1

Decipherment of the Voynich Codex: Progress and Problems

Arthur O. Tucker and Jules Janick

INTRODUCTION
The Voynich Codex, is one the most fascinating and bizarre manuscripts in the world and
decipherment has been one of the unsolved mysteries of cryptology. It was discovered in an
Italian Catholic college (Villa Madragone) in 1912 by Wilfrid Voynich (1865–1930), a Polish
book dealer who eventually immigrated to the United States and attempted unsuccessfully to sell
it during his lifetime. His widow, Ethyl Lilian Voynich (daughter of mathematician George
Boole) died in1960 and bequeathed the manuscript to a friend, Anna Nill, who in 1961 sold it to
Hans Kraus, an antique book dealer. Karus, unable to sell it at a high price, donated it to the
Beinecki Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Yale University, where it is now freely available
on the web. The provenance of the manuscript can be traced to the curiosity cabinet
(Kunstkammer) of Rudolph II (1552–1612), Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. The parchment
or vellum has been carbon dated to the early 15th century (1404–1438), but the writing is most
likely a palimpsest (a manuscript written on scraped parchment or vellum) and thus more recent.
The profusely illustrated manuscript (potentially equivalent to 232 pages, or more), is properly a
codex, and consists of many foldout pages, but there are missing folios. It has been divided by
previous researchers into sections known as: Herbal/Botanical/ Pharmacology (consisting of 309
images plants or plant parts); Balneological/Biological (hundreds of nude nymphs cavorting in
strange plumbing or vascular systems); Cosmology (including 12 pages of zodiacs, 17 pages of
circles many showing stars, the sun, the moon, planets, and earth; one page, f.86v, known as The
Rosette with 11–12 spheres); and a final unillustrated “Recipe” section consisting of text that
may be medical prescriptions or poetry. All the sections contain text. The text of the manuscript
is written in an obscure symbolic alphabet and has remained indecipherable. There has been a
huge interest in this codex, and at least six books have been written on the subject.
Cryptological analyses by modern computer programs (Monemorro and Zanette, 2013) have
recently determined that that the language is real and not a hoax as has been suggested by some.
Modern computer analysis by Antoine Casanova (1999) indicates that the Voynich text is written
in at least two languages, possibly four. We have located both Nahuatl cognates and Spanish
words, but the primary language is clearly another one. Preliminary evidence points to the
ancestral background of the writer as being from the area from Tezcoco to Tulancingo, i.e., the
Alcohua.
The Voynich Codex has a very huge presence on the web with interpretations as weird as the
manuscript. Despite the fact that this codex is largely an herbal, the interpreters of this
manuscript with two exceptions, have not been botanists. The two botanists who have published
papers in refereed journals (Hugh O’Neil, 1944 and Arthur O. Tucker, 2013) have observed the
presence of only New World plants. Tucker has demonstrated that this is a MesoAmerican codex
based on identification of plants, animals, a mineral, language symbols, and heliocentrism.
Subsequent analysis by Tucker and Jules Janick have demonstrated a direct connections to
colonial Mexican history including illustrations of landmarks and cities and an allusion to the
establishment in 1530 of the Celestial City of Jerusalem (Puebla de los Angeles) by the
Franciscan friar Toribio of Benvente known as Motolinía (1482–1568). All our research to date
indicates that the Voynich is a 16th century codex associated with indigenous Indians of Nueva
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España educated in schools established by the Spanish. This is a breakthrough in Voynich

studies.

PROGRESS IN DECIPHERMENT
The presence of some plant names in the Pharma section has made it possible to decipher the
alphabet/syllabary. Furthermore a number of cities have been identified based on Nahuatl, the
Nahuan (Aztec) language. However, the bulk of the manuscript defies translation, and it appears
that a dialect or lost language associated with Classical Nahuatl is involved. This is being
pursued. We are convinced that the Voynich codex is a document produced by Aztec
descendants that has been unfiltered through Spanish editors. As such, we believe it may be a
critically important manuscript to colonial Mexican history. We believe the previous failure to
decipher the manuscript has been hampered by a misrepresentation of its origin in time and
place. A decipherment of the manuscript would be a feat on a par with the translation of
Egyptian hieroglyphics by Jean-Francois Champollion and Linear B by Michael Ventris.

