The prophet Nostradamus is famous for his shocking predictions that have captivated the world. While some of Nostradamus’s prophecies are believed to be accurate and others not, all have garnered significant attention. Nostradamus claimed that his predictions about the future were based on the calculations of the planets and stars in relation to Earth.
Four hundred years after his death, he remains famous worldwide due to his book published in 1555 titled “Les Propheties” (translated as: The Prophecies). Let’s review some of the astonishingly accurate predictions made by this prophet.
Nostradamus (1503-1566) was a French apothecary and prophet. He was also known by the nickname “the servant of the devil” because all of his prophecies were not written in clear, common language but instead used cryptic language, puns, or difficult languages such as Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, and Italian. This was a careful choice as Nostradamus did not want to be accused of heresy, witchcraft, or superstition.
Chillingly Accurate Predictions
Throughout his life, Nostradamus accurately predicted numerous disasters such as plagues, earthquakes, wars, floods, droughts, and battles. Nostradamus enthusiasts have documented events in world history that he predicted accurately, including the French Revolution, World War I and II, the deaths of Napoleon, Hitler, Princess Diana, and even the scientific achievement of Apollo landing on the moon.
Nostradamus asserted that his predictions about the future were based on calculations of celestial bodies in relation to Earth. This stemmed from ancient historians as well as chronicles left from the medieval period.
In fact, many scholars believe that Nostradamus interpreted the end of the world from ancient prophecies (primarily from the Bible), and then used astrological readings from the past to forecast future events.
One of the first to be horrified by Nostradamus’s prediction was Emperor Henry II of France. The 46-year-old king, noticing his declining health, summoned Nostradamus to the court to inquire about his fate and received the prediction: “One day, Your Majesty’s head will be pierced by a sharp object, and that will be the cause of your death. This will happen within 10 years.”
He warned the king to avoid a jousting match. However, in June 1559, disregarding Nostradamus’s warning, King Henry II participated in a tournament against Count Montgomery on his sister’s wedding day. Both opponents wore a lion-embossed shield, with Montgomery being six years younger than Henry. During the match, a lance pierced the king’s visor, struck his eye, and penetrated his temple. King Henry II died at age 51 after 10 days in bed.
Nostradamus accurately predicted the death of King Henry II.
This event was recorded in Nostradamus’s book “The Centuries”, published a year earlier.
The fate of another emperor, who lived two centuries later, was also predicted accurately by Nostradamus: Napoleon—the undefeated general who faced defeat in Russia and eventually lost his throne. Nostradamus’s verses indicated: “The great emperor will begin from a low position/And quickly grow powerful/When he gains supreme power/The defeated king will be exiled to Elba/He will return to Marseilles through the Gulf of Genoa/But will not overcome foreign forces/Though he escapes death, blood will still be shed.”
Predicting the Great Fire of London in 1666, Nostradamus wrote: “The blood of the goddess of justice will cover London/The city will burn in the year 66/The lady will lose her supreme status/And many places will be destroyed.”
A major fire did occur in London in 1666, which is one of the few predictions from Nostradamus that explicitly states a year. Even the most skeptical must acknowledge the accuracy of this prediction. The fire destroyed three-quarters of London.
The atrocities of Hitler, the atomic bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the explosion of the American space shuttle in 1985, and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy are all considered to have been predicted by Nostradamus in his verses.
Prophetic Verses
In 1554, Nostradamus decided to dedicate all his energy to his works. He planned for each book to consist of 10 chapters, with each chapter containing 100 predictions written in quatrains.
In his prophecies, he rarely specifies the time or place of events.
In 1555, he published Les Prophéties (The Prophecies), which included a collection of his major, long-term predictions. To avoid scrutiny, he devised a method to obscure the meaning of his prophecies by using poetry and various languages such as Greek, Italian, Latin, and Provençal, along with some dialects from southern France.
He almost never specifies the time or place of events, so no one can use his prophecies to predict upcoming events. In most cases, they can only be used for reflection after the events have occurred.
The book has sparked considerable controversy; some believe Nostradamus is a servant of the devil. Others view him as a fraud or someone who has lost his mind. However, many people still believe that his prophecies stem from divine inspiration. Nostradamus became increasingly famous and was respected by the Asian elite. Catherine de Medici, the wife of King Henry II of France, was one of Nostradamus’s greatest admirers.
After reading the 1555 almanac and seeing poem number 35 alluding to an unnamed threat to her family, Catherine de Medici summoned Nostradamus to Paris to explain and create her horoscope.
For over 400 years, Michel de Nostradamus’s prophecies have puzzled scientists. Of the more than 1,000 predictions he made, more than half have come true. Nostradamus researchers claim that he foresaw the future of humanity up to the year 7000, predicting that by 3979, the Gobi Desert will become a sea. As of now, in 2014, humanity still has plenty of time to continue reflecting on the accuracy of his prophecies.
