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+--- Thread: Voynich Stars (/thread-624.html)
Voynich Stars - Koen G - 27-06-2016
While looking at images from the Dendera zodiac - made in Egypt under Roman rule - I noticed that the way they use stars shows some similarity to Voynich stars:
![[Image: 29531-egypt-L.jpg]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Features/Africa/Egypt-Dendera-temple/i-PxhDB7H/1/L/29531-egypt-L.jpg)
The similarities are:
- Stars have a colored circle inside.
- A star can be paired with a person.
- A star can serve a more general (decorative?) purpose.
Looking at these stars some more in depth, I found out that apparently this design was originally based on starfishes (sea stars) found in the Red Sea. Looking at an example like the one below, one understands why this is believed:
![[Image: 320px-Fromia_monilis_%28Seastar%29.jpg]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Fromia_monilis_%28Seastar%29.jpg/320px-Fromia_monilis_%28Seastar%29.jpg)
This design is older and was generally used in Egyptian art, but in the Greco-Roman period they more closely resemble Voynich stars.
There are some differences as well though. The most obvious one is that the Egyptian stars have five points, while Voynich stars sport from six to nine appendages. I only did a quick check, but it seems that seven and eight are standard, nine is less frequent and six is exceptional.
What does this mean?
There are a number of possibilities:
- The Voynich stars represent a different tradition altogether.
- The Voynich stars started out as five-pointed stars but were copied carelessly, which would explain the variation.
- The Voynich stars started out as five-pointed stars but were altered consciously by later copyists because the five-pointed star had taken on a specific, different meaning.
- The number of points on the star has a significance, and the possible values for this meaning ranged from six to nine.
- Did anyone study the variation in the number of points on the stars more in depth?
- Have better parallels been found elsewhere?
RE: Voynich Stars - R. Sale - 27-06-2016
RE: Voynich Stars - Koen G - 27-06-2016
RE: Voynich Stars - Sam G - 27-06-2016
RE: Voynich Stars - Koen G - 27-06-2016
RE: Voynich Stars - R. Sale - 27-06-2016
RE: Voynich Stars - Koen G - 27-06-2016
RE: Voynich Stars - Diane - 28-06-2016
RE: Voynich Stars - Koen G - 28-06-2016
RE: Voynich Stars - Sam G - 18-07-2016