About Nostradamus

Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
1

In one of your articles you wrote that Nostradamus’s prediction were just too vaque to be really true.
They were just a bunch of BS.

Well I tend to disagree, severely in light of the twin tower attacks that occurred recently.

There are a few quatrains that talk about the disaster, and even “the man who saw tomorrow” talked about the predictions of the attack on new york.
here are some of the quatrains

“In the year of the new century and nine months
From the sky will come a great King of Terror
The sky will burn at forty-five degrees
Fire approaches the new city.”
(Century 6 , Quatrain 97)

By fire he will destroy their city,
A cold and cruel heart,
Blood will pour,
Mercy to none.

Earth-shaking fire from the center of the earth.
will cause the towers around the New City to shake,
Two great rocks for a long time will make war,
And then Arethusa will color a new river red.
(Century 1, Quatrain 87)

Garden of the world near the new city,
In the path of the hollow mountains,
It will be seized and plunged into the Vat,
Drinking by force the waters poisoned by sulfur.
(Century X , Quatrain 49)

At forty-five degrees, the sky will burn,
Fire approaches the great new city,
Immediately a huge, scattered flame leaps up
When they want to have verification from the Norman
(Century VI, Quatrain 97)

In September of the year of the new century
The Great King of Terror will come from the sky,
He will bring back to life the great king of the Mongols
Before and after the God of war reigns happily.
(Century X , Quatrain 72)

All the sources i read, before the attack took place said that the city at 45 degrees was without a doubt New York.
In your article you mentioned that it was easy for them to apply the events after the fact, but they used these to fortell the terror done on New York.

2

Cecil’s column dealing with Nostradamus.

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_051.html

3

Well, if Nostradamus really could see the future, he was pretty much useless with it. After all, nobody was able to foresee this event using his predictions. Only after the fact is anybody making a connection between Nostradamus quatrains and the tragedy.

Right off the bat there are problems with the quatrains you quote. Note that you have two different sets of lines listed as Century 6, Quatrain 97.

“In the year of the new century and nine months
From the sky will come a great King of Terror
The sky will burn at forty-five degrees
Fire approaches the new city.”
(Century 6 , Quatrain 97)

vs

At forty-five degrees, the sky will burn,
Fire approaches the great new city,
Immediately a huge, scattered flame leaps up
When they want to have verification from the Norman
(Century VI, Quatrain 97)

This site ( http://www.tje.net/para/nostradamus/no_c06.htm ) says the second is correct. The first appears to be a mangled form of a couple different quatrains.

Another discrepancy - your version:
Earth-shaking fire from the center of the earth.
will cause the towers around the New City to shake,
Two great rocks for a long time will make war,
And then Arethusa will color a new river red.
(Century 1, Quatrain 87)

vs

Earthshaking fire from the centre of the earth
will cause tremors around the New City.
Two great rocks will war for a long time,
then Arethusa will redden a new river.

http://www.tje.net/para/nostradamus/no_c01.htm
Note this version does not mention towers.

And then this one:

In September of the year of the new century
The Great King of Terror will come from the sky,
He will bring back to life the great king of the Mongols
Before and after the God of war reigns happily.
(Century X , Quatrain 72)

vs

The year 1999, seventh month,
From the sky will come a great King of Terror:
To bring back to life the great King of the Mongols,
Before and after Mars to reign by good luck.

Note this one specifically states “seventh month of 1999”, not September of 2001. And how does “King of the Mongols” apply?

Note that this quatrain was used to “predict” a gigantic comet or asteroid hit in July to September of 1999 - that didn’t happen.

Note that century 6 quatrain 97 was claimed to predict Flight 800. So which was it, the Lockerby attack, or WTC? It can’t be both.

Again, it is a string of post-hoc interpretation. Let’s go mine the quatrains and find one that applies.

Now if you can use the quatrains to give me a location for Osama Bin Laden (good enough so the CIA can get him), then I might begin to believe you.

4

Thank god you brought this up, since we haven’t discussed it here on the boards yet :rolleyes:

5

Did you directly translate that from the French yourself? You might want to check these websites:
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/hoaxes/predict.htm#brothers

http://skepdic.com/nostrada.html

6

Okay, I’m a closet Nostradamus follower. I have several books on him, including one in French. I don’t really believe him, but I like to read about him. So, a couple about September 11, 2001

Quatrain 3.7
The fugitives, the weapons with fire from heavens.
The next conflice will be that of the flying ravens.
They call upon earth and heaven for help
When the agressors draw near the walls.

