if it's a rather generic body part like "chest" or "nervous system" or "digestive system", each of which effectively may occur under multiple signs in a system such as the one described in this link:

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I have taken a brief look at body part notion, when i set my quire 13 page order based on the geographical tour of waterbodies of the ecumene, i checked it against Ellie Velinska's body part identifications, and it built up from foot to head, or Pisces through to Aries (via Aquarius), as listed in the link example. So yes i can see connections to that effect being reflected in the text as well. I think i see what you mean by repetition of parts, but i dont see this type of repetition in the red labels per se.

Whereas a list of the 12 Zodiac signs or the 12 months seems much more rigid to me, with much less allowance for anything other than the 12 canonical names of the signs or months. With the body parts, it's just a doctor's practical guide, there can be abbreviations or generic labels for sections of the body or variations in terminology. Also, in some languages similar or nearby body parts such as hand/arm and foot/leg may have identical or closely related names, so that if a physician wrote both of them in one label, it would appear as two very similar words. Another example would be the repetition of words like "bile" or other terms related to the four "humors" which were an essential part of medieval medicine and also believed to have links to astrology and Zodiac signs as well.

I could see that being the case.

As for the 12 separate illustrations of the moon in the diagram, I think the overwhelmingly most likely significance of the division of the circle into 12 parts has to be the 12 months or Zodiac signs. We find the same 12 sections on the preceding page You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. 1, and again on the following page You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. 1. The individual pages for each Zodiac sign follow shortly thereafter, from You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. to You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. . The 12 sections of the circle simply have to represent the 12 signs or months. I can't see how they could be anything else.

Agreed, it does seem to fit with the inclusion of the zodiac section, and references to Earth as a turning planet, that is connected to a turning firmament (i believe this may be referencing precession through the zodiac over the ages).

What I do find curious about these 12 illustrations of the moon, is how the ones with their crescents colored red mostly alternate signs/months, except for two in a row on the right side that are not red, followed by two more in a row toward the bottom that are red. I would love to know what the significance of that pattern is!

I have seen some explanations which cover this and thought one of them had it right but cant remember what the idea was related to or who outlined it. You are right, it needs explanation.

Thank you for the pointer and the link to VViews' take on this page. I will have to take a closer look at his post and the discussion there!

You are welcome. 

Re the idea of the crab nebula, given the changes that we have been able to capture in the photographic era, it is conceivable for someone of that time to have noticed a difference in it within their lives, especially if they had equated it with mentions thereof within manuscripts, and if they had the ability to see it well enough. Given that You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. f68r3 gives hints at heavenly objects in the vicinity of Taurus being occluded by the moon, perhaps it is not beyond the realm of possibility that this is portrayed centrally on this page, especially with the two cloudbursts superimposed on a star.

I see the vms as having one underlying theme, and that is change over time. From volcanic uplift and overflow, to erosion, sedimentation, and evaporation, to the tides, ebbs, and flows of water, to the morphing and hybridization of plants, to the changes in civilizations from place to place and through time, to the lights in the night sky moving and changing positions, if that is true, and the text outlines more of the same, the vms could be analogous to a snapshot of time itself, but not only that, but which may include corrections to what we think we already know now.

It would not surprise me if it also included information as to the physicalities of the human condition.