In this list I have tried to be as honest as one can be with the text. Instead of manipulating it to make it suit, I am using what I consider to be a very accurate translation. The end result, I think, is that we can see that most of these predictions are so broad that they really can be made to mean anything we want. Nevertheless, many people consider these to be authentic predictions of real events. Decide for yourselves.
1. 9/11 #1-87 Original French
will cause trembling around the new city:
Two great rocks will make war for a long time.
Then Arethusa will redden a new river.
This quatrain has been so distorted that some examples barely resemble the real text. Some go so far as to mention New York city by name, and others describe flying metal machines. As you can see – neither of these things are actually mentioned in the true text. Many people say that the two great rocks are a reference to the planes used in the attack. Arethusa is a mythological Nymph who turned in to a fountain. Nostradamus knew this as can be seen clearly in the last sentence. A casual search on the internet will lead you to some of the most bizarre translations of this quatrain. For example, one site says this for line 2: “Will create trembling in the towers of the City of New York.”; and this for line 4: “This is when air-vessels spin-round to a new course.”
2. Hitler #4-68 Original French
The two greatest ones of Asia and of Africa,
From the Rhine and Hister they will be said to have come,
Cries, tears at Malta and the Ligurian side.
This is one of the more popular quatrains; it is said to describe Hitler (Hister) at a meeting with Mussolini in which they made plans for Italy for formally enter the Second World War. The problem here is that Hister is a term used in the time of Nostradamus to describe the Danube river. It does seem to describe a war that has some relation to Germany, but there is no way of connecting this to Hitler or the Second World War.
3. Louis Pasteur #1-25 Original French
the pastor will be honored as a demigod:
Before the Moon finishes its full period
he will be dishonored by other winds.
This is often cited as a prediction for the coming of Louis Pasteur and his work with microbes. The confusion is partly exacerbated by the fact that the French word for Pastor was Pasteur, but as Nostradamus never quoted anyone by name from the future, it is unlikely that he did so here – and the reference to a demigod in the same sentence suggests the religious interpretation of a religious Pastor. It is possible that Nostradamus may have been accurate with the date, however: Roussat, a Jewish Astrologer who work was known to Nostradamus put the end of the Moon cycle at 1887 – by which time Pasteur was applying his immunization technology.
4. Henry II of France #1-35 Original French
on the field of battle in single combat:
He will put out his eyes in a cage of gold:
Two fleets one, then to die a cruel death.
Four years after Nostradamus wrote this prophecy, King Henry II of France was killed by a lance in the eye at a match with the younger Captain Montgomery. However, the match was not a battle, it was held at a party to celebrate a peace-treaty (quite the opposite of a field of battle). Many people say that this quatrain made Nostradamus famous in his own time, but it was not until 48 years after his death that this was first printed.
5. Conquering of the Balkan Peninsular #1-49 Original French
those of the East by virtue of the Moon:
the year 1700 they will cause great ones to be carried off,
almost subjugating the Aquilon corner.
This is supposed to predict the Turkish taking of the majority of the Balkan Peninsular which was finally repelled by Peter the Great of Russia. They say that the Moon is a reference to the crescent moon – the symbol of Islam. Aquilon was a term known in the time of Nostradamus to mean the North wind. The biggest problem here? The Balkans are in the Southeast of Europe.
6. World War II / Atomic Bomb #2-6 Original French
there will be two scourges the like of which was never seen,
famine within plague, people put out by steel,
crying to the great immortal God for relief.
First, the original French uses the word “Portes” which means Gates or Doorways – this is usually misinterpreted to mean Ports – as in sea ports. This is clearly a description of plague and famine causing much death – not nuclear attack. In order to make this fit, people often translate it abominably. One example is line three which can be found to be rendered thus: “Intense in torment, an incredible proportion of human lives ended”. The only possible connection could be “steel” – but in the time of Nostradamus this would most likely have meant weaponry of some sort.
7. The Great Fire of London #2-51 Original French
burnt through lighting of twenty threes the six:
The ancient lady will fall from her high place,
several of the same sect will be killed.
