The Misinterpretation

and Reinterpretation of the

Voynich Manuscript
Joannes Richter

Fig 1 Rain dripping at the lower end of the following

rainbow, resp. bifurcated water-pipe (page f82v)

Abstract
The interpretation of the Voynich Manuscript has never been completed and demonstrated. The
mystery of its meaning and origin has excited the popular imagination, making it the subject of
study and speculation.1
The illustrations are conventionally used to divide most of the manuscript into five or six different
sections, since the text cannot be read.
Maybe the Voynich Manuscript may be interpreted as a unified scientific composition of a herbal
collection, the optimized herbal water-management and conditions for these herbs, including the
calendar and the roles of the water-nymphs.
In order to estimate the Voynich Manuscript as a unified scientific composition we may interpret the
so-called “balneological section” as a Hydro-logic section, which might be managed by the classical
water-nymphs. The queens may be interpreted as the water-nymphs who managed the rainbows.
In the springtime March, April and May the water-nymphs (Pleiades and Hyades) had to move as
the stars from the sky to the earth to distribute and manage the water-distributions. Various symbols
such as the colors green, blue and yellow may be identified as astrological parameters.
In the Voynich Manuscript the rainbows are described as rain-pipes (in the pages f82v and f83r).
The section f82v describes the Hydrology of the rainbows, which interprets the rainbow as a water-
pipe to guide the rain-water's flow. In modern physics this interpretation seems to be unrealistic, but
the theory may have been “modern” in the Middle Ages.
Therefore the so-called “balneological section” should be interpreted as a Hydro-logic section, in
which an unknown author explains (and probably describes) the optimized rain-management of the
water-nymphs, who may be identified as the Pleiades and Hyades.

1 Voynich Manuscript
Introduction
The interpretation of the Voynich Manuscript has never been completed and demonstrated. The
mystery of its meaning and origin has excited the popular imagination, making it the subject of
study and speculation.2
The "language" Voynich A appears in the herbal and pharmaceutical parts of the manuscript. The
"language" known as Voynich B appears in the balneological section, some parts of the medicinal
and herbal sections, and the astrological section. The most common vocabulary items of Voynich A
and Voynich B are substantially different.3
The Voynich A may have been composed by a herbal expert, whereas the Voynich B with the
Hydro-logic (or balneological) section may have been composed by a astrological or astronomic
specialist. These experts may have cooperated to compose the Voynich manuscript as a unified
manual.

The categorization of the illustrations

The illustrations are conventionally used to divide most of the manuscript into five or six different
sections, since the text cannot be read. Each section is typified by illustrations with different styles
and supposed subject matter[14] except for the last section, in which the only drawings are small
stars in the margin. The following chapters are the sections and their conventional titles:
(1) Herbal,
(2) Astronomy or Astrology,
(3) Balneology,
(4) Cosmology and
(5) Apothecary, including (6) Recipes.
Especially the balneological section (f75r- f84v) seems to be misunderstood and concentrates on the
Hydrology as the study of the distribution and movement of water both on and below the Earth's
surface.
A successful deciphering of the text cannot be achieved as long as the interpretation of the
illustrations is misunderstood and incomplete. Therefore this essay is dedicated to the interpretation
of the so-called balneological section (20 folios):
A dense, continuous text interspersed with drawings, mostly showing small nude
women, some wearing crowns, bathing in pools or tubs connected by an elaborate
network of pipes. The bifolio consists of folios 78 (verso) and 81 (recto); it forms an
integrated design, with water flowing from one folio to the other.[25][48]

The balneological section (f75r- f84v) is also named “biological”. The fkuid-tubes however are not
the veins or any other tubes in the human body, but water-pipes, which transport the rain flows in
the sky and probably the rivers, the lakes or seas and the subterranean waters.
A balneological section would be misplaced between two sections titled Astronomy (or Astrology)
and Cosmology. The water-nymphs Pleiades and Hyades may have been located both as stars in the
sky and on earth responsible for the water-management.

