The Power of Prediction - By Karen Spring

On December 14, 1503 , Michel de Nostradame was born in France . Although born a Jew, he and his family converted to Catholicism when he was a youngster. Nostradamus is the Latinized version of his name.

Nostradamus studied astrology, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and medicine. He received his medical degree and became a professor. He was a brilliant man and was deeply spiritual. After he left teaching, Nostradamus married a young woman and the couple had two children. His joy was short lived because his wife and children died from the plague.

At around the same time, the Spanish Inquisition was taking place and Nostradamus learned that religious officials were looking to arrest him. He left France and moved to Italy . Six years later, he was able to return to his homeland. His medical skills were in great demand as he worked to help those ill with the plague.

Nostradamus eventually remarried and had more children. He wrote a book called Traite des Fardmens, which was the first modern medical directory of doctors and healers and their locations.

While working as a doctor, he began writing down a list of predictions for the future. His first prophecies were published around 1555 and many wealthy and sophisticated people of his day read them. Nostradamus became a close friend of the queen of France, Catherine de Medici. He correctly predicted the death of her husband King Henri II. In June 1559, the king died, fulfilling Nostradamus’ prophecy. Nostradamus became quite famous as a result.

After King Henri’s death, Nostradamus continued to write down his prophecies. Many people sought him out and came to visit him. His writings were read by many.

By 1566, Nostradamus was ill and predicted his own death. He died on July 1, 1566 and was buried in Salon , France . Two years after his death, the remaining prophecies of Nostradamus were published by his son.

Nostradamus’ famous book is called The Centuries, but it has nothing to do with 100 year increments. The book is broken down into 10 chapters, each containing 100 predictions (or quatrains) with the exception of Century VII (which contains 42 prophecies). The quatrains are four line paragraphs and each predicts an event. They are not written in any kind of order. Nostradamus intended to make the understanding of his quatrains difficult and randomly assembled them on purpose. Some of the quatrains seem to be very specific in explaining an event, but others require much interpretation.

Many of the quatrains pertain to Europe , the Mediterranean , North Africa , the Middle East and Asia . The New World is also mentioned in a few of the quatrains.

Believers of Nostradamus’ work find links between history and the quatrains. For instance, Century 2, Quatrain 24 says:  

Beasts ferocious with hunger will cross the rivers,
The greater part of the battlefield will be against Hister.
Into a cage of iron will the great one be drawn,
When the child of Germany observes nothing.

It is generally thought that Hister is a reference to Adolf Hitler but centuries ago, Hister actually referred to a geographical area near the Danube River . Since Adolf Hitler was born near the area of the Danube , some believers feel that Hister is a definitive reference to Hitler. Skeptics say that it is pure coincidence when comparing the writings to modern history. Many of the words used by Nostradamus are outdated and can have several different meanings. Two individuals could attempt to define and explain a quatrain and come up with two completely different interpretations. Skeptics argue that there is a wide margin for error.

Still, it seems that the following quatrain refers to Hitler:  

             Out of the deepest part of the west of Europe ,
                 From poor people a young child shall be born,
                 Who with his tongue shall seduce many people,
                 His fame shall increase in the Eastern Kingdom

And again,

               He shall come to tyrannize the land.
                He shall raise up a hatred that had long been dormant.
                The child of Germany observes no law.
                Cries, and tears, fire, blood, and battle.

Hitler was born of poor parents and his charismatic ways certainly seduced millions of people. No law did he obey and he brought Europe practically to its knees with bloodshed, war, and torture.

Since September 11, 2001 , people have looked to Nostradamus’ writings to see if there was any forecast about the destruction and havoc that was unleashed on that day. An e-mail message was widely circulated claiming that Nostradamus had predicted the terrorist attacks in New York :  

In the City of God there will be a great thunder,
Two Brothers torn apart by Chaos,
While the fortress endures, the great leader will succumb.
The third big war will begin when the big city is burning.

This e-mail was in fact, a hoax. Nostradamus never wrote this paragraph. However, he did write two other quatrains that make reference to objects and events that could be interpreted as the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center . Still, critics say that readers are only taking out certain words in the writings and using them to fit into history.

It is nearly impossible to look at the prophecies and expect to predict future occurrences, but many of Nostradamus’ writings make sense after an event has taken place. That is, none of the predictions really mean anything until after the occurrence.

Mostly, people take the writings and then draw upon their own conclusions. For instance, Nostradamus mentioned three people of which he referred to as the Anti Christ. It is commonly believed that the first two were Napoleon and Adolf Hitler. Some consider Saddam Hussein to be the third Anti Christ, but others perceive from the prophecies that this individual will actually come from Asia . So, which is it? Is Saddam the third evil person or is there someone else brewing in the background waiting to make an entrance? It remains to be seen.

Within the quatrains, there are references to such events as the Great Fire of London, the French Revolution, the rise of Napoleon and World War II. Some events seem to be labeled very clearly, but others remain very obscure. Was this on purpose? Yes, Nostradamus feared being persecuted during the Inquisition and he deliberately wrote his prophecies in paradoxes so that it would be difficult for someone to interpret his work. In addition, he uses language, that even at the time of his writings, was outdated, inconsistent spelling, and references to unknown names.

Was Nostradamus psychic? Perhaps that is something we will truly never know the answer to. The man himself based his writings on what he felt God was telling him along with his own knowledge of the astrology.

If Nostradamus meant for us to know the future, it is up to us to interpret his writings. Perhaps he was providing a glimpse into the future world for all of us to see. Maybe he was simply putting down onto paper predictions that he wanted each individual person to draw their own conclusions from. Or perhaps, he is simply playing a mind game with us, one that has been passed down through the last four centuries and has puzzled the millions who have read his work.