The great fire of London was in 1666, so twenty threes the six could be taken to mean 20 X 3 + 6, however, regardless of the accuracy of the date, the fire was started accidentally in a bakery – so no one committed a fault. In addition, while it is true that many Dutch people were blamed and killed, it would seem that the Ancient Lady is a reference to London herself, in which case the sect would be either Londoners (which did not happen) or members of the sect that caused the fire (and none did). It seems very obscure to base a prediction on one interpreation of the numbers in the second line – the rest must be simply distorted to make a connection.
8. Oliver Cromwell #8-76 Original French
born of obscure rank will gain empire through force.
Coward without faith, without law he will bleed the land;
His time approaches so close that I sigh.
People say that this quote refers to the reign of Oliver Cromwell in England during the 17th century. This one is fraught with problems. Most important of all, Cromwell was born to the minor gentry – he was hardly a “butcher” (most likely a euphemism for a commoner). Also, while I agree that Cromwell was a coward and an evil man, he did have a faith – he was a protestant.
9. The Children of Henry II of France #4-60 Original French
The third will come to slaughter his child:
Because of his son two will be pierced by the point,
Genoa, Florence, he will come to confuse them.
This quatrain is often used in reference to the children of King Henry II of France. But if you do just a little research you will find two enormous problems here: 1) Henry had 13 children, 2) only one of his children died in an unnatural way (he was stabbed in the stomach).
10. The French Revolution #9-23 Original French
Return conflict to pass over the tile:
For five hundred one to betray will be titled
Narbonne and Salces we have oil for knives.
This is another case of bad translation from French leading to people wrongly believing that this quatrain refers to Queen Marie Antoinette of France and the revolution. The original reads: “Le part soluz mary fera mittre” and people wrongly translate mary to mean Marie. In addition, they translate thuille to mean the Tuillerie garden which Marie passed on her departure from the royal Palace, but in fact, the word means Tile. Narbonnes is a town in the South West of France that has no relation to the French revolution.
Technorati Tags: Nostradmus, prophecy
I remember reading a book of Michel de Nostradame’s works. I could still read French then, and it was double columned: One column had the original French, the other the English version, and a line or two about the supposed meaning.
One that really stuck out said something about 1999 and disaster in English. The French verse, however, just send ‘end of a century’ which is a lot less specific.
Course, Prophecies are just fun. Bend them, twist them, anyway you want them.
makes way more sense then how other people claim to translate these text to what they really mean
Cat: exactly – they have provided people for centuries with fun so they can’t be all that bad – as long as you take it all with a grain of salt.
mix: It does – I guess most people don’t bother to look at the original text.
Thuille may well mean tile – but then the Tuileries (one “l” ) were so named because it was the site of a tile factory, before becoming a royal garden. So Thuille – tuileries is a legitimate connection.
Of course, that’s not to say that Nostradamus wrote sensible predictions of anything.
In 1558., Nostradamus, writing to the King, included comments about the Chaldean Alphabet, (numerology). This system produced extraordinary
results, which were verified by senior researchers
at Princeton University, School of Applied Science.
According to Carl Jung, and Prof. W. Pauli, Nobel laureate, physics, number is the most primal
archetype of order in the human mind, i.e., pre-existent to consciousness.
This site offers more details:
http://www.centerforinquiry.net/forums/viewthread/2878/
I believe that this quatrain best explains what
I’ve experienced, and my conclusions about a coming supernova….
Century V #53
“The Law of the Sun, (a star) contending with
Venus, (the feminine) appropriates the Spirit
of Prophecy. Neither the one nor the other
will be understood. The Law of the Great
Messiah appears through the Sun, (star).”
Carl Jung spent his entire life dealing with evidence-less pseudo-science. His writings were as quantifiable as most science fiction. I don’t think he’s really got much credence in anything
Todd: that quatrain is so obscure it could mean virtually anything – what leads you to think we will experience a supernova when we are not due one?
Finally, someone who actually understands taht nostradamus just generalizing. There are so few details that all of his “prophecies” will be likely to come true sometime.
I posted this site so that you could understand the
the nature of “acausal connections” – and how
I determined what the ‘message’ meant.
http://www.centerforinquiry.net/forums/viewthread/2878
Todd: the minute he said he dreamt of the winning lottery numbers, I lost belief.