2 Voynich Manuscript
3 Statistical patterns in Voynich Manuscript
An overview of Key -Symbols

The links of the nymphs

The small nude women are identified as "nymphs", who usually dwelt in specific areas related to
the natural environment: e.g. mountainous regions; forests; springs. The illustrations concentrate on
the water nymphs, who often may have been categorized as Aquatic deities, such as Oceanids,
Naiads (freshwater nymphs) and the Nereids (sea nymphs). Other categories discern Water nymphs
(Hydriades or Ephydriades) and Underworld nymphs (including the subterranean river Styx). 4
Nymphs often tended to frequent areas distant from humans but could be encountered
by lone travelers outside the village, where their music might be heard, and the traveler
could spy on their dancing or bathing in a stream or pool, either during the noon heat or
in the middle of the night.[6] 5

The name of the Water nymphs (Hydriades) already refers to the Hydrology as the distribution and
movement of water.

The role of the seasons

Especially a number of nymphs (the 7 Pleiades and 5 Hyades) were the Star Nymphs of Greek
Mythology. The rising of the Pleiades in Italy was about the beginning of May, and their setting
about the beginning of November. Their names are Electra, Maia, Taygete, Alcyone, Celaeno,
Sterope, and Merope. Their leader was Maia (→ the month May), the mother of Hermes by Zeus.
The heliacal setting of the Hyades' constellation in November marks the start of the rainy season in
Greece and from this the nymphs were named "the Rainy Ones."
In the Greek mythology the 7 Pleiades and 5 Hyades represented the Star Nymphs of Greek
Mythology, who were responsible for the fertility of the agriculture. Their activity was ruled and
documented in the annual calendar, which is structured in the astronomic and astrological legends
of our mythologies.
The seasons are defined as spring (March, April, May), summer (June, July, August), autumn
(September, October, November) and winter (December, January, ... Especially the months March,
April and May are the springtime, in which the time stamps of the agriculture activities need to be
defined accurately.

4 Lists of the nymphs

5 Greek folk religion in Wikipedia's nymphs
The role of the queens
Therefore the Voynich Manuscript lists the responsible nymphs in the astrological section, which
seems to define each nymph to an individual calendar day. Some of the nymph are wearing crowns,
which may be interpreted as a hierarchical highlight in the calendar. These highlights are named
“queens”, which might be highlighted by a rainbow on a special rainy days6.
In the Voynich Manuscript the rainbows are described in the pages f82v and f83r. The rainbows are
illustrated as bifurcating water-pipes, which are raining at both ends with a supply entry in the
middle of the pipes. The basic interpretation of the rainbow may be found in the sketch of page
f82v, which illustrates the rain dripping at the lower end of the following bifurcated water-pipe:

Fig 2 Rain dripping at the lower end of the following

rainbow, resp. bifurcated water-pipe (page f82v)

6 Voynich (7): The Role of the Queens in the Voynich Manuscript

The structure of the Voynich manuscript

The introduction (f1r)

This text may cover the description of the following structure of the Voynich manuscript, including
the role of the water-nymphs.

The Herbal section (f1v- f66v)

The Voynich manuscript starts the book with an introduction at page f1r, which is followed by a
Herbal section (from f1v to f57r) and a following complex mixture of texts, a Cosmological page
and a few extra Herbal pages:
The extension covers a few pages f57v (Cosmological), text pages (f58r & f58v), several
missing pages and followed by 2 Herbal pages f65r and f65v, a text page f66r and a Herbal
page f66v.

The Astronomical, Cosmological and Zodiac sections (f67r1- f73v)

The Astronomical and Cosmological section covers the pages f67r1 – f70r2 and is followed by the
Zodiac section (f70v2 – f73v).
In the zodiacal section the legendary water-nymphs are defined and described as star formations,
which play an important role7 in the agriculture and the weather rules for trading traditions.

The biological or balneological resp. hydro-logical section (f75r- f84v)

This hydro-logical section describe the roles of the water-nymphs in the hydro-logical section (f75r-
f84v), which does not refer to the biological processes of the human bodies. The water-nymphs may
be interpreted as “half-divine” angels or benign deities, who were responsible for the water
management of the planet Earth. Their homestead was the sky, located at the Pleiades and Hyades.
Therefore the hydro-logical section had to be inserted between the Astronomical, Cosmological and
Zodiac sections (f67r1- f73v) and the second Cosmological section (f85r2 – f86v3). This insertion
confirms the inherent structure of the Voynich Manuscript as a scientific and logical description.

