Photo: Dublin Live
Photo: Dublin Live

Who is Nostradamus?

Nostradamus (1503 to 1566) is the 16th-century astrologer and mystic whose cryptic writings have fascinated conspiracy theorists for decades. Nostradamus penned hundreds of supposed prophecies about the future in his 1555 book Les Propheties, which many believe has accurately predicted everything from the death of John F Kennedy in 1963 to the Great Fire of London in 1666. The astrologer's predictions took the form of four-lined poems or quatrains that were divided into 10 chapters called Centuries.

Nostradamus began his medical practice in Agen sometime in the 1530s, despite not only never having taken a medical degree but also apparently having been expelled from medical school. In 1544 he moved to Salon, where he gained renown for his innovative medical treatments during outbreaks of the plague at Aix and Lyon in 1546–47. He began making prophecies about 1547, which he published in 1555 in a book entitled Centuries. The work consisted of rhymed quatrains grouped in hundreds, each set of 100 called a century. Astrology was then at a peak, and an enlarged second edition, dedicated to the French king, appeared in 1558.

Some of his prophecies appeared to be fulfilled, and his fame became so widespread that he was invited to the court of Catherine de Médicis, queen consort of Henry II of France, where he cast the horoscopes of her children. He was appointed physician-in-ordinary by Charles IX in 1564. Nostradamus’s prophecies were the subject of many commentaries; contrary to popular belief, however, they were never condemned by the Congregation of the Index, the body set up by the Roman Catholic Church for the examination of books and manuscripts. Because of their cryptic style and content, the prophecies continued to create much controversy. Some of them are thought by believers to have foretold actual historical events that occurred since Nostradamus’s time, including certain details of the French Revolution of the 18th century. Others, having no apparent meaning, are said by some to foretell events that have not yet occurred.

Some of Nostradamus's predictions for 2021

A 16th-century edition of predictions by Nostradamus, the first book to be digitised by Google from a collection of 500,000 at the Municipal Library of Lyon, is displayed by a librarian in this January 15, 2010 file picture. Amid the flat, wide fields of central France, a team of re-trained secretar (photo credit: ROBERT PRATTA/REUTERS)
A 16th-century edition of predictions by Nostradamus, the first book to be digitised by Google from a collection of 500,000 at the Municipal Library of Lyon, is displayed by a librarian in this January 15, 2010 file picture. Amid the flat, wide fields of central France, a team of re-trained secretar (photo credit: ROBERT PRATTA/REUTERS)

In Century III, Quatrain 81, Nostradamus wrote: “The great shameless, audacious bawler. He will be elected governor of the army: The boldness of his contention. The bridge broken, the city faint from fear.”

While the forecasts of Nostradamus are very vague, astrologers reading his work believe 2021 was of particular significance to the French prophet.

According to astrologers, the coronavirus pandemic marks the beginning of a series of misfortunes for humanity, which was outlined by Nostradamus, including widespread famine.

He said: “After great trouble for humanity, a greater one is prepared, The Great Mover renews the ages: Rain, blood, milk, famine, steel, and plague, Is the heavens fire seen, a long spark running.”

Zombie Apocalypse - Predictions by Nostradamus

Illustrative photo
Illustrative photo

According to Yearly Horoscope, 2021 could mark the rise of the living dead.

The website said that, after analysing texts from French forecasters, next year could see a zombie apocalypse, with a virus unleashed by a Russian scientist.

Nostradamus hinted at the rise of a "great evil" disease that renders sufferers "half-dead". In the book, he wrote, this "pestilent she-monster" of a plague will cause "all the world to end" and leave "fathers and mothers dead of infinite sorrows".

Major earthquake will hit California - Predictions by Nostradamus

The French prophet said that a "great calamity" will befall "the Lands of the West". His reference to a "sloping park" suggests an earthquake or landslide. In November 2020, Nevada witnessed its biggest earthquake of 7.5 magnitude in 66 years.

Natural Disasters - Predictions by Nostradamus

The coming year could be the moment when climate change reaches a tipping point for humanity, according to Nostradamus.