I believe there is a way to connect Hitler to Hister. In a documentary on TLC i watched a few years back it was said that as a young boy Hitler would play by the river Hister.
the oliver cromwell “butcher” comment, surely this refers to him being a butcher as in killing and butchering people, i.e. the irish campaign he waged was so indsicriminate as to be described as butchery.
wow, talk about silly. While I don’t really believe in the ability to predict the future, your “debunking” hardly qualifies. These “quatrains” are hardly intended to be taken literally and yet much of your reasoning is based around taking it literally..
prophecy is a crok. end of story
rob: People do take this stuff seriously, and if you stick around long enough, someone will bring them up in regard to some significant event (9/11!). It’s standard retrofitting, much like the several attempts to define the ‘Great Beast’ of the Bible as a modern, contemporary figure. I’ve heard Reagan, Gaddafi, Saddam and others be charged with being The Beast, and they all turned out to be human.
Nostradamus is an interesting figure in that virtually all his prophecies deal with negative or evil events. His heritage was Jewish, raised as a Christian, he studied the Kaballah. His divining was in the manner of the occult – so the source of his visions may very well have been Satan. They were written down in such an obscure manner as to make them virtually unintelligible or unverifiable.
I saw that Lost Book of Nostradamus on the History Channel and all I could think about was the comic book guy from the Simpsons repeating “Nice work, Nostradumbass!”
Worst. Documentary. EVER! ;D
surprised diana didn’t make iy
In the City of God there will be a great thunder,
Two brothers torn apart by Chaos, while the fortress endures,
the great leader will succumb,
The third big war will begin when the big city is burning.
This is what many people thought that Nostradamus predicted and that it predicted 9/11
Actually it was made by an university student a hundred years after Nostradamus
the first quatrain anf the one mentioned by Ghidoran are both incorrect. i have the book and i will write the quatrain later, as at the moment im in my office. i read it before 9/11 and the day i heard about the attack, it sprang into my head. its remarkable i accurate it was
cool list. i’ve seen so many documentaries about him and as time goes by more and more seem to have come to the same conclusions
I really love prophecy, in the bible it really breaks it down for u. Jesus already had set the stage for his people to let us know what is to come. Majority of the bible has been furfilled so really there’s no need to dispute Nostradamus predictions a lot of what has been said by him or a few of them can be found in the new testiment and some of the old. Which ever way we know that there’s one book we can count on for full accurancy and that’s the word of God.
Michael Shermer said it best. Nostradamus was neither a fortune teller nor was he a charlatain. He was merely a social commentator who was criticizing the leaders of his day. He was vague so as not to be arrested,.. since he lived in a time when free speech was not protected like it is today.
The first quatrain caught my interest because i’ve heard so much about the connection with 9/11. I decided to do a little research after reading your page.
Here’s what I found: Naples, Italy was founded by the Ancient Greeks as Neapolis, meaning new city. To the east of Naples you’ll find Mount Vesuvius (active volcano) and to the west you’ll find Campi Flegrei (a volcanic region). Vesuvius was formed as a result of the collision of two tectonic plates (rocks making war?), the African and the Eurasian. This brings me to the second quatrain, about Hitler.
“In the place very near not far from Venus,
The two greatest ones of Asia and of Africa”
Italy is near France. Not far from Venus could mean ‘similar to Venus’. Venus is Earth’s sister planet and was mostly formed by volcanic activity. The tectonic plates that formed vesuvius were the African and the Eurasian.
“Volcanic fire from the center of the earth” seems pretty self-explanatory. Vesusvius had a destructive period in 1631, about a century after Nostradamus wrote his prediction. This is all based on about one hour of research. thought you might find it interesting.
volcanic fire from the center of the earth? france seems to figure highly and the new city how old is geneva? does the word collider ring any bells sept 10th! and two tectronic plates colliding ? how about two beams?? what a good idea this is going to turn out to be not!
All I have to say is that even with all the obscure translations and such there is the fact that Nostradamus made thousands of predictions and only a few are even obscurely seen to be somewhat correct. The reality is that there have been billions of people in the world and probability shows that out of the billion one man is bound to make a few “correct” predictions out of the thousands thought up.
