(cache)Zodiac and Moirogenesis / Paranatellonta : voynich

Zodiac and Moirogenesis / Paranatellonta (self.voynich)

submitted 6 years ago * by Marc_Op

Moirogenesis and Paranatellonta are astrological systems based on the fixed stars associated with each single degree of the zodiac. On the basis of the constellations to which the stars belong, images were associated to each one of the 360 degrees. I am not sure of the difference in meaning between moirogenesis and paranatellonta, it could be that "Moirogenesis" is the astrological/divinatory side of the subject, while "Paranatellonta" are more astronomical/scientific.

Early in the history of Voynich studies, Erwin Panofsky noticed that the layout of the zodiac wheels is similar to the illustrations of Paranatellonta in a manuscript created for Alfonso X of Castile (the "astromagia" book BAV Reg Lat 1283a).

A similar zodiac cycle can be found in another work commissioned by Alfonso: the Lapidario.

https://i.imgur.com/PhVCktl.jpg

The two Alfonsine works are compared with the Voynich ms in the image above: Lapidario on the left and Astromagia on the right.

Other Western traditions illustrating the 360 degrees include the work by Georgius Zothorus Zaparus Fendulus, and "Astrolabium Planum", attributed to Pietro D'Abano but only surviving in later copies. All of the four traditions (the two Alfonsine works, Fendulus and Petrus) almost certainly derive from Eastern/Islamic sources: this is clearer for Fendulus and Petrus, who appear to depend on the Persian astronomer Abu Ma'shar (aka Albumasar).

The crowned nymphs in the Voynich zodiac were recently mentioned here. https://www.reddit.com/r/voynich/comments/db5x1e/lady_with_a_crown_anyone_have_any_insight_on_this/

A few years ago, I and other users discussed, on the site of Stephen Bax, the presence of crowns in Paranatellonta. As I wrote there, in Fendulus, "crowns appear in Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Libra, Scorpio. In the Voynich manuscript, crowned nymphs appear in Cancer (f72r3, EVA “ytoar shar”, on the right), Leo (f72v3, EVA “odair an”, on the right) and Libra (f72v1, EVA “oees”, at the top)".

This still seems to me a reasonably good match: additionally, the crown in Fendulus' Gemini actually is made of green leaves, like a wreath, so it can possibly be ignored.

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[–]hononononoh 4 points5 points6 points 6 years ago (1 child)

That's funny, u/Marc_Op, I was just looking at f73v (Sagittarius) yesterday and counting the nymphs (30 indeed), and figuring each nymph must stand for one day of the month. But degrees of the Ecliptic would make as much if not more sense, since these were roughly equivalent to days in a 360-day calendar. Why so few nymphs / human figures on the Aries page, then (f72r1)?

Are these Eastern/Islamic sources you refer to the same ones that would have used a 360-day year, and added a "leap month" every six years?

Good photoshop work, particularly with Leo. The contour lines of the lion's body line up almost perfectly. (And if you're going to use half of a lion from the VM, it's sure not going to be the front half!)

I saw the post about the nymph with the crown also, and it got me thinking: has anyone yet inventoried where and how many times each distinct nymph occurs in the VM? I think there are some recurrent characters, as indicated by distinctive hairstyles and hats. I'd be interested in tracing the progression of each of these "recurring characters" through the manuscript, especially with the folios considered in the original bound order. For example, I'm considering the possibility that the illustrations on f80r portray a story in several frames going from right to left and top to bottom, about the same set of characters.

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[–]Marc_Op[S] 1 point2 points3 points 6 years ago* (0 children)

Why so few nymphs / human figures on the Aries page, then (f72r1)?

Aries and Taurus are split on two pages, each containing 15 nymphs. Pisces has 29 nymphs, but an additional labelled star in the central medallion.

Are these Eastern/Islamic sources you refer to the same ones that would have used a 360-day year, and added a "leap month" every six years?

I am not particular competent about the history of calendars. Abu Ma'shar was Persian and apparently they used a calendar similar to what you describe. But of course it is likely that we have divided circles into 360 degrees by analogy with the number of days in the year: the two systems are not independent and telling one from the other is not that easy. The layout similarity with Alfonsine works seems to me to suggest that the Voynich zodiac is about moirogenesis/ paranatellonta, rather than a calendar. The distribution of the crowns might somehow confirm this idea. But of course everything is possible.

Good photoshop work

Thank you! It's Gimp actually :)

π Rendered by PID 47 on reddit-service-r2-loggedout-8548495994-6xktv at 2026-05-08 01:56:29.438738+00:00 running 3d2c107 country code: JP.

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