21-07-2015, 04:38 PM
Hi Diane,
I've been looking into the Ptolemy system (and others of his persuasion) precisely because they were the main influences for the Arabian systems of the 9th century onwards, and their subsequent reintroduction into Europe a few centuries later, this becoming a major influence for the European renaissance astrology movement.
I was thinking about the concepts in the VM in a "backwards" manner - if I were drawing the VM illustrations in the early Renaissance and needed a "template" from which to draw my concepts, which one would fit? Ptolemy's ideas, unlike the others you mention, would have been some of the most influential of the time. So I'm not suggesting the book comes from Ptolemy's time. I'm suggesting that an early Renaissance illustrator used the astrological theories of his time, which drew upon these Greek foundations.
And whilst the eight point wind idea is true, the winds can be sub divided into two bunches of four, the main cardinal (NSEW) winds and the subcardinal (SE, SW, NE, NW), each with their own set of natural philosophies. But in any case, I have a hunch that the VM is depicting a natural calendar, based on seasonal changes, rather than a date calendar (based on dates or the moon, etc).
As for the referencing system, thanks for the tip which had never occurred to me. I will make a suggestion on the Resources section. To be honest I tend to use the folio number as it appears on jasondavies.com for the simple fact that that way I can link to the online representation of the page I'm on about. Does anyone have a conversion list to save me making one?
I've been looking into the Ptolemy system (and others of his persuasion) precisely because they were the main influences for the Arabian systems of the 9th century onwards, and their subsequent reintroduction into Europe a few centuries later, this becoming a major influence for the European renaissance astrology movement.
I was thinking about the concepts in the VM in a "backwards" manner - if I were drawing the VM illustrations in the early Renaissance and needed a "template" from which to draw my concepts, which one would fit? Ptolemy's ideas, unlike the others you mention, would have been some of the most influential of the time. So I'm not suggesting the book comes from Ptolemy's time. I'm suggesting that an early Renaissance illustrator used the astrological theories of his time, which drew upon these Greek foundations.
And whilst the eight point wind idea is true, the winds can be sub divided into two bunches of four, the main cardinal (NSEW) winds and the subcardinal (SE, SW, NE, NW), each with their own set of natural philosophies. But in any case, I have a hunch that the VM is depicting a natural calendar, based on seasonal changes, rather than a date calendar (based on dates or the moon, etc).
As for the referencing system, thanks for the tip which had never occurred to me. I will make a suggestion on the Resources section. To be honest I tend to use the folio number as it appears on jasondavies.com for the simple fact that that way I can link to the online representation of the page I'm on about. Does anyone have a conversion list to save me making one?