Decipherment of the Voynichese Alphabet: Plants as the Rosetta Stone

In the 12 pages of the Pharmaceutical section of the Voynich Manuscript where jars, roots,
leaves and shoots are portrayed (fol. 99v to102v); 179 plants, plant parts, or a mineral are
illustrated, with 152 accompanied by names. This is the Rosetta Stone of the Voynich
Manuscript and has allowed decipherment of the Voynich alphabet (Voynichese).
Plant #8 of the 16 plants in fol. 100r was identified as a cactus pad, probably Opuntia ficus-
indica or a related species (Table 1). Thus, the Voynichese name, soity can be associated with
the name nochtli, the Nahuatl name for either fruit of the prickly pear or the plant bearing the
fruit. Later, with more transliterations, we refined this to nashtli. This name confirms the use of
calligraphy from the Codex Osuna, using two letters, s and t suggesting we are in the right
track. This transliteration provides the sound of 5 Voynichese letters: s = n, o = a, i = sh, t = tl
and y is the sound i or y.

Plant #4 of fol. 100v was identified as the pressed specimen of a young yucca species or Agave
species (possibly A. atrovirens or a related species) with the name chopary that can be
transliterated to maguoey, a variant of the Taino name, maguey, that entered Spanish in the mid-
16 century. This adds the sound of 3 new Voynichese letters: ch = m, p = gu/hu, and r = e. With
these initial letters, the rest of the syllabary/alphabet of Voynichese was then deciphered by
matching phyto-, zoo-, and geomorphs to proper names in languages of central Mexico, later
adding diacritical marks when compared with Classical Nahuatl to produce the syllabary shown
in Table 1. Various Nahuatl, Spanish and Mixed proper names have been identified as shown in
Table 2. We consider this proof of concept of the alphabet decipherment.
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Table 1. Voynichese characters with proposed Latin equivalent letters or syllables. Voynichese
character counts and percent frequencies (out of 160,602 total characters) were calculated from
Knight (2009). Selected 17th century Nahuatl incantations of a ticitl (doctor or seer) from
Alcarón (1987, Sixth Treatise, Chapters 1-24) were typed and percent frequencies were then
calculated to get an approximation of early Nahuatl as a comparison (9,451 total characters).
Proposed Latin alphabet equivalent
letter or syllable
Voynich (underline=confirmed from proper Voynichese character count & Letter/syllable count from 17th century
character names and/or cognates) percent frequency Classical Nahuatl & percent frequency
o ā 25,468=15.9% ā=609=6.4%

