Nostradamus
Whether we like it or not, but human nature is weak. People are the species that a lot easier to corrupt than any other form of life. At the very same time, every individual is also unique and complex. When some of us are preordained to study hard in order to get somewhere, others seem to be born with a gift that is hard to explain. Why is that? What do these people know that most of us don’t?
We have been talking about astrology a lot so far, and that is why you may already know that there is no magic behind it – only science giving us the power to head in the direction chosen for each of us by the universe. There is no room for fortune-telling in astrology if it is real astrology we are talking about as opposed to a carnival hoax.
Nevertheless, the very first name that comes to your mind when you think about astrology and prophesies in general is no one else’s but Nostradamus. The man is famous due to his deep insight into future events. Even though he lived more than half a millennium ago, his forecasts have been still coming true. How does it work? Who was he? A medical man, a magician, or an astrologer? We are going to discuss all these things in detail so that there would be no questions left unanswered!
The Birth of the Mysterious Legend
The tiny detail that Nostradamus lived more than five hundred years ago makes it quite challenging to gather precise info on his early years. Yet, it is known that Michel de Nostredame, which is the real name of Nostradamus, was born to a French family of hard-working people in 1503. He was one of nine in the family, and it was surprising that he acquired any education at all. However, he was no ordinary boy: he was a curious little intellectual, and his maternal grandfather couldn’t fail to notice this. The old man was responsible for boy’s education and taught young Michel subjects such as math, Greek, Latin, and even astrology. Yes, these were not the best years of enlightenment. Still, as it turned out, the greybeard knew that the heavens were not only nice to observe – he knew about other forces hidden there to drive every person’s destiny.
Unlike Nostradamus’s peers, the boy was so brilliant that at the age of fourteen, he entered a university where he began his path towards medicine. As soon as after just a year of study, the young man had to leave the university. It wasn’t his fault though – terrible bubonic plague hit the country. During the epidemic, Nostradamus thought of nothing else but traveling around the country and helping those in need as an apothecary. After some time, Michel decided to continue his education. Rumor has it that back then, apothecary practice was frowned upon, and he was expelled. However, other sources claim that he did graduate and got his medical license.
When Nostradamus got his license, he didn’t stay in one place. He chose to travel across his native country, as well as Italy, helping those suffering from the plague since there was no cure at the time. Medieval times weren’t the brightest in history, and the most what the medical profession did to treat the plague in those days was mercury treatment, garlic-soaked clothes, and bloodletting. Nostradamus turned out to be ahead of his compatriots, and he came up with an alternative way of treating his patients. He made his patients look after themselves twice as carefully. Personal hygiene was rule number one. Also, while all the other people were ok with corpses filling the streets, Nostradamus was the one to insist on their removal so that they didn’t spread the contagion. One of his famous inventions was rose pills, which was nothing else but a tablet made of rosehips rich in vitamin C. That pill was claimed to help those suffering from mild symptoms of plague.
All in all, the methods Nostradamus used were very effective even though they were rather general – a low-fat diet, fresh air, and personal hygiene. Such success made him a famous and much-in-demand doctor during those times. However, when his wife together with two kids died after becoming infected with plague while he was away, this turned the tables.
Introduction into the Occult
It’s not that Michel was a religious man, and this counted against him in a way. One stray word – and he was asked to stand before the Inquisition. The court system was incredibly biased at the time, and Nostradamus chose to leave France for a while, rather than to face the Inquisition. That was an intelligent decision, we must say, because anyone viewed by the Church as a heretic was doomed to die for the most part.
When the scholar left France, he headed for Italy, Greece, and Turkey, and that was when he made his first prediction, most likely unknowingly. When interacting with a group of Franciscan monks, Nostradamus said that one of them would become a Pope. And so it happened – Pope Sixtus V, ordained in 1585, was that Franciscan monk.
Nostradamus was away from his home country for almost ten years, and then he saw fit to return because he realized that the Inquisition had already forgotten about him. Upon returning, the scholar married for the second time. His wife was a wealthy widow, but judging by the fact that they had six children, the material status of the wife wasn’t the only thing attracting him. When Michel stayed at his home town, he managed to produce two books: one was a translation of the work of a famous Roman physician, while the other book was dedicated to various treatments of plague.
After writing the above-mentioned books, Nostradamus started to drift away from the medicine and give in to the occult. Rumor had it that he stayed in his study meditating for hours. Meditation was the source of his predictions. When in a trance, he had visions and could also predict the future.
His primary almanac, a type of work that was insanely popular during the Middle Ages, was written in 1550. The scholar put down his observations, visions, and astrological forecasts for the upcoming year in the almanac. The book was a grand success, and the whole country learned his name, encouraging the man to continue writing.
