Nostradamus

Nostradamus, (December 14, 1503 – July 1, 1566) born Michel de Nostredame, is one of the world's most famous authors of prophecies. He is most famous for his book Les Propheties, which consists of rhymed quatrains (4‑line poems) grouped into sets of 100, called Centuries.

Skepticism

Skeptics of Nostradamus state that his reputation as a prophet is largely manufactured by modern-day supporters who shoehorn his words into events that have either already occurred or are so imminent as to be inevitable, a process known as as "retroactive clairvoyance". No Nostradamus quatrain has been interpreted before a specific event occurs, beyond a very general level (e.g., a fire will occur, a war will start).

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A good demonstration of this flexible predicting is to take lyrics written by modern songwriters (e.g., Bob Dylan) and show that they are equally "prophetic".

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Some scholars believe that Nostradamus wrote not to be a prophet, but to comment on events that were happening in his own time, writing in his elusive way - using highly metaphorical and cryptic language - in order to avoid persecution. This is similar to the Preterite interpretation of the Book of Revelation; John the Apostle intended to write only about contemporary events, but over time his writings became seen as prophecies.

Related Topics:
Preterite - Book of Revelation - John the Apostle

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There was a definite prophecy that "a great and terrifying leader would come out of the sky" in 1999 and 7 months, but its fulfilment can arguably be linked to a scientifically predictable event knowable in Nostradamus's time: the solar eclipse on August 11 1999, which is the last day of July by the Julian calendar in use then. The eclipse track crossed northern France, and if the great and terrifying leader was just the moon it "revived memories of the great conqueror (or king) of Angouleme" - a figure in a medieval French regional war - just by darkening the sky over France.

Related Topics:
1999 - August 11 - July - Julian calendar - France

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The bulk of the quatrains deal with disasters of various sorts. The disasters include plagues, earthquakes, wars, floods, invasions, murders, droughts, battles and many other themes. Some quatrains cover these in over-all terms; others concern a single person or small group of persons. Some cover a single town, others several towns in several countries.

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