e a 20,227=12.6% a=753=8.0%

y i/y 17,655=11.0% i=1318+y=160=1478=15.6%

t, k tl 16,020=10.0% tl=443=4.7%

a o 14,281=8.9% o=685=7.2%

d ch 12,973=8.1% ch=125=1.3%

ce m 11,008=6.9% m=285=3.0%

l câ 10,471=6.5% ca=180=1.9%

r e 6,716=4.2% e=449=4.8%

4 qu/kw 5,423=3.4% qu=214=2.3%

Se ts/tz 4,501=2.8% tz=113=1.2%

iin ll 4,076=2.5% ll=53=0.6%

s n 2,886=1.8% n=741=7.8%

cTe,cKe cu 1,858=1.2% cu=85=0.9%

p, f hu/gu/uh 1,844=1.1% hu=306+uh=155=461=4.9%

in l 1,752=1.1% l=710=7.5%

m yâ/hâ 1,046=0.7% ya=13+ha=2=15=0.2%

ir c/k 591=0.4% c=496=4.9%

x ? 524=0.3%
(listed by Knight as *?)
i sh/x 316=0.2% x=206=2.2%

cPe, cFe p 291=0.2% p=148=1.6%

n z/ç 157=0.1% z=351=3.7%

iiin t 156=0.1% t=545=5.8%

iir ? 148=0.1%

g h 96=0.1% h=306=3.2%

im ? 52=<0.1%

il ? 31=<0.1%

iim ? 17=<0.1%

iil ? 14=<0.1%

iiil ? 2=<0.1%

iiim ? 1=<0.1%

iiir ? 1=<0.1%
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Table 2. Example of decipherment of plants mineral and cities in the Voynich codex.
Fol. &
plant # of
Voynich Phyto-, zoo-, or geomorph or Cognate, translation,
Manuscript city Voynichese Transliteration & identification
100r #8 soity nāshtli nochtli
(Nahuatl)=fruit
s=n (tuna) of the prickly
o=ā pear cactus or the
plant bearing the
i=sh/x fruit
t=tl
most probably
y=i/y Opuntia ficus-indica

100r #4 Chopary māguoey maguey (Spanish

from Taino mid-16th
ch=m century)
o=ā
most probably Agave
p=gu/hu atrovirens
a=o
r=e
y=i/y
88r #11 opaldo āguocâchā agua (Spanish)
=water + cacha
o=ā (Nahautl)=callus
p=gu/hu
most probably a
a=o lupine
l=câ (Lupinus montanus)

d=ch
o=ā
99r #16, ceoky mātli matli (Nahuatl)
86v, 1v =animal front leg,
ce=m branches
o=ā
unknown root
t=tl
y=i/y
 5

99r #28 tolsasy tlācânoni tlacanoni (Nahuatl)

=bat or paddle
t=tl
o=ā most probably
camote del cerro
l=câ (Dioscorea
s=n remotiflora)

a=o
s=n
y=i/y
99v #10 daiine cholla cholla (Spanish)
=skull, cactus
d=ch
a=o unknown, perhaps
root of
iin=ll Cylindropuntia sp.
e=a

99v #18 olky ācâtli acatli (Nahuatl)

=reed
o=ā
l=câ unknown, perhaps
root of a reed
k=tl
y=i/y

100r #1 ceosaroSeol mānoetzācâ mano (Spanish)

=hand + tzacua
ce=m (Nahuatl) =to close,
o=ā enclose

s=n unknown, perhaps an

a=o Agave sp.?

r=e
o=ā
Se=ts/tz
o=ā
l=câ
 6

100r #2 soceorcFey nāmāepi nama (Mixtec)

=plant which
s=n produces soap
o=ā
most probably
ce=m Philodendron
o=ā mexicanum

r=e
cFe=p
y=i/y
100r #5 sar cear noe, moe-choll- cholla (Spanish)
chi =skull + chi
daiin dy (Nahuatl) =root word
s=n for owl

a=o most probably 3

e=a flowers of bladder
sage or paperbag
ce=m bush (Scutellaria
a=o mexicana)

r=e
d=ch
a=o
iin=ll
d=ch
y=i/y
100r #7 ceolsain mācanol macana (Taino)
=obsidian & wooden
ce=m sword similar to the
o=ā Aztec macuahuitl
(Nahuatl)
l=câ
s=n most probably
Philodendron goeldii
a=o
in=l
 7

100r #9 sosam nānoya nanoya (Spanish) =

grandmother
s=n
o=ā unknown, maybe tree
(Taxodium
s=n huegellii?) with
a=o Spanish moss
(Tillandsia
m=yâ/hâ usneoides)

100r #14 olceeom ācâmaāya acamaya (Nahuatl)

=crab or crayfish
o=ā
l=câ most probably fruit
of Gonolobus
ce=m chloranthus
e=a
o=ā
m=yâ/hâ
100r #15 okols ātlācân atlacaneci (Nahuatl)
=bestial man
o=ā
k=tl unknown, perhaps
Mexican cypress,
o=ā Montezuma cypress
l=câ (Taxodium huegelii)

s=n

102r #4 oteos ātlaān atlan (Nahuatl) =in

or under water
o=ā (probably referring
t=tl to the blue color)

e=a most probably the

o=ā mineral boleite

s=n
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86v pairotalcP huoxeātlocâpi huoxeatl (Nahuatl)=