The second Cosmological section (f85r2 - f86v3)

The second Cosmological section covers the pages (f85r2 – f86v3).

The second Herbal and Pharmaceutical section (f87r - f102v1)

The second Herbal and Pharmaceutical section covers the pages f87r – f102v1, which may also
include the section titled The stars (f103r – f116v).

The stars (f103r – f116v)

The stars (f103r – f116v) are texts and may also belong to the second Herbal and Pharmaceutical
section.

7 One of the nymphs was the first wife (METIS) on Zeus, who had to swallow her.
Renaming titles for pages in the section Hydrology (f75r- f84v)
In the “Voynich information browser” the titles for the pages in the biological or balneological
section (f75r- f84v) are restricted to f75v (Ten showers), f77v (Kidneys and bladder), f79v
(Mermaid and Big Fish ), (f80r) Bathing queens and f84r (Covered pool).

The Astronomical, Cosmological and Zodiac sections (f67r1- f73v)

The Astronomical and Cosmological section covers the pages f67r1 – f70r2 and is followed by the
Zodiac section (f70v2 – f73v).
In the zodiacal section the legendary water-nymphs are defined and described as popular zodiacal
star formations Pleiades and Hyades, which play an important role 8 in the agriculture and the
weather rules for trading traditions.
Therefore the nymphs may have been defined in the Zodiac section (f70v2 – f73v).

The section Hydrology (former biological or balneological, f75r- f84v)

Page 75r
Page F75r may describe the transfer of the 7 & 5 nymphs and 1 queen (?) from the sky to earth. The
first station is the cloudy sky, in which the distribution axis spreads the rays in the colors blue and
yellow, which produces a wave of a green fluid, respectively water.
There are 7 nymphs in upper wave and 5 “common” nymphs in the lower wave. One of the nymphs
in the lower wave may be a “queen”, who wears a “crown” and is taller than the “common”
nymphs. These waves may be interpreted as the 7 Pleiades and 5 Hyades and a queen (named
May ?).
The colors blue and yellow may be encoding symbols for different water categories, such as:
• flowing water, respectively still water
• or sweet (or fresh), respectively salt water.
The colors yellow, blue and green had been defined in pages f67v2 and f69v in the Astronomical
and Cosmological section9.

Page f75v
Page f75v describes a (rain ?) shower for 10 nymphs, for which the water is mixed by 50% yellow
and 50% blue fluids.
The fluids may represent the rain, which is colored green in the upper pond and colored blue in the
lower pond. In the lower basin one of the (19) nymphs is taller and carries a slight “garland” or
“crown”.

Page f76r (without illustrations)

Page f76r lists 9 paragraphs or topics (listed: S-D-Q-S-O-L-K-R-S).

8 One of the nymphs was the first wife (METIS) on Zeus, who had to swallow her.
9 Voynich (6) - The Origin of the Yellow, Blue and Green Waters
Page f76v
In page f76v the rain is falling from the clouds. In this springtime the nymphs are planting tiny
plants.

Page f77r
At the top at page f77r a large pipe-system (shaped as a “large” rainbow with 7 exits) sheds water to
the ground. 6 Exits seem to be labeled with EVA-texts:
<f77r.X.1;H> olkchs=
<f77r.X.2;H> otedy=
<f77r.X.3;H> otork=
<f77r.X.4;H> otol=
<f77r.X.5;H> dchdy=
<f77r.X.6;H> soral=
Table 1 6 Exits seem to be labeled with EVA-texts
Clouds are illustrated as water-pipes, which are spreading rain.

Page f77v
Page f77v illustrates a concatenation of rainbows between several cloud formations, which are
shedding rain water. A 3-stage cumulus cloud is shedding water.

