Nostradamus Predictions for the Future

The world relies on Nostradamus' predictions for the future. You can't quite jump to blaming them. While certain predictions came true, certain others are yet to be seen. But who was Nostradamus, and why has his word been considered the ultimate when deciding the fate of humanity?

Michel de Nostredame (1503 - 1566), better known by his Latin name, Nostradamus, was a French apothecary, but is today known for his prophecies which are known worldwide. His predictions became known because of his book Les Propheties (The Prophecies), a book that has never been out of circulation since it made its first appearance in 1555.

He was an author, astrological consultant, and translator, apart from being an apothecary. From 1550 to 1555, he wrote several almanacs, containing at least 6,338 prophecies, which are cited even today.

"Salon, Mansol, Tarascon of six arches
Where is still standing the pyramids,
Shall come to deliver the Prince of a Denmark,
A shameful ransom shall be paid into the temple of Artemis."

It is hard to say if this quatrain is in fact an implication to the death of Princess Diana, who met her end in France, where the 'glass pyramid' of the Louver stands. What may seem of interest is the fact that the Greek Goddess Artemis, was called Diana in Roman mythology. Is it fair to say that the 'shameful ransom' was Lady Diana, and that the temple is the garden devoted to Goddess Diana could well be.

Yet another prophecy that became an overnight 'reality' and made Nostradamus a cult figure was...

"A siege laid to a city, and assaulted by night,
A few shall escape to fight not far from the sea,
A woman swoons for joy to see her son returned,
A poison hidden in the fold of letters."

If his prophecies are about reading between the lines, it could be said that the attack on the WTC had been envisioned. New York, a city not far from the sea had indeed been 'assaulted by night'. The 'poison' named Anthrax created a stir in New York, D.C. and other parts of the country.

The dark cloud looming over a country in the 20th century had been anticipated by a man of the 16th century. How far it can be accepted that this future had been seen, we cannot tell. Truth is, some things we will never know.

Those were stories of the past, but what about the future?

6,338 prophecies is a lot when taking into account all that has been foreseen for the world. The good would be welcome, but how much good is there for us to see in the years to come? We all know what an iconic figure he turned out to be after the 9/11 catastrophe. So let us see if we can find something relevant in the list of Nostradamus' predictions.

There has been speculation of every sort regarding the end of the world on December 21, 2012. But is that day really Doomsday? Truth is, that is the day when the Mayan calendar completes its thirteenth cycle, which in fact marks the 5125 yearlong cycle of the Mayan Long Count calendar.

Although there are records that talk about planetary collision (a theory regarding the celestial body Nibiru), not one of them talks about a specific date, so we could not tell if that was the end. Now that we have moved beyond 2012 successfully, cheers!

"In the year five hundred eighty more or less,
There shall be a strange age,
In the year seven hundred and three (witness heaven)
Many kingdoms, one to five shall be changed."

All the predictions / prophecies are said to require an addition of 325 to the numbers mentioned. By this logic we got to 1914 (325+1589), year of World War I. Destructive, yet a significant year. Following similar calculations, 1703+325 get us to 2028. It is believed that war, the third world war has been foreseen in this year.

"I / 48
Twenty years of the reign of the moon having passed,
Seven thousand years another shall hold his monarchy,
When the sun shall resume his days past,
Then is fulfilled and ends my prophecy.

X / 74
The year seven of the great number being past,
There shall be seen the sports of the ghostly sacrifice,
Not far from the great age of the millennium,
That the buried shall come out of their graves."

Verses like these talk about expansion of the sun which will consume the earth in 7000 years.

Faith is a strong word, and Nostradamus' predictions can only be waited on. There is no way that anybody can criticize all that's been said, and all that's been seen, because one thing's for sure, coincidence or not, the predictions were true. Bottom line is, what the future brings with it is to be seen. Until then, all that can be done is live one day at a time, and let time surprise us!