(sphere 2) willow +
hy capi= Spanish for
p=hu/gu Latin American
capital city
a=o
i=sh/x Monastery of San
Miguel Megun ca.
r=e 1543, Huejotzingo,
o=ā Puebla (México),
spelled in period
t=tl documents and maps
a=o as Huexucinco,
Huexutcinco,
l=câ Huexotzinco, or
cPh=p Guaxocingo

y=i/y
86v otcedasas altmchon altmchon = water
(sphere 8) seller based on
Nahuatl cognates:
atl+m+aca = water
+ someone and
chonon = seller.
Water seller =
nickname for Vera
Cruz

PROBLEMS
Despite the progress that has been made with the Voynich alphabet and the identification of
plants and cities, the bulk of the manuscript defies decipherment. We illustrate this problem
below.

Decipherment of the Words in Sphere A of Folio 86v

Folio 86v could be a key to decipherment and understanding of the manuscript since there are so
many figures accompanied by texts. We have interpreted this figure as both a kabbalistic
Sephirothic tree and a map of cities surrounding Puebla the Celestial city of Jerusalem
established by Motolinia in 1530. The diagram is best oriented in a way that the symbols of the
sun are shown in an East and West orientation putting the diagram in a diamond shaped pattern
with 8 spheres labeled from 2 to 9 surrounding the largest central sphere labeled A (Fig. l). There
are five words in sphere A in between the three of the six domes or qubba (Fig. 2). We suspect
these words relate to churches. The deciphered words are as follows:
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Fig. 1. Folio 86v oriented so the two suns (very faint) are in an east–west position. The spheres
are numbered based on Janick, Ryba, and Tucker (Voynich diagram 86v: An
interpretation). Spheres 3, 5, 7, 9 are enlarged.
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Fig. 2. Sphere A of folio 86v. This sphere is considered to represent Motolinia’s Celestial City of
Jerusalem in Puebla.

otdoda-oegy (atlchacho-aahi) Note the dash is due to a crease in the image

soSex-s arar (nats?-n oeoe),

otedaiin-otedy (atlacholl-atlachi),

ytedara-y (itlachoeo-i),

opce-daiin (ahum-choll).

Some of these words have Nahuatl cognates:

atl = water
chacho = sprinkled
choll= may be related to Chollula/Cholula, a preColumbina Aztec city (Fig. 3)
itla = something
choeo_= close to chāoeā which is under the seven stars of the Pleiades in folio 68r=3
Thus, atlchacho (atl = water; chaco = sprinked) -aahi suggests “holy” or “blessed” –aahi (last
incomplete term unknown). In the Church of San Francisco at Puebla there is a chapel with the
“incorrupt” remains of Blessed Sebastian di Aparicio y del Pardo (1502-1600). Similarly the
words altlacholli-atlachi, might refer to fisherman of Cholula.
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Fig. 3. Map of churches in Cholula. Source:?

Spheres of Folio 86v

We have previously provided evidence that sphere 2. 4, 6, 8 in f.86v are the cities Huejotzingo,
Tlaxaclla, Vera Cruz; and Tecamachlaco, respectively, while sphere A is Puebla de los Angeles.
This identification is based on Motolinia’s location of the City as well as the identification of
objects in each sphere, and decipherment of two city names Heujotzingo and Vera Cruz (Table
2).
The identification of the words in Spheres 3, 5, 7, and 9 have been a conundrum. Sphere 3 shows
16 undulations which show a resemblance to the seven legendary caves of Chicomoztoc (Fig. 4)
the legendary location for the Aztecs origins.. Pico de Orizaba in the State of Puebla has many
small caves that were used for rituals before the Conquest and this Sphere 3 may refer to this
area. The three Sphere (5, 7, and 9) resemble a wheel with 7, 8, and 13 spokes that terminate in
an area with 8, 8, and 10 words, respectively (Fig. 1), that must be nouns. Since Spheres 2, 4, 6,
and 8 are cities, we suggest that the words in Spheres 5, 7, 9 may be related to villages or towns.
The 26 words in these Spheres have been alphabetized and compared to cities in the area
surrounding Puebla in Table 3 and many seem close. The words Altaachi and Atlachi refer to
spear throwers or fishermen in Nahuatl and may be small Lake villages (Staedtler et al. 2006).
Thus, the 8 spheres surrounding sphere A (The Celestial City of Jerusalem founded by Motolinia
in 1530) makes sense as a metaphoric map surrounding Puebla. It seems probably that many of
the small villages or towns referred to could have disappeared or have had their names altered.
Table 3. Deciphered words in the spheres 5,7,9 compared to towns in states of Mexico (District
Federal, Hildago, Mexico, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Vera Cruz, Guanajuato, and Queretaro) that were
obtained from Directory of Cities and towns in Mexico (www.fallingrain.com/world/MX/).
 12

