No text, but a visual code

[Antonio García Jiménez]

Since antiquity the sun has been represented with masculine characteristics and the moon with feminine ones, and the faces of both celestial bodies in the Voynich follow that convention, although there is some ambiguity. The distinction is clearest in the headdress of some images. For example, in the central image of the top row posted by Stefan (f68v1), we see the moon wearing a feminine headdress. If it appears to have rays emanating from it, it's because it's blocking the sun. The composition represents the cycle of day and night, which is why we see blue segments alternating with segments containing stars.

   On the other hand, if among the hundreds of female figures in the Voynich Manuscript there appears to be a male one, it is either simply an illusion or a joke by the author, tired of drawing female bodies. What matters is the intention, the idea that guided the authors, which is none other than to represent the fixed stars of the sky with female figures.

   I recently posted an image of the Pleiades: women with a star above their heads, an iconography similar to that of the Voynich with women holding a star. This type of anthropomorphic representation is so common in the Middle Ages that we are all used to seeing it; for example, in the representation of the planet Mars as a man and Venus as a woman.