He warned: "We shall see the water rising and the earth falling under it”.

Some have interpreted this as meaning climate change will finally become unbearable.

Indeed, sea levels are rising in the face of the warming planet which is causing the polar ice caps to melt.

Death of great leader sparks World War 3 - Predictions by Nostradamus

Experts have presumed Nostradamus' warning of "two brothers torn apart" as a suggestion that "the third big war" will begin between two allied countries. However, he hinted that it will kick off after the death of a "great leader".

Only time will tell how many of these predictions come true.

Solar storms and a meteor strike - Predictions by Nostradamus

Nostradamus wrote about 'a long trail of sparks' in the sky which is made of fire, which could mean that a giant asteroid may hit Earth. NASA has predicted that giant asteroids are likely to hit the Earth in the next few years.

Sounds like 2020 wasn't that bad?

Which Nostradamus prophecies have come true so far?

The death of King Henry II

Nostradamus is widely credited with predicting the death of Henry II of France in 1559.

The French king died just four years after Les Propheties was published when he was wounded during a jousting match.

Nostradamus supposedly predicted his death in Century 1, Quatrain 35.

The passage reads: "The young lion will overcome the older one,

"in a field of combat in single fight:

"He will pierce his eyes in their golden cage;

"two wounds in one, then he dies a cruel death."

The Great Fire of London

On September 2, 1666, a fire broke out in central London that grew to consume entire swathes of the medieval city.

The fire is estimated to have destroyed more than 13,000 houses and destroyed the homes of some 70,000 people.

A hundred years earlier, Nostradamus is said to have predicted the fire in Century 2, Quatrain 52.

The astrologer wrote: "The blood of the just will commit a fault at London,

"Burnt through lightning of twenty threes the six:

"The ancient lady will fall from her high place,

"Several of the same sect will be killed."

The assassination of president JF Kennedy

President Kennedy was killed on November 22, 1963, when lone gunman Lee Jarvey Oswald opened fire on a presidential cavalcade in Dallas Texas.

The circumstances surrounding the attack and Oswald's death just days later at the hands of nightclub owner Jack Ruby gave birth to many conspiracy theorists over the years.

Perhaps the most bizarre, however, is the claim Nostradamus knew this would happen.

Nostradamus wrote in Century 1, Quatrain 26: "The great man will be struck down in the day by a thunderbolt.

"An evil deed, foretold by the bearer of a petition.

"According to the prediction another falls at night time.

"Conflict at Reims, London, and pestilence in Tuscany."

*READ MORE: Nostradamus' prophecies: Top 9 Shocking Predictions for 2021 and Fact-Check

Did the French mystic predict Covid-19?

Nostradamus appeared to have predicted the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, as touted by conspiracy theorists on social media.

This claim is unfounded. Reuters found no evidence of this prophecy being written by Nostradamus. Stephane Gerson, Professor of French, French Studies, and History at New York University, told Reuters this text “does not come from Nostradamus's ‘Prophecies’,” nor from other prognostications made by Nostradamus.

Gerson told Reuters, “One should keep in mind that plagues were recurrent in 16th-century Europe, during his lifetime. They were one of the travails about which he wrote (indeed, there are at least 35 references to plagues in his ‘Prophecies’).”

Gerson told Reuters why the timing of this claim during this outbreak doesn’t come as a surprise. “There is nothing surprising about the reemergence of such false Nostradamian prophecies in the wake of a disaster. The same thing has happened for over 400 years: invented or altered predictions, endowed with the aura of Nostradamus, surface again and again, part of an economy of forgery, mass media circulation, and yearnings for order and design each time an unforeseen event threatens our material well-being and our conceptual frameworks.”

However, he warns that the following year will be even more destructive and perhaps bring famine to the world.

"After great trouble for humanity, a greater one is prepared," Nostradamus wrote.

"The Great Mover renews the ages: / Rain, blood, milk, famine, steel, and plague, / Is the heavens fire seen, a long spark running."

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