Sphere
number Deciphered words Related towns (States)
5 Ahuashnoll
9 Ahuoe
9 Ahuol Ahualulca, Ahualulco (Guanajuato)
7 Ahuolla

9 Atla Atla (Puebla)

5, 7, 9 Atlaachi
5, 9 Atlachi Atlaco (Hildago)
5 Atlacaoe Atlatlahuaca, Atlatlahuca (Mexico)
9 Atlaei
7 Atlahoca Atlahuilco (Vera Cruz), Atlajco, Atlalco
(Hildago)
5 Atlanml Atlan (Puebla, Hildago)
9 Atlaei
7 Atlichi Atlaxco, Atlixco (Puebla), Atlicos (Vera Cruz)
7 Atlmi
5 Atlmchoya Atlmozoyahua (Vera Cruz)
5 Atlmni
5 Atlshchi
9 Chahumi
9 Challi Chalma (2) (Puebla)
9 Chian Chicayan (Vera Cruz)

7 Mtlaachi M. Avila Camache, Machanche (Queretaro)

9 Ochashni
7 Ohaahi
7 Ohuoshnoe
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Fig. 4. Sphere 3 folio 86v showing undulations similar to the seven legendary caves of
Chicomoztoc.

Star Names
There are three folios in the Voynich manuscript in the cosmological section that contain
illustrations of 6- or 7-pointed stars with Voynichese words under each (Fig. 5). It is assumed
that these words are star names. There are 29 named stars in 68r-1, 24 in 68r-2, and 10 (plus a
cluster of 7 stars assumed to be the Pleiades) in 68r-3, for a total of 63 individually named stars.
These 60 stars listed alphabetically in Table 4 have unique names with one possible exception
(ātlāe). I have found no reports of Aztec star name although they were familiar with
constellations as demonstrated by an illustration (Fig. 6) in Book 7 of the Florentine Codex of
Fray Bernadino da Sahgun (Anderson and Dibble, 1953). It is unlikely that the stars in the
constellations diagrams represent actual stars (Fig. 5). However, ignoring the Pleiades, it is
intriguing that there are 60 stars in the constellations which are very close to the 63 named stars.
The association of star names in any MesoAmerican languages might offer a key to the language
of the Voynich.
A review of deciphered names under stars provides no evidence that they represent names of
stars in classical Nahuatl. Note that the name associated with the Pleiades is named chāoeā while
the Nahuatl name is Tiaquiztli (marketplace). Clearly there are two very different languages
involved.

Text Surrounding Plant Image in Folio 1v

Folio 1v which has been identified as Ipomoea murucoides (Tucker and Talbert, 2013) has 10
lines of text surrounding the plant figure (Fig. 7). These are presented below with the
Voynichese letters deciphered. Although there are Nahuatl cognates, the text does not make any
linguistic sense.
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Fig. 5. Folio 68v-1, 2, and 3 that show stars with associated names. Note that the cluster of seven
stars in 68v-3 which presumably are the Pleiades is named chāoeā but the Nahuatl name
is tianquiztli (marketplace).
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Table 4. Alphabetized list of star names in folio 68r1, 2, 3.

