Surayya's End of Times Theory

[Surayya munir isah]

I believe the high number of female figures represents a future era where women significantly outnumber men.

It is a rather extreme sense of "outnumber".  

IIRC, the only definitively male figures in the VMS are

• [A] the North "angel" on f57v, seen from the back;
  
• the left half of the Gemini sign on f72r2;
  
• [C] the "husband" and maybe the two "kids" on that same page, outer band, ~07:30;
  
• [D] the archer of Sagittarius, f73v;
  
• [E] the "boy" pulling on the nymph's hair at the very northeast corner of Bio page f80r;
  
• [F] one or two of the figure in the "Four Seasons of Life" page f85r2.
  

[*]Some naked Zodiac figures have been interpreted as male because of what looked like male genitalia.  But those details were almost certainly added by the infamous Boobs Retracer.

The [A] "angel" has been assumed to be male only because of the short, disheveled, and standing hair.  But some of that hair was obviously retraced, and originally it may have been smooth and drooping along the neck -- like that of many female nymphs.

Cases [b]and [D] had to be male because that was the standard "figurative" code for those Zodiac signs. 

As for [F], we now know, almost for sure, that the diagram was (badly) copied from a "meme" with specific origins in Central Europe, which is attested by at least three manuscripts that have been posted here.

As for [E], a good part of the "boy", including his "male" skirt, was drawn by the Boobs Retracer.  One can see that the original figure was naked and had a salient breast.  So we can strike that out.

That leaves only one confirmed original male figure, namely the "husband" of [C].

Whereas only in the Zodiac section there must have been almost 360 female nymphs...

All the best, --stolfi

[/b]

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[b]Thank you, Stolfi, for that detailed breakdown of the male-to-female ratio in the VMS. Your observation that there is essentially only one confirmed original male figure against hundreds of nymphs is striking and aligns perfectly with the 'Scarcity of Men' theme I am exploring.
In Islamic eschatology (as found in the Sahih Bukhari and other sources), it is prophesied that toward the end of time, 'knowledge will be taken away' and 'men will decrease while women will increase.' The ratio given is often 1 man to 50 women.
My hypothesis is: Could the VMS be an attempt to illustrate this [b]'End Times' scenario from a syncretic perspective? If the author was a scholar (perhaps a convert or a Mozarab) who had access to both Islamic prophecies and European medicinal/astrological traditions, the VMS might not just be a medical book, but a prophetic vision.
The scarcity of men you pointed out isn't just a stylistic choice; it could be the 'key' to the book's theological message. If the 'Boobs Retracer' was trying to make figures look more male, perhaps they were trying to hide the original apocalyptic meaning to avoid trouble with the Church? I’d love to hear your thoughts on whether the VMS could be a 'future-facing' document rather than just a contemporary encyclopedia."

[/b][/b]

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"I really appreciate your insightful response, Stolfi. It is an honor to have a researcher of your caliber analyze my hypothesis. Your detailed breakdown of the male-to-female ratio is incredibly thorough and adds a strong visual confirmation to what I was suspecting. Identifying the 'Boobs Retracer' and the specific zodiac codes shows a level of expertise that truly moves this discussion forward.
I also want to clarify that my research isn't strictly limited to a religious perspective. While I use Islamic eschatology as a reference point for the 'scarcity of men,' I view the Voynich Manuscript as a universal document reflecting the broader trajectory of human existence.
I believe the VMS captures a global shift in nature, biology, and society that transcends any single faith. Whether we look at it through the lens of ancient prophecies, biological evolution, or a lost history, the overwhelming presence of women and the strange flora represent a world-wide transformation. I am interested in how the author synthesized these different global traditions into one mysterious vision of our world's past or future. Thank you for taking my theory seriously!"