Page f78r
In page f78r 7 nymphs are bathing in the upper pond and 8 nymphs in the upper pond (both with
green water).

page f78v
In page f78v 9 nymphs are bathing in a large basin with green water.

Page f79r
In page f79r the blue water is flowing from the sky downwards to a basin with green water at the
bottom-level.

Page f79v
In Page f79v the upper nymph is being showered by rain-water while holding a cross. A second
nymph is being showered by rain while holding a garland or crown. The bottom nymph is
swallowed by a big fish in green water.

Page f80r
10 Labels on nymphs along top margin are listed in Page f80r, including the labels for a number of
queens.

Page f80v
In Page f80v the blue water is flowing downwards a pond structure with blue water at the bottom-
level.
Page f81r
In Page f81r 7 nymphs are bathing in an upper green and 6 in a lower green pond. These ponds are
connected to pipe-systems in other pages.

Page f81v
In Page f81v 16 nymphs are bathing in a large pond. These ponds are connected to pipe-systems in
other pages.

Page 82r
Page f82r describes several hydro-logic distribution systems and several labeled queens who are
bathing in a green pond. One of the queens wears yellow-blond hair and the other blue hair10.

Page 82v
The section f82v describes the Hydrology of the rainbows, which interprets the rainbow as a water-
pipe to guide the rain-water's flow. In modern physics this interpretation may seem to be unrealistic,
but this theory may have been modern in the Middle Ages.

Page f83r
Page f83r describes various formations for clouds and rainbows.

Page f83v
Page f83v describes various formations for clouds and rainbows.

Page f84r
Page f84r describes 3 ponds for groups of 10, 12 respectively 11 water-nymphs

Page f84v
In page f84v7 nymphs are bathing in an upper blue and 8 in a lower blue pond. Both ponds are connected to
pipe-systems in other pages. This page seems to aim a connection to page f85r1, which is filled with a text
section.

The Cosmological section (f85r2 - f86v3)

Page f85r2
The following page f85r2 starts the Cosmological section, which connects the Hydro-logic section to a
second planetary section.
The page contains only a circular diagram. At the center of the diagram is a sun with neutral expression and
narrow reverse-S-shaped rays. Surrounding it is a colored disk textured with a whirlpool pattern, bent
clockwise-out.

10 Voynich (7): The Role of the Queens in the Voynich Manuscript

Overview of the section “Hydrology” (former “biological”,...)
Voynich Categorization of the (renamed) section “Hydrology”
Page / index (former “biological” or “balneological” section)
f75r A The transfer of the 7 & 5 nymphs and 1 queen (?) from the sky to earth.
f75v B 10 nymphs are showered with (blue ?) water while bathing in green water and 19
are stepping in blue water
f76r C Without illustrations S-D-Q-S-O-L-K-R-S
f76v D The rain is falling from the clouds. In this springtime the nymphs are planting tiny
plants.
f77r E Rainbow-exits and clouds are illustrated as water-pipes, which are spreading rain.
f77v F Page f77v illustrates a concatenation of rainbows between several cloud formations,
which are shedding rain water. A 3-stage cumulus cloud is shedding water.
f78r G In page f78r 7 nymphs are bathing in the upper pond and 8 nymphs in the upper
pond (both with green water).
f78v H In page f78v 9 nymphs are bathing in a large basin with green water.
f79r I In page f79r the blue water is flowing from the sky downwards to a basin with
green water at the bottom-level.
f79v J The upper nymph is being showered by rain-water while holding a cross. A second
nymph is being showered by rain while holding a garland or crown. The bottom
nymph is swallowed by a big fish in green water.
f80r K 10 Labels on nymphs along top margin are listed, including the labels for a number
of queens.
f80v L In page f80v the blue water is flowing downwards a pond structure with blue water
at the bottom-level.
f81r M 7 nymphs are bathing in an upper green and 6 in a lower green pond. These ponds
are connected to pipe-systems in other pages.
f81v N In Page f81v 16 nymphs are bathing in a large pond. These ponds are connected to
pipe-systems in other pages.
f82r O Page f82r describes several hydro-logic distribution systems and several labeled
queens who are bathing in a green pond. One of the queens wears yellow-blond hair
and the other blue hair11.
f82v P The sketch in f82v explains the rain's flow in the Hydrology of the rainbows
f83r Q Various formations for clouds and rainbows
f83v R Various formations for clouds and rainbows
f84r S Three ponds for groups of 10, 12 respectively 11 water-nymphs
f84v T 7 nymphs are bathing in an upper blue and 8 in a lower blue pond. Both ponds are
connected to pipe-systems in other pages.
Table 2 Overview of the Biological section (nymphs' stories) in the range of the pages f75r- f84v