Comments: The weapons are the airplanes, the fugitives the hijackers. The flying ravens refer to the dark clothes and the raven as the bird of death. Calling upon earth is a clear reference to the cell phone calls, when the agressors are drawing near the walls of the WTC and the Pentagon.

Quatrain 12.52
Two bodies, one head, field divided in two.
And this to reply to the unheard ones.
Little ones for great ones, lightning at the pointed tower.
Worse for “U.S. souls.”

This one has it all: two bodies (WTC, body of the world financial network), one head (Pentagon, head of the US armed forces), field in Pennsylvania. “Unheard ones” is the secretness of the attacks. Little ones (the Taliban) for the great U.S., lightning at the pointed tower (the one with the antenna on it), and U.S. souls (anagram of "Eussouis).

Nostradamus believers will be quoting this one into the next century!

7

For all you know, Bin Laden and friends are big fans of Nost. and got the idea from him.

8

<< Two bodies, one head, field divided in two.
And this to reply to the unheard ones.
Little ones for great ones, lightning at the pointed tower.
Worse for “U.S. souls.” >>

This was actually referring to the Civil War. “Two bodies, one head, field divided in two,” clearly describes the Union and Confederacy. The u"nheard ones" are the slaves, of course. “Little ones for great ones” means the suffering of the common soldiers under the generals. “Lightning at the pointed tower” is the burning of Atlanta. Or perhaps the assassination of Lincoln (a tall man, thus a “tower”).

Oh, sorry, this is actually the 2000 election. Two bodies means two candidates; one head means one President; field divided in two means a close vote. THe unheard ones are the lost votes in Florida. “Little ones” are the everyday people who vote for the “great ones” (high office). “Lightning at the pointed tower” means TV broadcast antenna and the incorrect predictions on election night. And “worse for U.S. souls” is obvious.

No, wait, I got it wrong, this was a description of Disney. The “two bodies” are the division into the Florida and the California HQs. The “unheard ones” are the characters who walk around the theme parks, they don’t speak. “Little ones” are Mickey the Mouse; “great ones” are the mythic characters like Snow White and Hercules. “Lightning at the pointed tower” is Tinkerbell who flies down from Cinderella’s castle each night. And “worse for U.S. souls” is still obvious.
<< The fugitives, the weapons with fire from heavens.
The next conflice will be that of the flying ravens.
They call upon earth and heaven for help
When the agressors draw near the walls. >>

Now, this one is obviously World War I. The fugitives fled from Belgium to England, and then became pilots, flying the first use of airplanes in war with fire (bombs) from heavens. The next conflict (WWII) involved the German air-bombing of England (“flying ravens.”) They call on earth (dug trenches) and heaven (airplanes) for help. The agressors in WWI were the Germans who drew near the walls (the Maginot line).

Oh, wait, this was really a prediction of the movie STAR WARS. The fugitives (from Tatooine) approach the weapons with fire from heavens (Death Star destroying Alderaan); the next conflict was the “flying ravens” (the X-wings vs the TIE-fighters). “Earth and heaven for help” is the gang being in the garbage chute (metaphorically down into the earth) while Obi-wan is on a high platform disabling the tractor beams. And the big finally occurs as the Death Star nears the walls of the fortress on the rebel base.

Pfooey.

[Edited by C K Dexter Haven on 10-02-2001 at 10:56 PM]

9

At forty-five degrees, the sky will burn,
Fire approaches the great new city,
Immediately a huge, scattered flame leaps up
When they want to have verification from the Norman

Easy. This refers to the German cities that were firebombed during World War II. “Norman” was one of the original races of the British, who, of course, were one of Germany’s staunchest enemies during that war.

The year 1999, seventh month,
From the sky will come a great King of Terror:
To bring back to life the great King of the Mongols,
Before and after Mars to reign by good luck.

This, of course, refers to the first season of Sailor Moon. The King of Terror is the Dark Kingdom (a.k.a. “Negaverse”). “Mongol” is a generic term for a brutish warrior who always obeys orders without question, a fitting description for most of the Negaverse baddies. Mars, of course, requires no explanation. IIRC, the American release began in the summer.

The fugitives, the weapons with fire from heavens.
The next conflice will be that of the flying ravens.
They call upon earth and heaven for help
When the agressors draw near the walls.

What else? The Baltimore Ravens’ miracle '00-'01 Super Bowl season. Of course, these fugitives from Cleveland couldn’t have done it without some terrific roster moves (heaven) and one of the most suffocating defenses ever (earth). I’m sure there were plenty of aggressors near the walls whenever the Ravens faced the new Browns.

