5. Myths About Nostradamus
The predictions of Nostradamus still have a great impact on us today as we search his quatrains for evidence of predictions about natural disasters, wars and the exact date of the impending day of the world.
Like modern celebrities this ancient celebrity has been subject to a lot of gossip and speculation. Many myths and wives tales about Nostradamus still persist more than half a millennium after his death. Like many celebrities his reputation, achievements and predictions have distorted by urban myths, conspiracy theories the church and even the present day media!
Nostradamus can be credited with predicting a lot of events including
•The death of Henry II
•The French Revolution
•The Great Fire of London
•The Reign of Emperor Napoleon
•World War II and Hitler
•The Kennedy Assassinations
Nostradamus is often credited with predictions that he did not make and that instead belong to another seer such as Edgar Cayce or in the Book of Revelations in the Bible. Here is a run down of some of the myths and debates that surround the life and clairvoyance of this famous prophet to this day.
Myth: Nostradamus predicted the tsunami in the South Pacific in 2004.
Fact: Nobody so far has found a quatrain in Nostradamus’ Centuries that predicts this. All of the centuries are provided in an appendix at the end of this book if you care to try and find it. As it stands, the Indian Ocean is never mentioned in his writings.
Myth: Nostradamus was stalked tried by the Spanish Inquisition.
Fact: There is nothing on record that says that he was ever even investigated by the Spanish Inquisition. This is a matter of great debate. Many historians contend he was on good terms with church since he wrote so many letters to the Pope. Others maintain that the prophet was just paranoid (justifiably so.) However this may be a history that was rewritten in order to protect the reputation of the church.
Myth: Nostradamus was a good Catholic.
Nostradamus was born Jewish and thought his visionary abilities were given to him because he was a descended from the 13th lost tribe of Israel. His family converted from Jewish to Catholic to avoid persecution from the Spanish Inquisition.
Myth: Nostradamus’ visions were a gift from God.
Nostradamus would more likely be appealing to the Goddess Athena and the souls of the dead to access his visions as he used instruction from Mysteriis Egyptorium that was written by Iambachulus. In other words he was into serious witchcraft. I
Myth: Nostradamus used his psychic powers to treat victims of the plague.
Evidence shows that Nostradamus used the methods he was taught in university, with the exception of bleeding the patients. He also expressed frustration in his writing that many of these methods did not work. There is no evidence of him trying to be a hands on healer in his work but given his character, he probably tried it.
Myth: Nostradamus quatrains are written in code.
They are not written in code, they are written in French, Latin and Southern French slang, which is not code! Only Americans who perceive any language but English as mysterious would think of these common languages as code. Mostly they have just been disguised through a rearrangement of the words. There does not seem to be any order to them or a clue as how to assemble them. It is also very likely that Nostradamus visions were not given to him in order. Nostradamus had no concern for how his quatrains would read when written in English.
Myth: Nostradamus prophecies are accurate to the date.
As nobody is completely sure what method of timing that Nostradamus used for his prophecies (except in the quatrains where he mentions the planets) and as it seems that he was using astrology to try and predict the years of events his predictions are usually off by about two to three years.
Myth: Nostradamus is always right.
There have been numerous instances where Nostradamus has been wrong. For instance he predicted the end of the world in 1999 and it did not happen.
The most important thing to remember about the quatrains is that they are subject to various interpretations. In the next chapter we will look at the quatrains that most interpreters of his works consider to be the fulfilled prophecies of Nostradamus.
