The Voynich Pipes

[Davidsch]

We see three types of pipes:

1) pipes as direct guidance for fluid, with fluid
2) open pipes with no fluid
3) pipes that are touched on the open end by an entity; most of the time the pipes have contact with an element which could be a fluid, air, or fire

[Anton]

I think Marco has a point to the extent that at least the pipe-like things within the similar diagrams could tell us something about the specific pipes under scrutiny in this thread.

For example, the question "are they pipes at all?" is still open. We can assume with some certainty that at least within the same subset of folios, the same visual conventions are used, so comparing these diagrams can teach us something. Don't ask me what at the moment

About the "sighting tubes", by coincidence I read today that at least the Greeks used them to reduce light pollution, i.e. to really be able to focus on the light of the stars.

I don't have any feeling that all those (as listed by Marco) belong to the same class. Instead, 77r - 78r look more like "vessels", which 69r and 69v do not at all. So the diagrams are simply not "similar".

Of course the question "are they pipes at all?" is open (like I supposed above that these may be nails instead). But the foremost question in respect of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. is what could the object set (numbered at 28 and linked to the celestial dome) stand for.

[Koen G]

With similar diagrams I meant the ones in the Cosmology section that also have a star in the middle. I think comparing them in depth might tell us more about this one.

Especially the fact that the pipes aren't evenly distributed across all sections of the star is something I find suspicious, though for now I have no explanation.

[MarcoP]

I have no idea of what this detail in You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. is (page ii). 
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[Anton]

Hmm... this rather reminds me of the pipes in the Rosettes folio. Note the same detail is also on the right. And there it does not look very much like pipes. Hence I think this is some detail that is not intended to be pipes, just occasionally appears like pipes on the left.

[VViews]

Another image I'd like to offer for comparison with the "pipes" or "nails" of 69r&v is the following detail from Hildegard von Bingen's You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. (Heidelberg Cod. Sal. X 16, f 2v).
Ellie Velinska already mentioned the folio back in 2015, making the connection between the representation of thunder there and the spiky shape on Voynich 82r.

The detail I would like to highlight is from the same diagram, and represents frost ("gelu"):

[Davidsch]

Link to previous posting: 22-02-2016, 05:53 PM

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[Anton]

@VViews

Quite interesting. The number here is 29, not 28 though

[Anton]

I just came across the striking resemblance of the Voynich Pipes diagram to the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. - the ancient wooden compass of the pomors - the North-Russian coast dwellers.

The idea is that you align the central rod with some reference - in the coastal zone that would be a You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. which was always orientated along the meridian, in the open sea that would be the Sun or the Polar star. In the dull weather one would orientate the windcaster according to the direction of the wind known in advance (that is, usual for this time of the year and place) - hence the name of the device.

It is not unlikely that similar devices may have been employed by seafarers in other parts of the world.

The problem is that with a windcaster, and with a compass in general, the number of divisions would be of course 32, while here it is only 28, and the fact that each one is labeled and thus given an individual meaning does not support the idea of a simple omission.

[Anton]

Well it's wholesome to take a pause of four years (a blink of an eye in the Voynich world!) and then to return with a fresh look.

Last year I proposed some astrologic connections for Q10 diagrams and suggested that the eight-pointed star in the Voynich pipes stands for Saturn. Details are found in the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view..

In that thread I also mentioned the Saturn cycle (approx 30 years) in connection with f67r2 (the "Voynich moons") which also features the supposed Saturn but fails to address the said number of 30, presenting the number of 12 instead.

At that time, I somehow failed to connect the number of 28 to Saturn. Now, here's what we read in the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.:

Deriving from the 29.46 year period of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.'s revolution around the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., the 28-year cycle as well as its subdivisions by 14 and 7 are supposed in You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. to mark significant turning points or sections in the course of a persons development in life. Thus, the number 28 has special significance in the culture of religious sects such as the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. and the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. dervishes. The 28-beat metric pattern often used in the music compositions accompanying the main part of the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. ritual is called the "Devri kebir", meaning the "Big Circle" and is a reference to above astronomical facts about the year and the Saturn year.

Right now, I'm not sure why Astrology derives 28 (and not 29) from 29.46, but I like that my interpretation continues to lead to something consistently meaningful, does it not?

***

I thought it might be entertaining to describe how I arrived at this observation, so the brief history is under the spoiler, just for fun:

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Last month, late in the evening, I picked a call from my friend informing me, quite imperatively, that in a few minutes there would be a stream on Facebook of Empyrium's live performance, and that I should make haste to turn on my PC to watch it. Which I did, to discover that the performance was part of the Prophecy 25th anniversary fest. Whoever donates a certain amount receives the festival artbook containing a music compilation. Which I did, and recently the artbook arrived. Today I was listening to the compilation and, in particular, to the song by the German band named "Eïs". The song was taken from the album called "Wetterkreuz". I did some web search to learn what the "Wetterkreuz" is and discovered that, unlike European weather crosses, in the Russian tradition those were erected by the pomors as navigation marks, designating safe harbours and showing cardinal directions. One of those - not very ancient though - still stands in Spitsbergen. Interestingly, many weather crosses were destroyed in the early 17th century by the order of the Tsar to make it difficult for Europeans to follow the sea route to Mangasea. The Wikipedia article mentioned the "windcaster" wooden compass, making me to read about it as well, and this brought the Voynich pipes to my mind. I counted those once again to recall that they are 28 in number, and, unfortunately, not 32. But referring to Wikipedia once again, I read that the number 28 is associated with the Saturn cycle. I next referred to my astrology thread to inquire whether the 8-pointed star was not by chance Saturn in my interpretation - and Saturn it was...