Starship Asterisk*

The page of manuscript featured in this APOD is probably just a lunar phase mandala related to alchemy, which is what the majority of the manuscript is about, plant alchemy/herbalism. The narrow red parts depict new moon, then the white depicts waxing, getting brighter, to the peak, or point, at ful...

I've been around botanists and herbalists long enough to instantly recognize what this manuscript is. The first part of the manuscript is descriptions of plants, likely medicinal herbs. The second part is astronomical/astrological and the third part appears to be "recipes" for "elixir...