In our translation of these prophecies there was one about new york in the new millenia. It says something like: “Gret fire above the city of apple”, which was explained that he thought of nuclear war, and that new york will be bombed with an atomic bomb.
Nostradamus is not the only person to have seen into the future in the past. So many people have. Visions are revealed to many people each day, some are the products of over active imaginations and some are genuine. Centuries is not meant to be taken literally, same as the Bible or the Quran or pretty much any prophetic book. They are nebulous and cryptic by nature. but after its happened, then you start to understand. I think the dude knew what he was talking about, and if he wanted to be vague, he wouldn’t have put dates, specific numbers, symbols and the like.
This list is terrible, and your “debunking” is pretty vague in and of itself. No thanks, red.
olech- good ressearch, it does sound pretty convincing. I also remember reading in a book about psychic powers that in July of 1999, “the King of Terror will reign down from the skay” or something along those lines. I read about it and apparently nothing huge happened, but what if it meant “reigning down from the sky” as being born, like being coming from god up above?
and the freaky thing is- my brother was born July 1999……….
Great stuff, in the 70's i've seen a film about his predictions, do any of you know what the name of this was. It was available on the beta before vhs.
I saw one on HBO back then hosted by Orson Welles and It scared me silly asIwas pretty young at the time.I was sure that the world would end in 99 and i would be eaten by cannibals for quite a few years after.
Interesting book pertaining to time .Time is the illusion.The acts of one man or another will have effects and repurcussions long thru history.An act done recently but divined centuries ago.One act may have more than a few outcomes.Remember it is the “god” which sits nearby.Who is your god ?Jesus saves …..laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
PMSL @ “peninsular” (you weally are clivur)
Debunk your delusions of having anything to teach the world, ya muppet!
In reference to sign seven:
I do not get the feel that he meant the fire of london. He more likely meant the bombing of London by the Nazis.
This would leave a more plausible decoding answer.
Nostradamus was one hell of a clever guy. By writing all these quatrains, so carefully worded as to be applicable to practically anything, he’s bought himself immortality. Of course that was his game, and he’s laughing at all the suckers from beyond the grave.
There is an unsettling feeling i get when thinking about nostradamus predictions for the future, so much devastation and pain. What was to be seen is nothing more than the simple truth that the human race is a consuming and paranoid race. Self destrutive in it’s own destiny. If twisted tales of fate can be spun into factual evidence then it seems we are all looking for someone to tell us we are all going to live or die. Let me put it simply like this. Apocalypse, World war 111, Meteors, I’m sure there will be more world wars fought over oil and the desecration of the worlds natural resources when the time comes we should be smarter about how much we consume, Meteors have been slamming into the earth since time begun but one big enough to blow it up will be detected i’m sure and hopefully nuked into oblivian before it hits us, and the apocolypse if there’s any truth in that everyone with half a brain will always fight for good against evil and win. So brighten up kids and go plant some trees and make someone feel happy and try and make a difference in the world*
Anyways, I am not a firm believer of superstition and Nostradamus predictions. But I do admit that he made a few chilling accurate predictions of the future. I would not call it as some people have said his predictions to be, as “purely coincidental”. In fact, I do not believe in coincidences. Let’s say Nostradamus predicted some 400 years before the exact date and time that the world trade center was going to be attacked, some 400 years later the twin towers are attacked right when Nostradamus had said it would be. I mean, its all believable and its been written on the manuscript and stuff. And its all too precise too be dismissed as it being coincidental. I mean, why did it happen at precisely that time? Why couldn’t it have happened some other time the attack of the twin towers? It happened when Nostradamus said it would be.
Oh, and just to inform you the 40 something angle mentioned in the prediction of the world trade center would be the exact angle that the airplane hit the towers.
“Such is the extent of time past, subject to correction by the most learned judgment, that the first man, Adam, came 1,242 years before Noah ( not reckoning by such Gentile calculations as Varro used, but simply by the Holy Scriptures, as best my weak understanding and astronomical calcu- lations can interpret them.) About 1,080 years after Noah and the universal flood came Abraham, who, according to some, was a first-rate astrologer and invented the Chaldean alphabet. About 515 or 516 years later came Moses, and from his time to that of David about 570 years elapsed. From the time of David to that of out Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, born of the unique Virgin, 1,350 year elapsed, according to some chronographs. Some may object that this calculation cannot be true, because it differs from that of Eusebius. From the timeof the human redemption to the detestable heresy of the Saracens about 621 years elapsed. From this one can easily add up the amount of time gone by.”
