30-01-2016, 08:25 AM
I've always found it interesting that two of the zodiac symbols are repeated.
At first glance one might think that they were redrawn because the illustrator was unhappy with the result, but the content on the pages is quite different, the most noticeable difference being the lack of clothing (the clothed versions look as though they might represent real people), and the text is different, as well.
So why are Aries and Taurus repeated and not the others?
The VMS zodiac series is not as simple as representing one of each symbol. If the symbols were arbitrary and simply a traditional sequence (and not related to the outer rings), there would be no need to repeat them (I have no idea how the inner symbol might relate to the outer rings, I just know that in Medieval times people assumed relationships between astrological symbols/constellations and human events and body parts).
Something has been cut out between the two versions of Taurus.
You have to wonder if those missing pages are still floating around somewhere in a private collection. It's my guess that if the owner of the VMS removed pages to send to people who could potentially decode the document, they would choose ones with both pictures and text (e.g., plants or zodiacs) because the pictures could aid in deciphering the text.
At first glance one might think that they were redrawn because the illustrator was unhappy with the result, but the content on the pages is quite different, the most noticeable difference being the lack of clothing (the clothed versions look as though they might represent real people), and the text is different, as well.
So why are Aries and Taurus repeated and not the others?
The VMS zodiac series is not as simple as representing one of each symbol. If the symbols were arbitrary and simply a traditional sequence (and not related to the outer rings), there would be no need to repeat them (I have no idea how the inner symbol might relate to the outer rings, I just know that in Medieval times people assumed relationships between astrological symbols/constellations and human events and body parts).
Something has been cut out between the two versions of Taurus.
You have to wonder if those missing pages are still floating around somewhere in a private collection. It's my guess that if the owner of the VMS removed pages to send to people who could potentially decode the document, they would choose ones with both pictures and text (e.g., plants or zodiacs) because the pictures could aid in deciphering the text.