e?[fold]cPey a?pi otydg ātlichh

olor ācâāe otydy ātlichi

olceeesey ācâmaanai otys ātlin

odceecTey āchmacui otytces ātlitlmn

odairceol āchoc/kmācâ otceeody ātlmaāchi

ocTegd ācuhch okceeody ātlmaāchi

ocTecey ācumi okceoda ātlmācho

ordaiin āecholl okceor ātlmāe

opolceeey [includes āhu/guācâmaai otcedo ātlmchā

calligraphy not in EVA]
opocPeor āhu/guāpāe okSeor ātlts/tzāe

opceeody āhu/gumaāchi otSeey ātlts/tzai

oydcey āichmi dolceegy chāmahi

oiinar ālloe doaro chāoeā [Pleiades]

oceory āmāei dceol chmācâ

oalceeol āocâmaācâ dceol gay chmācâ hoi

ocPey āpi dceoldy chmācâi

otoeeo ātlāaaā darall choeocâcâ

oteeeor ātlaaaāe ytceody itlmāchi

oteool ātlaāācâ ykcedy itlmchi

okeeodeel ātlaaāchaacâ ceeorol maāeācâ

okeesor ātlaanāe ceolas mācâon

otol ātlācâ ceodar māchoe

okolcey ātlācâmi ceocPey māpi

okor ātlāe cegy yty mhi itli

otord ātlāech akoldy otlāchi

otor?[smudged]y ātlāe?i atogaly otlāhocâi

otoceegy ātlāmahi cPeeeor paaāe

okos ātlān cPeocTey pācui

okoaly ātlāocâi todaraiily tlāchoeoshshcâi

otoSeol ātlāts/tzācâ Sedar ts/tzchoe

otoSeol ātlāts/tzācâ Secey ts/tzmi

 16

Fig. 6. Aztec constellations in the Florentine Codex, General History of the Things of New Spain
of Frey Bernadino de Sahagún. (Anderson and Dibble, 1953) after Francisco Paso y
Troncoso. The names are from Aguilar-Moreno (2006).
 17

Fig. 7. Folio 1v from the Voynich Codex showing the plant Ipomoea murucoides surrounded by
Voynichese text. Decipherment in text.

kcesy ceodaiin ol oltceey cear cFear am

1v:1 tlmni mācholl ācâ ācâtlmai moe poe oyâ/hâ
tlmni
macholl
aca=someone [Wood]
acatlmai
mo=negative particle on its own in questions expressing doubt [Kartunnen]
poe
oya
 18

yteey cear or ocey dceo lkody okodar ceody

1v:2 itli moe āe āmi chmā câtlāchi ātlāchoe māchi
itlaai
mo=negative particle on its own in questions expressing doubt [Kartunnen]
ae
ami=cf. an; pl. amique; cf. quemmach; p. oan: n - accomodation; an or am before a vocal m pron.
of the second person pl. you; quemmach? adv. is it possible? [Siméon]
chma
catlachi
atlachoe
mache=mainly, on the whole, particularly, especially [Siméon]

do cKey cKeocKey Sey dkSeeey cTey kotceody dal

1v:3 chā cui cuācui ts/tzi chtlts/tzi cui tlā tlmāchi chocâ
cha
cui=to take something or someone [Karttunen]
cua=for all words that begin well cf. qua; qua=p. oqua: nite- biting, eaching someone [Siméon]
ts/tzi
chtlts/tzaai
cui=to take something or someone [Karttunen]
tla=pron. rel. ind. for things [Siméon] pron. something; conj. if [Herrera]
tlmachi
choca= to weep, cry; for animals to make various sounds (e.g. to roar, to bray, or for birds to
sing) [Wood]

dol ceokeo dair dam soceey ceo kody

1v:4 chācâ mātlā choc choyâ/hâ nāmi mā tlāchi
chaca
matl=unit of measure, about 6’ [Wood]
choca= to weep, cry; for animals to make various sounds (e.g. to roar, to bray, or for birds to
sing) [Wood]
choya
namaca=to sell [Wood]
ma=part. preceding the imperative and optional [Siméon]
tlachia=to look, see, or observe from a watchtower [Wood]

