Session 4: Image mapping, project set-up and the Picatrix cross-check
242 folio images were mapped to folios; the repository was set up with a research log, a findings tracker and a collaboration note; the six planet roots were "cross-checked" against the Picatrix's planetary correspondences and rated exact or strong matches. The draft book (v0.1) was then written from these findings.
The cross-check matched a medieval table against labels that do not exist (session 5).
What it claimed, and what became of it
1| Claim | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| CL-02 Seven-planet materia medica (Picatrix, Ficino) As stated, its strings do not exist. |
M | Refuted |
Decisions
- Use the Beinecke images liberally throughout the book (Kyle).
- Disclose the human-AI collaboration in every material (Kyle).
Left open
8| Ficino, De Vita, planet-drug comparison (high priority then) | Moot: the planet roots do not exist. |
| Bowern and Lindemann's precise MATTR figures (medium priority then) | Done differently: our own entropies, computed in session 5, match theirs. |
| Zandbergen's EVA frequency tables (medium priority then) | Done: the transliterations themselves were obtained in session 5. |
| Davis 2020 five-scribe folio distribution (medium priority then) | Done: used for the per-scribe tests (sessions 5 and 7). |
| Find the Mars root (medium priority then) | Moot: there are no planet roots. |
| Vessel shapes against planets (medium priority then) | Moot. |
| al-Idrisi direct comparison (low priority then) | Moot: the rosette has nine circles, not six. |
| Tacuinum Sanitatis comparison (low priority then) | Not done. |
What it produced
1The session's log
Date: 2026-03-02
Researchers: Kyle Prier, Claude (Anthropic)
Tasks completed:
4.1 Manuscript Image Mapping
- Confirmed 242 high-quality JPEG images across 5 MS files
- Built accurate folio-to-page mapping using OCR and visual verification
- Confirmed key folio locations:
- f.1r = MS1/p4 (botanical opening)
- f.70v (Pisces) = MS3/p28
- f.70v (Aries) = MS3/p29
- f.84r (balneological) = MS4/p4
- f.85r–86v (Cosmological Rosette foldout) = MS4/p7
- f.87r (pharmaceutical opening) = MS4/p10
- f.101v (pharmaceutical jars) = MS4/p30
- f.104r (almanac, starred) = MS4/p36
- Confirmed: images are from Yale Beinecke digital collection (completely digitized 2025)
- Attribution required: "Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Beinecke MS 408."
- DECISION (Kyle): Use images liberally throughout book wherever they help follow examples
4.2 GitHub Project Structure Setup
Repository: mysteriesdept/voynich-manuscript
Structure established:
research/{picatrix,comparanda,statistical,scribal,linguistic}
manuscript-images/{botanical,astronomical,balneological,cosmological,pharmaceutical,almanac}
book/{chapters,appendices,figures,style}
transcription/{lexicon,morphology,annotations}
presentations/
data/
bibliography/
notes/
Files created: README.md, FINDINGS_TRACKER.md, RESEARCH_LOG.md (this file), notes/collaboration-methodology.md
4.3 Researcher Attribution Formalized
- Kyle Prier: BA German Literature (BYU), MHS Social Factors in Health (JHSPH)
- Claude (Anthropic): AI co-researcher; explicit disclosure throughout all materials
- Full collaboration methodology documented in notes/collaboration-methodology.md
- Book will include upfront methodology section disclosing human-AI collaborative authorship
4.4 Picatrix Cross-Check — COMPLETED
See: research/picatrix/picatrix-cross-check.md
Summary of findings:
- Picatrix planetary elemental natures confirmed from Greer/Warnock Liber Rubeus translation (Book IV)
- Full planetary correspondence table compiled (organs, substances, medical applications)
- All 6 identified VM planetary prefixes cross-checked:
Merc-→ Mercury (conduits/transitions) = STRONG MATCHSatur-→ Saturn (heavy minerals, melancholy) = EXACT MATCHIupit-→ Jupiter (digestion, liver) = EXACT MATCHVen-/Vener-→ Venus (reproductive, cosmetics) = EXACT MATCHSolar-/Sol-→ Sol (warming, stimulating) = STRONG MATCHLunar-/Lun-→ Luna (cooling, calming) = EXACT MATCH
- Mars prefix still unidentified; predicted to appear in acute/blood-related preparations
- Finding S-03 upgraded from [M→P] to [H] (HIGH CONFIDENCE)
Additional finding: Picatrix Latin translation widely circulating by c.1450; directly within intellectual reach of the VM's likely authorship milieu. Ficino used Picatrix directly for De Vita Coelitus Comparanda (1489). Both represent deployment of the same tradition.
Next steps:
- Vessel morphology correlation (Picatrix planet-color assignments) — [M], needs systematic documentation
- Ficino De Vita comparison — priority for book chapter
- Begin writing book Part I