Ensoulment

[pjburkshire]

Just noticed this in a 15th century source, ca. 1420, the oldest manuscript of the Aurora Consurgens, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., p.29 = f.14r:

... in 40 die[bus] formatur in formam hominis, in 40 die apparet in eo anima et a 40 die incipit nutriri sanguine menstruali per cursum eius ad umbilicum.

... in 40 days it is formed into the human form, on the 40th day the soul appears in it, and from the 40th day it begins to be nourished by the menstrual blood through its course to the navel.



Why this in an alchemy treatise? Because alchemists, reasoning by analogy, endeavored to imitate nature. On the same page: "in omnibus naturam imitari".

Some see the Voynich Manuscript as "an alchemy treatise" but I see it as a hodge-podge collection of religious and scientific information. Space for recording information was expensive back then. People stored valuable information where they could. The "alphabets" page of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. may be on the back of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. because that was where they had room for it. It may be that the "alphabets" page of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. has nothing to do with plants. Or maybe it was the other way around. Maybe they had the "alphabets" page that was blank on the back and they put a plant on it.


Another question; why is Gestation in Quire 10 before all of Pregnancy in Quire 13?

My answer; because Quire 10 is about the soul or the Spiritual, while Quire 13 is about the Physical or Biological.

Some people see the Voynich Manuscript as a pre-planned work with a single goal or a single message. I see it as a collection of copies of previous works that they thought were of value. These previous source works that they were copying may have been in multiple languages from various locations. It may even be a mixture of copied material and original material. People often take existing ideas and put their own personal spin on them.