[break]

potoy Seol dair cPeoal dar cey tody otoaiin SeoSey

1v:5 hu/guātlāi ts/tzācâ choc pāocâ choe mi tlāchi ātlāoll ts/tzāts/tzi
hu/guatlai=
tzaca=to enclose, lock up [Karttunen]
choca= to weep, cry; for animals to make various sounds (e.g. to roar, to bray, or for birds to
sing) [Wood]
 19

paoca=
choe=
mi=
tlachia=to look or see [Wood]
atlaoll
ts/tzats/tz=

ceoky ceol cTeo l Seol akalsolceey ceodo lol cey cTey

1v:6 mātli mācâ cuā câ ts/tzācâ otlocânācâmi māchā câācâ mi cui
matli=animal front leg [Wiktionary. Index: Nahuatl]
maca=sing. of macamo, no (before the imperative) [Siméon]; maca=let no, let no, be not, don’t,
no [Wood]
cuac=the end, at the top, after [Dictionnaire de la langue nahuatl classique]
tzaca=to enclose, lock up [Karttunen]
-tloc=compound preposition, to the vicinity of, toward [Siméon] postposition adjacent to, close
to [Karttunen]
ana=to take hold of, seize [Karttunen]
cama=let [Walters et al.]
macha=stink, have an odor [Walters et al.]
caca=toad, frog [Karttunen]
mi=
cui=to take something or someone [Karttunen]

4o ol ceoees ceeol dol cTeey ykol dol dolo ykol dolceody

1v:7 quā ācâ mān mācâ chācâ cui itlācâ chācâā itlācâ châcâmāchi
qua=p. oqua: nite- biting, eating someone [Siméon]
aca=someone [Wood]
maan
maca=sing. of macamo, no (before the imperative) [Siméon]; maca=let no, let no, be not, don’t,
no [Wood]
chaca
cuai
itlaca
chaca
itlaca
chacamachi

okolSeol kol kecey ceol ky ceol cTeol ceody ceol daiin

1v:8 ātlācâts/tzācâtlācâ tlami mācâ tli mācâ cuācâ māchi mācâ choll
atlacats/tzacatlaca
tlami
maca=sing. of macamo, no (before the imperative) [Siméon]; maca=let no, let no, be not, don’t,
no [Wood]
tli
 20

maca=sing. of macamo, no (before the imperative) [Siméon]; maca=let no, let no, be not, don’t,
no [Wood]
cuac=the end, at the top, after [Dictionnaire de la langue nahuatl classique]
mach=even, ever however, indeed [Dictionnaire de la langue nahuatl classique]
maca=sing. of macamo, no (before the imperative) [Siméon]; maca=let no, let no, be not, don’t,
no [Wood]
choll

Seor okal ceol dolky dar Seol dceor otceo dar Seody
1v:9 ts/tzāe ātlocâ mācâ chācâtli choe ts/tzācâ chmāe ātlmā chae ts/tzāchi
ts/tzae
atloca
maca=sing. of macamo, no (before the imperative) [Siméon]; maca=let no, let no, be not, don’t,
no [Wood]
chacatli
choe
tzaca=to enclose, lock up [Karttunen]
chmae
atlma
chae
ts/tzachi

toor ceotceey dal ceody sceody pol ceodar

1v:10 tlāāe mā tlmai chocâ māchi nmāchi hu/guācamāchae
tlaae
ma=part. preceding the imperative and optional [Siméon]
tlmai
choca= to weep, cry; for animals to make various sounds (e.g. to roar, to bray, or for birds to
sing) [Wood]
machi
nmachi
hu/gucamachae

Recipe Section
The Recipe section consists of 23 pages (12 folios) of text in which each sentence is separated by
a star. These are presumed to be either prescriptions, or possible poetry or sayings. (Fig. 8). The
first one, listed below, offers no clue as to its meaning indicating classical Nahuatl is not
involved.
 21

Fig. 8. The four lines of folio 103r in the Voynich Codex recipe section.

