Prophecies and Predictions
Nostradamus was an apothecary who made over one thousand predictions and historians say that over half of them have already come true. They were all written in four-line poems known as quatrains which were then organised into Centuries. Nostradamus wrote 942 of these (one century had only 42) and they were purposely written in obscure language through the usage of metaphors/symbols and removing, swapping or removing letters. It is said to be done in order to avoid him being prosecuted for being a magician.
This is one example of a quatrain written by Nostradamus:
Near the gates and within the cities
there will be two scourges the like of which was never seen,
famine within plague, people put out by steel,
crying to the great immortal God for relief.
The Church was strictly against prophecies as knowing the future was claiming a god-like power for a human and it provided the prophet a link to God that excluded the Church. They believed that it distracted a person from their true purpose which was finding salvation through Christ.
The Centuries/Prophecies of Nostradamus have been studied by his followers and there are many quatrains which relate to modern day events. Nostradamus’ predictions have been linked to many events and people. Examples include The Great Fire of England, Louis Pasteur, the Atomic Bomb in Japan and the death of Princess Diana. However we will discuss only three in depth which are the assassination of President John Kennedy and Robert Kennedy, the 9/11 bombings and the rise of Hitler.
This is one example of a quatrain written by Nostradamus:
Near the gates and within the cities
there will be two scourges the like of which was never seen,
famine within plague, people put out by steel,
crying to the great immortal God for relief.
The Church was strictly against prophecies as knowing the future was claiming a god-like power for a human and it provided the prophet a link to God that excluded the Church. They believed that it distracted a person from their true purpose which was finding salvation through Christ.
The Centuries/Prophecies of Nostradamus have been studied by his followers and there are many quatrains which relate to modern day events. Nostradamus’ predictions have been linked to many events and people. Examples include The Great Fire of England, Louis Pasteur, the Atomic Bomb in Japan and the death of Princess Diana. However we will discuss only three in depth which are the assassination of President John Kennedy and Robert Kennedy, the 9/11 bombings and the rise of Hitler.
How did he make his predictions?:
Nostradamus received his magical inspiration from a book known as De Mysteriis Egyptorium. He used two main methods (known as trance) to make his predictions. One was by staring into a flame and the other staring into water. He explains this in his quatrains in Century 1:
Sitting alone at night in secret study; It is placed on the brass tripod.
A slight flame comes out of the emptiness and makes Successful that which should not be believed in vain.
The wand in the hand is placed in the middle of the tripod’s legs.
With water he sprinkles both the hem of his garment and his foot.
A voice, feat: he trembles in his robes.
Divine splendor; the God sits nearby.
His methods were of the 4th Century neo-Platonist Iamblichus. A bowl of water was placed onto the tripod and the seer would gaze into it until the water became cloudy and pictures were revealed. His method of predicting was known as scrying.
Nostradamus received his magical inspiration from a book known as De Mysteriis Egyptorium. He used two main methods (known as trance) to make his predictions. One was by staring into a flame and the other staring into water. He explains this in his quatrains in Century 1:
Sitting alone at night in secret study; It is placed on the brass tripod.
A slight flame comes out of the emptiness and makes Successful that which should not be believed in vain.
The wand in the hand is placed in the middle of the tripod’s legs.
With water he sprinkles both the hem of his garment and his foot.
A voice, feat: he trembles in his robes.
Divine splendor; the God sits nearby.
His methods were of the 4th Century neo-Platonist Iamblichus. A bowl of water was placed onto the tripod and the seer would gaze into it until the water became cloudy and pictures were revealed. His method of predicting was known as scrying.
However there is great speculation if Nostradamus’ predictions are actually correct. Many interpreters have analysed the writings and although most agree that he had a power to make predictions about the future, others say that the texts have been scoured to suit the events.The quatrains were written in no sequence and were often very unclear which suggests that a link between a real event/person to his predictions could have been coincidental.The translated and early editions of the Prophecies were based on earlier ones and not the original which makes it extremely unreliable.