22-04-2026, 04:17 PM
(22-04-2026, 03:45 AM)rikforto wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I have a small but tantalizing observation about this. It began by noticing that Pisces is unique for having 30 labels but one of them is in the center. [...] VMS Pisces---albeit, Pisces alone---seems to count degrees including the central sign.
As I wrote elsewhere, I believe that (A) the only essential information contents of each Zodiac diagram is the ordered list of 30 labels, and the approximate correspondence of whatever period is covered by the diagram with a sign of the Western Zodiac; (B) the stars, nymphs, and tubs are only decoration and do not convey any additional information; © the circular text is meaningful but not essential, being trimmed to fit the available space.
In the case of Pisces, I believe that the Scribe made an error while counting the stars that he had drawn, and at first he thought that he was short of 2 stars; so he drew 2 additional stars in the central medallion. In fact he had drawn 19 stars in the bands, so now the diagram has 31 stars.
Then, when he wrote the labels next to the nymphs, he found that he had actually drawn only 19 nymphs. So he wrote the last label at the center too.
Another explanation for the 2 stars at the center is that he copied them from an astronomical drawing of the constellation, but misundertstanding it. See my previous post on this thread.
All the best, --stolfi