pceedal Sedy yteeceypcey otey alSeey qoteey qotal Seedy ySedal gain otal
dalgy
103r:1 hu/gumachocâ ts/tzchi itlaamihumi ātlāi ocâts/tzai quātlaai quātlacâ ts/tzahi its/tzchoca
holl ātloca chocâhi
hu/gumachoca
ts/tzchi
itlaamihumi
atlai
ocats/tzai
quatlaai
quatlaça=p. oquatlaz: nino-move his head with pride, with vanity [Siméon]
ts/tzahi
its/tzchoca
oll
atloca
chocahi

pol,dar olpcey 4oky dy 4okeey 4okeey daiin okeedaky 4oteiir Seedy dal
103v:1 hu/guā,câoe ācâhu/gumi quātli chi quātli quātli choll ātlchotli quātlshc ts/tzchi chocâ

daiin Seey 4okal Seedy 4okeedy 4oteor Seey 4oty cecKey 4otan cealr
103v:2 choll ts/tzi quātloc quātlchi quātlāe ts/tzi quātli mcui quātlos mocâe
choll
tz/tzi
quatlchi
quatlae
ts/tzi
quatli
mcui
quatlos
mocae

4ok or ceedy 4okey dar ceecTey cear 4oty Sedy okeedy 4okeey 4okain
103v:3 quā āe mchi quātli choe mcui moe quātli ts/tzchi ātlchi quātli quātlol
qua
 22

ae
mchi
quatli
choe
mcui
moe
quatli
ts/tzchi
atlchi
quatli
quatlol

y,ceeey 4okeey okeey lkees ol 4oteedy ykeedy

103v:4 I,mi quātli ātli câtln ācâ quātli itlchi
I,m
quatli
atli
catln
aca
quatli
itlchi

Present Hypothesis
Our present hypothesis of the Voynich is that while there are many Nahuatl words as well as
Spanish loan words, the main text is not Classical Nahuatl. We surmise it is a lost dialect or a
related Aztec language since there were many. It is clearly not Totonac or Upper Necaxa
Totonac (Beck, 2011). One possibility is Acolhuacatlatolli, but there is no agreement on the
nature of the language. It may have been: (1) a Chichimec language allied but distinct from
Nahuatl and Otomi, (2) a language similar to Otomi, or (3) a language similar to Nahuatl. Most
modern peripheral references only mention hypothesis #2, but nobody knows the vocabulary or
grammar of this extinct language except for references that Juan Bautista de Pomar and other
period writers made on vowel substitutions. Certainly, if the Acolhuaque were transitioned to
Nahuatl by Techotlatzin, any surviving Acolhuacatlatolli would have had extensive influence
from Nahuatl (and Spanish nouns) by the mid 16th century.
We suggest that the decipherment of the main text of Voynich will require a linguistic analysis of
MesoAmerican languages. If the language is extinct some way will be needed to resurrect it. The
images in Voynich that are associated with names will be the key.

LITERATURE CITED
Aguilar-Moreno, M. 2006. Handbook to life in the Aztec world. California State Univ., Los
Angeles. p. 306, fig. 11.9.
Anderson, J.O. and C.E. Dibble. 1953. Book 7-the sun, moon and stars and the binding of the
years. The Univ. of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, Utah.
 23

Beck, D. 2011. Upper Necasa Totonac Dictionary. De Gruyter Mouton, Berlib\n/B

Casanova, A. 1999. Méthodes d’analyse du langage crypté: Une contribution à l’étude du
manuscript du Voynich. Docteur thesis. Université Paris.
Montemurro, M.A., and Danette. 2013. Keywords and co-occurrence patterns in the Voynich
manuscript: An Information-Theoretic analysis. PloS One 8(6):
e66344.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0066344
O’Neill, H. 1944, Botanical observations on the Voynich MS. Speculum 19:126.
Staedtler, Margarita Carballal and Maria Flores Hernández. 2006. Hydraulic elements at the
Mexico-Texcoco lakes during the postclassic period. (Chapter 10), In: Lisa J. Lucero and
Barbara W. Fash. Water Management: Ideology, Ritual, and Power. The University of
Arizona Press, Tucson.
Tucker, A.O. and R.H. Talbert. 2013. A preliminary analysis of the botany, zoology, and
mineralogy of the Voynich Manuscript. Herbalgram 100:70–85.