[split] References to Adam and Eve in Q13

[CaryR]

Hi Voynich ninja, this is my first post here! My long interest in the manuscript has primarily been directed into sculptural form, as I am currently working on a project where I’m making porcelain and glass sculptures inspired by the manuscript’s imagery. But over the past year I have also taken an interest in the research side of the Voynich (So it was bound to happen eventually that I would chime in here  )
 
I wanted to comment on this post because I had a thought about Koen’s suggestion that the nymph holding the red orb on You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. may allude to the serpent in Genesis. The “segmented” braid of this nymph’s hair is an interesting detail to consider, but I think there is also something else that may be relevant regarding the red orb.
 
Several months ago, Koen wrote a blog post about how the imagery on this folio may allude to the constellations of the summer hemisphere. This included the proposal that the red orb held by the nymph likely refers to the star Aldebaran, part of the constellation of Taurus. This star, sometimes known as the “Bull’s Eye” was described by the ancients as bright red in color, and the way the constellations are arranged, this eye of the bull seems to “look across the sky” at the constellation of Orion, which faces it.
 
Now, setting aside that idea of the star for a moment, the idea that this manuscript imagery relates to the serpent in Genesis would introduce a completely different layer of meaning. However, these two suggestions may not be at odds, rather they may support each other. The “Bull’s Eye” star may be highly relevant in connection to Adam and Eve. If this nymph alludes to the serpent holding out a piece of the “forbidden fruit” we know that this part of the story represents sin, when Eve eats the fruit.. Looking into the origins of the word “sin,” it apparently relates to the Greek word “hamartia.” This term has multiple meanings, but one of them is something along the lines of “missing the mark” as in an archery term—in other words, “missing the bull’s eye.” Additionally, the Hebrew word for sin has a similar meaning of “the missed mark.” Could the red fruit, the original sin, be also the red eye of Taurus, the bull’s eye?

(I speak neither Greek nor Hebrew, so I acknowledge that there is probably more nuance in these translations than what I gathered from a quick search. If anyone has a better understanding, please do correct me or add to this. But it does seem, from the little bit that I have looked into this so far, there is a connection between words for “sin” and words for “missing the mark/bull’s eye”) I thought this could be relevant when considering that there may be deliberately layered meanings going on with the “red orb.”