The life and prophecies of Nostradamus.
This week I’m talking about the legend himself; Nostradamus! The most famous seer to date, he’s predicted some of history’s biggest events around the world, including: The Great Fire of London, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the rise of Hitler. Because he wrote so cryptically, his words are interpreted in many different ways. Therefore, his accuracy has come into question a good many times due to this. Personally, I don’t think it should be his accuracy that’s questioned. I think it should be people’s interpretations of them.
Michel de Nostradame.
December 14th, 1503 – July 1st/2nd, 1566.
Born in Saint-Remy, Southern France.
Died in Salon, South-East France.
Nostradamus is probably the world’s most famous Prophet/Seer and many of his prophecies have actually come true. Although many are sceptical due to how cryptic his words are, there are some events in history (since he wrote his work) that have matched up more or less perfectly with some of his prophecies. We’ll get to this later, though.
He started his medical practice at the start of the 1530s and even though he never gained his degree, became a bit of a local celebrity for his treatments, receiving financial aid from many of the citizens of Provence. In 1531, he was invited to work with scholar, Jules-Cesar Scaliger in Agen, France, where he married a woman whose name is uncertain but could have been Henriette d’Encausse. They had two kids together but sadly, in 1534, his wife and children died from the plague while he travelled on a medical mission to Italy and because he was unable to save them, he fell out of favour with the community and Scaliger.
Regardless of his lack of credentials, he gained more fame for his ingenious treatments during the plague in France and Italy between 1546-1547. There was no cure for it, but while doctors at that time were all about bloodletting, garlicy robes and mercury infused potions, Nostradamus had a very different treatment plan for his patients. He went down the path of good hygiene, healthy low-fat diets and good old fresh air. He also became known for creating the ‘Rose Pill’, made from Rosehip, which is high in vitamin C. He also thought it was a good idea to remove plague-ridden corpses from the streets and get them away from people. (Who knew that these things could actually help stem the spread of it! **face-palms with loud groan**) I’m sorry, I know that we weren’t as advanced in medicines or knowledge back then, but to not realise that diseased corpses weren’t helping the situation...I’m surprised anyone survived it!
Anyhoo…
He began making prophecies round about 1547-ish, then published them in a book called Centuries in 1555. He wrote his prophecies in four-line verse, that are called quatrains. These were grouped in hundreds and each set of 100 quatrains was called a century. In 1558, when astrology was at its peak, he released a second edition that was dedicated to the King of France.
Some of his prophecies seemed as though they actually came true and he became so famous, he was invited to the French Court in 1564 by Catherine de Medici, wife and Queen consort of Henry II, to do the horoscopes of all their children. He was soon made the King’s advisor and personal physician. Nostradamus made many predictions about Catherine’s children, including her fourth son (who was to become Henry III), saying that he would be forced out of the city and banished from France, before the siege of Paris happened.
One of his more disturbing, yet very accurate predictions, was of King henry II’s death:
During the summer of 1559, Henry took part in a jousting tournament against a younger nobleman, the Count of Montgomery. It was going well until their final pass. The Count’s lance splintered. It went through the King’s visor, one shard going through his eye and the other one went into his temple. He suffered for 11 days before his death, due to lack of treatment, which ultimately led to infection and brain damage. He ended up dying of sepsis.
By 1554, Nostradamus’ visions had become a huge part of his almanacs and decided to start focusing on a much bigger work called Centuries. His plan was to write 10 volumes, containing 100 predictions that would stretch across the following 2 millennia!
In 1555, he published Les Prophesies (The Prophecies). This is the collection of his more major prophecies and, maybe out of fear of getting on the wrong side of religion again, devised a way to obscure their meanings by using quatrains and mix of different languages like Greek, Italian, Latin and Provencal, a France dialect from the south. Although, he actually had a really good relationship with the Vatican and it’s said that the earlier charges of heresy didn’t go anywhere because he avoided writing about magical practices. There were some people who thought that he served the Devil, some said he was a fraud, others just thought he was a total nut-case, but many believed his prophecies were spiritually and divinely inspired. Either way, he eventually became one of the most famous figures during the time of the Renaissance.
For most of his adult life, Nostradamus suffered from gout and arthritis and during his final years, the condition turned into edema, also known as dropsy. This is a medical condition that causes fluid build-up within the tissues, mainly in the arms and legs, but without treatment, could result in congestive heart failure.
In June 1566, Nostradamus drew up his will with his lawyer, leaving the majority of hiss estate to his wife and kids. On the evening of July 1, it’s said that he told his secretary, “You will not fine me alive at sunrise.” The next morning, he was found dead on the floor next to his bed. Obviously, with him getting his affairs in order, he had a decent heads-up that he was not long for this world. I often wonder if it gave him some peace that he was able to see his family right before his death or if he was just in a constant state of silent freak-out mode.
Most of the quatrains Nostradamus composed during his life dealt with disasters such as earthquakes, wars, floods, invasions, murders, droughts, battles and plagues. (You know, all the happy stuff.) He’s been credited with predicting tons of events in history, including the French Revolution of the 18th century and the fates of certain Monarchs, including the already mentioned Henry II of France. Others that seem to have no meaning at all, are said by some to be prediction of events that haven’t happened yet. I’m a firm believer of this.
He also predicted the rise of Napoleon and Hitler, and supposedly, 9/11. Some people say that because his writings are so cryptic, they can be interpreted in many different ways and matched with any number of events and that even just one can be coupled with several. While this is in some part true, some of them just can’t be denied.
Century I
These are his very first quatrains and Nostradamus gives us a little peek into his process. It points to a form of meditation that allows him to become open so that he can receive messages, possibly from heaven, who knows. His work is vague and complex with dodgy grammar (sounds like my writing) but he explained it all by saying that “the revelation of heavenly truths should not expose itself to common knowledge”.
Has Nostradamus predicted King Charles III’s downfall?
‘Century X’ prophecy 22:
This specific prophecy is meant to foretell the short reign of King Charles III. (Or as I call him, Chucky. Can’t ya tell how much I love my monarch, LOL). This came to light only recently and it coincided with his diagnosis of an unknown form of cancer. Going by this prophecy, Charles will be forced to abdicate or be removed. To be honest, from what I’ve been hearing around and about, the British people would ‘support his retirement’ and welcome a new King. A lot of people are still raw about Princess Diana and still haven’t forgiven him and “his mistress”. That fits with the first part of the prophecy.
However, going by the last part of the prophecy, it indicates that Prince Harry will replace him. He no longer has an official title so he seems to fit the “no mark of a king” part of the prophecy. Due to what's gone on in recent years, I can’t really see this as likely, but some who do believe it argue that with Kate Middleton’s recent cancer diagnosis, William may not want the throne so he can look after her and be with her, passing the crown straight to Harry. I really have no idea, but what will be will be!!!
Right, I’m gonna leave it there for this one and I’ll continue in my next instalment. Next time, I’ll be going through a few of his prophecies and the events they've been matched with. The ones I’ve covered today are very interesting and thought provoking.
I know that foreseeing things that are to come is very real, as I've had premonitions myself that have come to pass, but with how cryptic Nostradamus was in his writings, it does make me pause and take a step back. I have no doubt in my mind that he was definitely a powerful seer and has predicted many things that have come to be, but it’s people’s interpretations of his prophecies that makes me question stuff. How about you? What do you think about it all?
Take care, my dears and be safe.
Love and light to you all.
Blessed be xxx