Captain Blog: January 29th 2022,
There is a LOT to unpack on Folio 15v. First of all the symbology is overwhelming as it refers to Christopher Columbus. Columbus on his first voyage had 29 surveyor marker stakes. In the center of those stakes is a very specific symbol that is identical to the leaves on 15v. Because Columbus didn’t have Folio 12 he didn’t know he took the “WOE, do not go this way route,” and ended up in the wrong location. I don’t have folio 12 either but knowing all the maps and the locations in the Voynich Manuscript I deduced folio 12 was the guinea ocean current that gets a sailor to the south equatorial current and the best route to The New World. (see blog post on translation of Folio 14r and the intertropical convergence zone.) Where Columbus was supposed to land (if he had the VM) was a little below the equator in Brazil.
The location of folio 15v is 9 degrees 52 minutes South x 32 degrees 41 minutes West. The root system on this folio depicts how the south equatorial current pushes north or south. Based on the leaves the VM is directing the reader to go south.
The imagery on this page depicts two plants (and is very common for the Voynich Manuscript to do this.) The flower is the Lathyrus Linifolius used in Medieval Scotland to suppress hunger and was used possibly as early as 48 BCE by Roman Soldiers. One might get the impression that the author is suggesting to the reader ingest the lathyrus linifolius while approaching this area because it’s going to be a long walk across the Atlantic.
The leaf on this page is the pear leaf based on the first word “perer” meaning in Middle English pear tree. This is a triple etymology word and the translation of the full text bears a different meaning. This style of writing is how I discover “Easter Eggs”. First obvious observation is that Brazil is shaped like a pear.
Pear signifies a time of loss (indicates that the reader of the Voynich Manuscript is in a new time zone), difficulty or separation, but it also asks us to look at our life from a different perspective. Sometimes what we are losing is creating an opportunity that leads us in a healthier more fulfilling direction.
Pears are ancient and sacred symbols of love and separation. In Chinese, the word “fen li” means “sharing a pear”, which is pronounced the same way as the word meaning “separation.” In this way pear is a homophone (words that sound alike but have different meanings). In English the word pear (fruit) sounds just like pair (two of something) and pare (cutting back). This dynamic use of the word pear speaks to the double meaning the Voynich so cleverly likes to hide.
In Greek mythology, the pear tree was sacred to Hera, mother of the Olympian gods. As the goddess of marriage and childbirth, she could also be jealous and vengeful. In Roman mythology Hera was also known as Juno, Aphrodite and Venus.
The Latin word for pear is pirum, meaning, “pear-shaped.” The pyramidal shape of a pear tree is similar to its fruit, which resembles a womb. This speaks to the fact that a woman’s womb has the potential to create life, yet the womb must separate itself from that life for the child to live. Separation is a normal aspect of life and pear reminds us of this fact.
The spirit of the pear tree invites us to see that true unity is a continual process of joining and separating. In Taoist tradition, this concept is known as Yin and Yang, or the harmony of opposites. Empedocles (Greek philosopher circa 490–430BCE) also saw that the forces of nature were eternally brought together into union by love and then separated through strife. This process may feel chaotic but it is a necessary aspect of creation.
What is fascinating about this location is the recent discovery by Dr. Kathleen Ball. In her recent Documentary “The Brazilian Templar Mystery” is the story of Dr. Kathleen Ball’s discovery of a cave hidden in a remote area on the outskirts of a small Brazilian town. A cave carved by the Knights Templar in the 12th century. Which coincidently is the exact location of Folio 15v. The page translation is as follows. (This is a working translation.)
Voynichees to Latin Characters: 15v
(1) perer erva uem stuon epuersa (2) suer er ere rom ula lon sor (3) uler som jeter etier etom (4) sem uela veijeta jelues (5) euler uer uer aluer ula r (6) jeluia uela tom elua rom (7) ua uem ve r ua r ua lereir (8) aluer uer ei em ela vei som (9) eluei eulei uei uei uesa lon (10) rer uer ulem ula jetom (11) rei em uier som ula (12) som uler uei uer
Translation:
The pillar is inherent and marked in stone promised surely. Their ability to hear the room enclosure is put by fortifying the fixed measurement discard. The channel salt marshes I am hoping that it produces a veil. As you get solidified, Boatswain, wind and air allows the enclosed radius, the dams masked by a cultivated barricade and spaced descending mark that R2 (radius descend x radius descend)*. Scholar allow wind as you go. You are approaching the marked measurement separated by time. Time is a risky provision. Sparse wind river-meadow enclosure, as you go the journey, its dam measurement rests. The measurement is fixed to time and wind.
(*) the route design for the cave access is recorded the same as center line road calculations for alignment.
Tucker STEM Team 