Two bodies, one head, field divided in two.
And this to reply to the unheard ones.
Little ones for great ones, lightning at the pointed tower.
Worse for “U.S. souls.”

An extremely obvious reference to Silent Scope 2. Two snipers brought under one head (leader), each occupying a different area wherever they go, and always killing at a distance, so they never hear the screams of the dead, and they have to dispatch dozens of flunkies to get to the bosses. And at the end, one of them has to make an all-or-nothing shot at London’s famous clock tower, Big Ben, else there’s going to be plenty of suffering.
:stuck_out_tongue: Hey, this is even more fun than that faces-in-the-moon thing. Anyone have a website where I can get all the quatrains?

10

The year 1999, seventh month,

It’s talking about the beginning of season two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

*From the sky will come a great King of Terror:*

“The Annointed One”, who they believed was going to appear from the wreckage of a plane crash.

*To bring back to life the great King of the Mongols,*

At the end of Season 1, Buffy killed The Master, who was the leader of the local vampires. The first episode of Season 2 was about the Anointed One trying to bring him back.

*Before and after Mars to reign by good luck.*

This one seems to have gotten slightly garbled in translation. It should probably be:

*And after, Mars to reign, before good luck*

referring to Spike, played by James Marsters (“Mars to reign”), who showed up in Sunnydale shortly after Buffy stopped the plot to resurrect the Master, and became the new vampire leader. The last part refers to the fact that Buffy aired in the time slot immediately before “Felicity” (from the Latin “felicitas”, “good fortune”) that season.
Who knew Nostradamus was such a fan? Now I’ve gotta go find a quartrain that will tell me if the rumors about Willow turning evil this season are true…

11

Century 6, Quatrain 79

“Near the Ticino the inhabitants of the Loire,
Garonne and Saone, the Seine, the Tain and Gironde:
They will erect a promontory beyond the mountains,
Conflict given, Po enlarged, submerged in the wave.”

Now this is obviously a prediction of trouble coming up on the set of Teletubbies. The inhabitants of the nearby cities and Teletubbyland are going to fight against Po, who is somehow enlarged underwater. She’s probably going to be like Godzilla or something.

12

DKW said:

Psssst, see my previous response. Or go here. http://www.tje.net/para/nostradamus/index.html

Annie-Xmas,

Quatrain 3,7

Les fugitifs, feu du ciel sus les picques,
Conflict prochain des corbeaux, s’esbatans
De terre on crie, ayde, secours celiques,
Quand pres des murs seront les combatans.

The fugitives, fire from the sky on the pikes:
Conflict near the ravens frolicking,
>From land they cry for aid and heavenly relief,
When the combatants will be near the walls.

Which is a more accurate translation? Your version, with “les piques” meaning the weapons or this version meaning the pikes? The translation you cite seems crafted to be more conducive to the interpretation that fits the September 11 attacks.

Uh, there is no Century 12. There are only 10 Centuries. None of the Quatrain 52s from any Century fit. Their search engine doesn’t seem to work well. I can’t find that quatrain.

Again, it is post hoc twisting the translations to fit your agenda. It sure would be a lot more convincing if someone had used those quatrains to warn the FBI before the attacks.

Which quatrain tells me where Osama Bin Laden is hiding (specifically enough for a bomb strike to hit him), or tells where the next terrorist strike will be? So far these are the most useless predictions on the planet - they’re only right after the fact.

13

Irishman: Hi! I’m not going to argue about the translations. Suffice it to say I sat with my Nostradamus books and two French/English dictionary’s during the nights when all that was on was the news. Anyway, twisting translations is part of the game.

Nostradamus did have about 20 quatrains from unfinished his unfinished Centuries 11 & 12. A good book will have them. My favorite is on from 1960 which I got for $1. It’s very interesting to compare what the author (whose name escapes me) applies the predictions to in 1960 as compared to later commentators.

If I can figure out from Nostradamus where that asshole is, I’ll definitely post it here first.

14

I’m certainly not an expert in Michel de Notre-Dame’s writing in english or in french but I am french. I have seen a copy of the original texts and even a frenchman can’t understand a single prediction from this guy. But if you squint hard enough and bend everything to suit your after the fact facts than it all fits.

Fill a book with vague predictions and you too can be famous. in 500 years of course.

d

15

Why is everyone trashing Nostradamus? He’s one of my favorite posters. He’s funny and literate, and usually has good stuff to say, and…

what? You’re talking about some guy who lived 500 ago and wrote baffling pseudo-predictions that can be interpreted however the mood suits you to seem as if he was predicting a specific event?

Not the SDMB member?

[Emily Litella] Never mind. [/Emily Litella]