Omicron and the Great Year

The YEAR is the most multivalent of all symbols. 

Let us suppose the [o] glyphs in Voynichese are the Greek letter omicron and that, furthermore, it retains its numerical value in Greek, namely 70.

By my account, the Voynich text is, at bedrock, a succession of [o] glyphs. The bedrock text is nothing else.

But I also propose that the model for the language is the cycles of the YEAR, and the divisions of the celestial circle. 

So I suppose that we begin with a series of 360 [o] glyphs. Each glyph is one degree of the zodiacal circle. Each glyph = one day.

But if each glyph is an omicron and has the numerical value of 70, then 360 x 70 = 25,200. 

This is one means of calculating the GREAT YEAR.

It counts each degree as one lifetime. 

Seventy years is the Biblical “three score plus ten” but also the human lifespan proposed by Aristotle, and the number used in Plato’s mathematical calculations.

It is well-worn as a standard calculation for a human lifespan.

In that case, there are 360 generations between the beginning and the end of time, a complete cycle.  

The cycle is divided into four ages. 

The symbolism of the zodiacal circle is then extended to the Great Year, of which the standard year is a microcosm. 

360 x 70 = 25,200 is a cogent formula.

The Ptolemaic calculation, seeking greater observational precision, was based on 72 years.

The modern calculation of the Great Year – defined as the cycle of the equinoxes around the ecliptic - is about 25,800 years. 

* * *

IF each glyph is an omicron and has the numerical value of 70.

But there is nothing to say that this is the case. There is no specific reason to think the Voynich [o] is a Greek omicron, and even less to suppose it has the numerical value of 70, or any numerical value at all. 

There is no direct and obvious evidence of any system of alphanumerics in the Voynich ms., but then, there is a conspicuous lack of numbers altogether. 

Nevertheless, it is not an unworthy speculation. The astrological conception of the cosmos expands in this way, from day to year to Great Year. 

As soon as one says YEAR one implies GREAT YEAR. 

And why not begin with the Greek omicron and suppose there is a deep Greek influence in the text?

It is not unlikely in the historical context, and many researchers over the decades have detected Greek in the glyphs or the text more broadly. 

Besides, right in the middle of the Voynich foldout map is a very Eastern Christian (Greek) rendering of Jerusalem that almost announces Greek influence at the centre of the project.

So, let us suppose that the very beginnings of the project are in the selection of the Greek omicron as the primal glyph.

The calculation of the Great Year would naturally follow. 

R.B. 

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