Was Nostradamus a Real Prophet?
Michel de Nostredame or Nostradamus was a sixteenth century purported seer and apothecary (the medieval term for medical practitioner), who wrote down a thousand prophecies, many of which, according to those that believe him, have now come true. His favorite “seering” method was scrying, which involved gazing into a mirror or a bowl of water and waiting for a vision to appear.
One of the most famous is supposed to have referred to the death of Henry II, who died from a jousting accident. The Quatrain, which is how Nostradamus’ prophecies were organized, refers to a single battle, where two wounds become one, piercing the eyes through a “golden cage”. While it is true that Henry II was pieced through the eye through a golden jousting helmet, and died of two separate wounds, the part of the quatrain that refers to the older lion being slain by the younger one seems not to be applicable, as both Henry II and his opponent were around the same age. Another famous prophecy that Nostradamus made refers to a fire in London by name in the year ’66. In 1666, there was a huge one-and-a-half mile by half a mile fire that destroyed the city. Nostradamus is also said to have predicted the French Revolution and Napoleon, Hitler’s rise to power, World Wars I & II, the death of Princess Diana, the Apollo moon landing, and the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Whether or not you believe in his predictions, Nostradamus left an impressive legacy, after all his writings are still being printed almost half a millennium after being published for the first time. The mystery in Nostradamus writings is whether or not his predictions have anything to do with the paranormal or as many skeptics believe, just a statistical exercise. Considering 500 years of history and a 1000 vague, timeless and open to interpretation writings, it is natural that a few of those predictions will coincide perfectly with a major event every now and then.
No comments:
Post a Comment