The Voynich Manuscript. Principles of Decipherment, Token Identification, and Text Interpretation

This study proposes a functional interpretation of the Voynich Manuscript text based on Zandbergen EVA transliteration. The study examines whether recurring tokens and their variants form a stable system connected with the sequential processing of material. For this purpose, tokens are identified and their frequency, position on the folio and within the line, neighboring forms, distribution across manuscript sections, and context matches are analyzed. The botanical, astronomical, zodiacal, balneological, pharmaceutical, and final sections are examined both separately and in relation to one another. The analysis shows that the same groups of EVA forms recur in different parts of the manuscript and change in regular ways. The ok/qok/qoke group is treated as the central material form that passes through different stages of processing. The forms ol/qol may be connected with a medium or carrier, cho/chol with a separate or processed fraction, and dar and kai/kain with correction and regulation. Other groups, including che/ched, she/sho, cth, dch/chd, and ot/qot, are associated with actions, transitions, holding, and technical processing. Individual formal elements also show stable behavior. Final y is associated with local closure or fixation of a state, the forms -iin/-aiin/-ain/-iiin with a prolonged or maintained mode, d with a more marked state, k with a controlled mode, and final m mainly with local fixation of the result. The distribution of these forms differs across sections. In the balneological block, the number of forms connected with active processing increases sharply, while in the pharmaceutical and final sections their profile shifts toward stabilization and the prepared form. The astronomical and zodiacal folios contain the same procedural forms and contexts, and are therefore treated in this study as a possible phase or calendar system that defines the time and conditions for carrying out operations. The study also examines the connection between the text and the images in the balneological section. Female figures inside baths, reservoirs, and tubular systems are compared with nearby EVA forms and token families. The number of figures agrees with the frequency of local forms or families connected with holding, processing, and transitions of state. This supports the idea that the images may have a quantitative or structural function. At the same time, this is treated as a testable model, not as a fully established numeral system. The reconstruction of folios f1r and f93v shows sequences that include selection of material, placement in a medium or carrier, holding, processing, separation of a fraction, correction, stabilization, and fixation of the result. These sequences are compared with recipes from W. S. van den Berg, Eene Middelnederlandsche vertaling van het Antidotarium Nicolaï (1917). The similarity is found not at the level of individual words, but in the order of operations and in the transitions of material between states. The results support the working hypothesis that the Voynich Manuscript text may describe sequential technological or pharmaceutical procedures. The manuscript does not specify weight measures or the exact names of the materials. The proposed model makes it possible to test the functions of tokens and their role in the overall structure of the text.