This is an excerpt from the last 3 Centuries of Nostradamus’ prophecies. Add up the years. If you belive Nostradamus was accurate, then his idea of the age of the earth most accurately fits the Bible’s accounts. It puts the world at 7,281 years old. How come people are believing the so-called “scientific theory” of evolution which uses circular reasoning to calculate the age of the earth? It’s pointless.
Sorry, had to put in my 2 cents.
I wrote this a few months back….
From between 2 hills,
spurts a river from deep beneath.
Of molten earth and sorrow ensues
…..Today I crapped in my pants XD
I think people don’t give the exact dose in their belief. I can’t really discard what Nostradamus had to say, or believe him blindly. There’s many stuff in our universe that scientists discovers everyday.
You say you don’t believe in the future predictions (or in the future itself), but I think we all don’t really know what future (time) means.
its seems that world is gonna change from east and the pawns of chess is coming from the
sky.no one but he can see who belive in the …………
Nostradamus was out of his mind, probably on the drugs of his day, if he were alive to day we would call him a “Crack head”, or Meth addit. He was obviously demond possessed. Read the Bible, and believe in God. This nut even quoted scripture, and was still influenced by wicked spirits.
Lostagent- I crapped my pants after reading that because it was so funny.
Lately ive been watching the history channel, and all this stuff about nostradamus has captivated me. I would call myself a skeptic and a believer. But I would love to learn more! someone refer me to a reliable website or feed my brain! what is all this stuff about 2012 im hearing about?
their is only one book the truely tells us what is to come and that is the bible. we all should read it and put all the other nonsense down
“their is only one book the truely tells us what is to come and that is the bible. we all should read it and put all the other nonsense down”
Educate yourself. Comments like this anger me to no end.
As previously stated, no one should “believe” Nostradamus outright, or vice versa. Facts, myths, etc. are proved and disproved everyday based on HUMAN INTERPRETATION. All you do when you make comments such as the above are show how ignorant and close-minded humans can be. I’m sure it kills you to know (whether you choose to admit it or not) that there are no concrete answers in the world and that “God has a plan” isn’t a solution to everything.
The bible was written by humans just like you and me…were these some super-human group of folks who managed to be perfect in their writings? Read up on a few psych studies and you’ll see that people’s individual recollection of events are PAINFULLY skewed from one person to the next within hours of said event occurring. Unfortunately, video/audio recordings are about as perfect as we can record said events, and by my calculations, these devices have only been around in recent history.
My point? You limit yourself, family, friends, the human race, by allowing yourself to be so deeply brainwashed. If you think religion is so perfect, do a little historical research – the events of today’s Muslim extremists aren’t any different than the ethnic cleansing that occurred 1000 years ago with Christians. The only difference – you’ve chosen to be ignorant to the past because it suits your pinhole view of the world.
Sprusgoose, I whole heartedly agree with you. if people choose to believe that even their (lives) or whole (being) or everyday actions need be relyd on the sayins of other man. . . or what someone said they said. . . . its just sick, but to each his own i guess. im just interested im the subject of nostradamus, its i nice thought that someone could predict the future. but i wont be hiding in a hole because he said (supposedly) that the world is coming to an end on a certain day.
This is just freaky, but look on other websites, and there is proof the world will not end in 2012.
“More of a butcher than a king in England,
born of obscure rank will gain empire through force.
Coward without faith, without law he will bleed the land;
His time approaches so close that I sigh.”
I dont exactly see the debunking here…
- butcher as “most likely a euphemism for a commoner”: where did that come from? I agree with adamlaa (11).
- “coward without faith” : you think MAYBE as a Catholic he might have seen someone not adhering to Catholism as without faith? Considering that Protestantism was not yet an established religion at the time of Nostradamus…
- “His time approaches so close that I sigh”: considering that Cromwell ruled as Lord Protector not 100 years after Nostradamus´ death… Not bad, right?