11 Voynich (7): The Role of the Queens in the Voynich Manuscript

Summary
The interpretation of the Voynich Manuscript has never been completed and demonstrated. The
mystery of its meaning and origin has excited the popular imagination, making it the subject of
study and speculation.12
The illustrations are conventionally used to divide most of the manuscript into five or six different
sections, since the text cannot be read.
Maybe the Voynich Manuscript may be interpreted as a unified scientific composition of a herbal
collection, the optimized herbal water-management and conditions for these herbs, including the
calendar and the roles of the water-nymphs.
In order to estimate the Voynich Manuscript as a unified scientific composition we may interpret the
so-called “balneological section” as a Hydro-logic section, which might be managed by the classical
water-nymphs. The queens may be interpreted as the water-nymphs who managed the rainbows.
In the springtime March, April and May the water-nymphs (Pleiades and Hyades) had to move as
the stars from the sky to the earth to distribute and manage the water-distributions. Various symbols
such as the colors green, blue and yellow may be identified as astrological parameters.
In the Voynich Manuscript the rainbows are described as rain-pipes (in the pages f82v and f83r).
The section f82v describes the Hydrology of the rainbows, which interprets the rainbow as a water-
pipe to guide the rain-water's flow. In modern physics this interpretation seems to be unrealistic, but
the theory may have been “modern” in the Middle Ages.
Therefore the so-called “balneological section” should be interpreted as a Hydro-logic section, in
which an unknown author explains (and probably describes) the optimized rain-management of the
water-nymphs, who may be identified as the Pleiades and Hyades.

12 Voynich Manuscript
Contents
Abstract.................................................................................................................................................1
Introduction..........................................................................................................................................2
The categorization of the illustrations.............................................................................................2
An overview of Key -Symbols.............................................................................................................3
The links of the nymphs...................................................................................................................3
The structure of the Voynich manuscript .............................................................................................5
The introduction (f1r)......................................................................................................................5
The Herbal section (f1v- f66v)........................................................................................................5
The Astronomical, Cosmological and Zodiac sections (f67r1- f73v)..............................................5
The biological or balneological resp. hydro-logical section (f75r- f84v)........................................5
The second Cosmological section (f85r2 - f86v3) ..........................................................................5
The second Herbal and Pharmaceutical section (f87r - f102v1) ....................................................5
The stars (f103r – f116v).................................................................................................................5
Renaming titles for pages in the section Hydrology (f75r- f84v).........................................................6
The Astronomical, Cosmological and Zodiac sections (f67r1- f73v)..............................................6
The section Hydrology (former biological or balneological, f75r- f84v)........................................6
The Cosmological section (f85r2 - f86v3).......................................................................................8
Overview of the section “Hydrology” (former “biological”,...)...........................................................9
Summary.............................................................................................................................................10
Appendix: Previous study-essays in the Voynich-Project..................................................................12
Appendix: Previous study-essays in the Voynich-Project
The following study-essays have been documented as stages in the Voynich-Project:
1. The Roots of the Voynich-Manuscript
2. The Search for Water- and Air-Words in the Voynich-Manuscript
3. The Relations between the Hunter Orion, the Pleiades and Baskets in the Voynich
Manuscript
4. The (Green) Aachtopf and the (Blue) Blautopf as Karst-Springs in the Voynich Manuscript
5. The Life-Cycle in Page f79v of the Voynich Manuscript
6. The Origin of the Yellow, Blue and Green Waters
7. The Role of the Queens in the Voynich Manuscript