05-04-2026, 10:49 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-04-2026, 10:50 AM by 008348dc760f858fd668476b75fb6f.
Edit Reason: clarified mapping
)
Hi folks, as an update I resolved this issue (to my satisfaction at least) as being that the Nymphs in the Zodiac section encode seasonal preparations for treating ailments. The reference text Kitab al-Azmina is a good reference for Galenic medicine orientated to the seasons.
The "a" and "e" characters encode two axis of Galenic qualities, which indicate the prescriptions for a patient suffering from seasonal influence on the Humors of the body. The Kitab also defines a set of restrictions and constraints on treatment based on seasons.
As a really blunt test count the occurrence of "a" and "e" characters in each Nymph label in each Zodiac folio (merge the paired-same-sign folios) and tally the total counts for each sign. You'll see an inverse graph, one goes up when the other goes down.
My initial assumption was that “e” directly encoded a Galenic quality. After extending that logic to the rest of the manuscript and testing I spotted a conflict, which I eventually resolved by realising that the Nymphs were not encoding the nature of things at a degree — they were encoding the required treatment at that degree, following the principle of “Contraria contrariis curantur” (“Contraries are cured by contraries”). If someone is sick from a Hot and Moist condition then they require a Cold and Dry medicine. Naturally it’s more nuanced than that but that is the general principle. So the Nymphs encode a treatment schedule calibrated to the seasons: e% tracks thermal treatment demand and a% tracks moisture treatment demand, both on the therapeutic inverse. In summer the ambient heat influences a person’s humours, throwing them out of balance; e% peaks because Cold treatments are most needed. In winter a% peaks because Dry treatments predominate. A physician would check at what degree the sickness manifested and administer the corresponding treatment.
You can then match that very distinctive weather pattern to a region, I got a hit on the Alqosh/Mosul area.
You can also then build out your understanding of the dain/daiin/daiiin and chedy/cheedy/cheeedy tokens as representing degree modified tokens along those axis.
The "a" and "e" characters encode two axis of Galenic qualities, which indicate the prescriptions for a patient suffering from seasonal influence on the Humors of the body. The Kitab also defines a set of restrictions and constraints on treatment based on seasons.
As a really blunt test count the occurrence of "a" and "e" characters in each Nymph label in each Zodiac folio (merge the paired-same-sign folios) and tally the total counts for each sign. You'll see an inverse graph, one goes up when the other goes down.
My initial assumption was that “e” directly encoded a Galenic quality. After extending that logic to the rest of the manuscript and testing I spotted a conflict, which I eventually resolved by realising that the Nymphs were not encoding the nature of things at a degree — they were encoding the required treatment at that degree, following the principle of “Contraria contrariis curantur” (“Contraries are cured by contraries”). If someone is sick from a Hot and Moist condition then they require a Cold and Dry medicine. Naturally it’s more nuanced than that but that is the general principle. So the Nymphs encode a treatment schedule calibrated to the seasons: e% tracks thermal treatment demand and a% tracks moisture treatment demand, both on the therapeutic inverse. In summer the ambient heat influences a person’s humours, throwing them out of balance; e% peaks because Cold treatments are most needed. In winter a% peaks because Dry treatments predominate. A physician would check at what degree the sickness manifested and administer the corresponding treatment.
You can then match that very distinctive weather pattern to a region, I got a hit on the Alqosh/Mosul area.
You can also then build out your understanding of the dain/daiin/daiiin and chedy/cheedy/cheeedy tokens as representing degree modified tokens along those axis.