And considering that for a long time he made a living by farming and collecting rents (more like a commoner than a King), even that would seem to apply.
Wonderful to read all these diverse comments. All of which are correct because these are individual beliefs. I would however give the following insight. Their are people in this century who have also had visions of the future but do not feel the need to write it down. All modern inventions are a look into the future, from bicycles to cars to airplanes and now the microchip. Some one had to have the vision of the future to conceive these idea’s the what excites me is what may be around the corner.
And what of the future, well the human race be able to master time travel. May I be so bolt as to predict they will. It never ceases to amaze me how ideas always come at the correct space in time, cavemen had no use for electricity so time travelers from the future do not give it to them. But religion was necessary to control to masses and was given to us.
So was Nostradamus no more that a time traveler from centuries ahead struggling with the every day communication of the century he some how landed in . this would explain why he could not converse to well leaving aside the Spanish inquisition looking for him.
Their you have it the ramblings of an old man, !!Or!! am I a time traveler trying to give you an insight to how it was for Nostradamus
since they led me here, I will lead you back…
http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=81909.0
Hello,
My name is Hernan Aponte,since I saw the prophecies of nostradamus in 1998 hosted by the famouse writer Orson Wells,I have been amezed about his predictions because all of them have happened, speccialy one that got my attention,the description of the third antichrist wearing a Blue turban,which was described by nostradamus,then after I saw that documental, between years 1999 and 2004 I am not sure about the exact year but one thing I do remember for sure is watching minister tony blair getting out of a plain somewhere probably in the middle eastern or middle east,as soon as he got out of the airplane by himself,there was a man waiting for him and also by himself as traditional when reciving a president or very important figure in a nation.but here is my surprise the man waiting for Mr blair had the description given by nostradamus.circle blue turban and also a very traditional long blue costum,as soon as they begun their traditional walk something got my attention the man started to walk beside Mr blair and then in a matter of seconds I notice that this man walks away from Mr blair avoiding the camara man which was filming in front of Mr blair at that moment.this is the first time I talk about this matter and it is something that has been in my mind since then,if this comment can help or prevent a disaster in the world please notify and look for the videos of Mr blair´s arrivals to the middle eastern between 1999 and 2004.I beleave that this will help the special secret agents and specialy the C.I.A in the USA to prevent thousands of people been killed in the world, specially in the USA where my wife,daugthers and most of my family live.god bless the the human kind and the world.
His prophecies are so obscure that they could refer to anything. Nostradamus just said a bunch of weird crap and hope that someone would eventually interpret it as an *****ogy.
Nostradamus was a clown, he spoke a load of ballocks….OK when we have all finished crapping are paints, in 2013 someone going to bring a book out saying that they have got it all wrong and it now going to happen in 2019….
ITS BALLOCKS!!!
Live life be happy and try to be a good person, thats what matters…….
After reading De-Fortebrunes interpretations of this quatraine why hasnt anyone pieced together the Nato (U.S) attack on the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia, Serbia on May SEVENTH 1999, by cruise missile?.
It matches the numerics(closely?!) by date,
Great king of terror from the sky.- i would be pretty scared of a cruise or a smart bomb,
Chinas has been the ruler of the Mongols, and were pretty *****ed about it, even went to a war footing as it defined an attack on chinese soil, and not suprisingly took notice of what they had to say,
and of course war was occuring all around before and after, to oust Sloberdan
***** NOSTRADPMOUs he GAY
ok im sorry but i dont believe this and if anyone can prove it to me then maybe ill change my mind. what really got me to not believe this was the hitler one. rhine and hister. i mean i can see how you got hister with hitler but hister also whas used to describe the danube river. i believe that he was reffering to the danube river. if anyone can tell me otherwise it be greatly appreciated!!
not completly debunked. maybe they havent happened yet
His predictions have been so distorted by believers and shoehorned into world events that we would never be able to say what predictions came true. One thing is for sure, we are in a time of massive change for the human race and with world events happening more often and with instant rolling news providing us a ringside seat. Whatever he could warn us about could never be stopped or changed.