At the Height of the Prophetic Era
Michel was a wise man, and the moment he spotted that his messages were gaining popularity, Nostradamus also decided to create something greater than an almanac – his aim was an opus called Centuries. It was supposed to come in 10 volumes, and all the predictions should cover as many as two thousand years.
Even though Nostradamus had a stable relationship with the Church, he was still afraid of the Inquisition. That is why he wrote all of his prophecies and visions in the form of quatrains. In case you do not know what a quatrain is, it is a four-line verse that rhymes. Besides, those verses were a mixture of various languages, including Nostradamus’s own dialect.
Some people believe that the main part of Nostradamus’s life began the moment he was invited to the French royal court. As it turned out, the fame of the scholar had reached the ears of Catherine de’ Medici, queen-mother. When she came across a prophecy having a vague relation to her royal family, she invited the man to her court. Soon after, he became a Counselor not to mention his position as a Physician-in-Ordinary to Henri II. After a few years in this position, Nostradamus made a prophecy related to the king and his cruel death in particular. Michel prophesied a young lion piercing the eye of the king and warned Henri II against taking part in jousting contests. The king was not actually fond of Nostradamus, so he took the prediction lightly and was killed by a lance thrown to incidentally pierce his eye.
The Death of the Great Prophet
Since we are talking about the Middle Ages, it is safe to say that despite the medical knowledge Michel possessed, it was close to impossible to treat such conditions as arthritis or gout the man suffered from. At the age of sixty-two, Nostradamus wrote his will and left most of his belonging to his family. He even predicted his own death, when he told his personal secretary that he wouldn’t see the light of the next morning. So it happened – he was found dead on the floor of his bedroom in 1566.
The Main Prophecies of Nostradamus
Even though Nostradamus’s name is well-known and respected by this day, some scholars say that there is nothing either divine or astrological about his verses. It is also stated that almost all of the forecasts were just the interpretations of other sources such as the Bible, for instance, along with works of other ancient astrologers. Surely, Nostradamus had to incorporate some astrological background into his prophecies, but the fact remains. Also, many scholars state that his predictions were vague for a reason. If there is no precise date, how would you tell that a verse refers to one or another event? Nevertheless, our aim is not to doubt those predictions but to bring them to your attention. That is why we are going to drop a few lines on the most popular forecasts Nostradamus wrote back in his days.
The Great Fire of London
A hundred years after the famous man passed away, his forecast came true. He foresaw that the great fire of 1666 would strike London. Something that was a small fire in a bakery turned into a disaster that lasted for three days. The prediction holds two details proving its truthfulness – the number 66 and the name of the capital of England.
French Revolution
As the French grew tired of their aristocracy, they revolted. In 1789, the event later named the French Revolution took place, and most of the royalty was beheaded. As it turns out, Michel knew that too.
Napoleon
When reading the prophecy on Napoleon, it is hard to figure out why they say the verse has any connection to the French leader. Only when you decipher the capitalized words, which are the names of some cities in France, you will be able to see the hidden phrase – Napaulon Roy – which means Napoleon the King. The scientist knew that Buonaparte was of no royal origin, along with the fact that he would capture two Popes.
Adolf Hitler
It seems that no one could predict what would come out of the young boy Adolf, but Nostradamus did. In fact, two precise verses refer to Adolf Hitler. The scholar stated that the poor boy would lead the masses due to his silver tongue, and then those masses would turn into beasts destroying anything in their path – and we know that this turned into a world war.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
One of the greatest tragedies in modern history is the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Nostradamus claimed that there would be fires that were never seen, and that certainly applies to the result of an atomic blast. Besides, those who survived the detonation were dying in great pain, and the scholar knew that the cries of those suffering would be deafening.
JFK
It seems that Michel knew a lot of things that we still don’t. He predicted the death of a great man by a thunderbolt, and so Kennedy, as you know, was shot in the United States on a sad day – 22nd of November, 1963.
9/11
It is unbelievable how someone who lived so long ago could have predicted the catastrophe which shook the World Trade Center situated in the great New York City. However, Nostradamus wrote that a New City would be significantly shaken, and two rocks will fall.
These are just to name a few Nostradamus predictions that we know to come true. However, no one knows how many are left to fulfill themselves. After all, the man claimed that he was about to write as many as 100 predictions, and they were to describe 2,000 years. It seems that his words were more valued back then, and that is surely a disadvantage. No matter the perks the modern age grants us, it is never a waste to remember that all has been written before. The universe has a path for everyone, and the fact that we are turning a blind eye to it does not change anything except for our own perception. The lack of faith, not only religious but also a spiritual one, can lead us back into the Dark Ages, and no one knows whether we will make out of them again. At times, it is smart to refer to the past for escaping upcoming disasters, don’t you think?