Hello Rene,
I see your point. Precession is well rooted into Western astronomical tradition. Since the Voynich people adopted the Western zodiac signs, one would expect that they were aware of precession and the consequent difference between the Pisces constellation and the Pisces zodiac sign, I agree. I don't think one can entirely exclude that they linked the cycle to the constellations instead of the signs, but this seems unlikely. Something vaguely similar can be observed in Alfonso's Lapidario, which bears other similarities with the Voynich manuscript, such as the association of a single star with each one of the 360 degrees of the zodiac: “the Lapidario stars of the first degree of Aries are actually stars in Pisces. This is a source of confusion for those who are unfamiliar with astronomical precession”.
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I think it is also worth remembering that there is a second consistent tradition in which the sequence starts with Aquarius: that is of course the ordering in which zodiac images are represented in calendars, and I think it is the most common in XIV / XV Century manuscripts - e.g. one of the “crossbow Sagittarius” manuscript you published on your site: Planeten-Buch - BSB Cgm 7269:
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The initial sign varied on the basis of the conventional “beginning of the year” (which differs in the Christian calendar, January 1st, and astronomical year, spring equinox). If we exclude precession, here we are dealing with a culture or a convention that placed the beginning of the year in the sign of Pisces (Feb 19 - Mar 20).
About “the association between zodiac signs and months in the MS”, if you are referring to the Latin alphabet labels added to the medallions, I think it is interesting to note that the 'Tractatus quadrantis veteris' table I attached before is consistent with them (Pisces / March, Aries / April, Taurus / May etc). If we consider those labels reliable, the Voynichese year apparently started during the first 20 days of March.
I see your point. Precession is well rooted into Western astronomical tradition. Since the Voynich people adopted the Western zodiac signs, one would expect that they were aware of precession and the consequent difference between the Pisces constellation and the Pisces zodiac sign, I agree. I don't think one can entirely exclude that they linked the cycle to the constellations instead of the signs, but this seems unlikely. Something vaguely similar can be observed in Alfonso's Lapidario, which bears other similarities with the Voynich manuscript, such as the association of a single star with each one of the 360 degrees of the zodiac: “the Lapidario stars of the first degree of Aries are actually stars in Pisces. This is a source of confusion for those who are unfamiliar with astronomical precession”.
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I think it is also worth remembering that there is a second consistent tradition in which the sequence starts with Aquarius: that is of course the ordering in which zodiac images are represented in calendars, and I think it is the most common in XIV / XV Century manuscripts - e.g. one of the “crossbow Sagittarius” manuscript you published on your site: Planeten-Buch - BSB Cgm 7269:
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
The initial sign varied on the basis of the conventional “beginning of the year” (which differs in the Christian calendar, January 1st, and astronomical year, spring equinox). If we exclude precession, here we are dealing with a culture or a convention that placed the beginning of the year in the sign of Pisces (Feb 19 - Mar 20).
About “the association between zodiac signs and months in the MS”, if you are referring to the Latin alphabet labels added to the medallions, I think it is interesting to note that the 'Tractatus quadrantis veteris' table I attached before is consistent with them (Pisces / March, Aries / April, Taurus / May etc). If we consider those labels reliable, the Voynichese year apparently started during the first 20 days of March.