When I was in Elementary School, I used to be an avid watcher of History Channel Documentaries. This was in a period of transition for the Channel in between them actually producing historically accurate viewing materials and diving into pseudoscience (Ancient Aliens ring a bell?) Anyway, Lecture 4 unlocked a core memory for me when I remembered that I watched a documentary about Nostrademus and I got scared that the end was nigh.
Anyway, Lecture 4 talked about how Nostradameus cryptic language gave him enough specific ambiguity where It would be hard to prove him as a quack. To give an example from the lecture, one of his predictions could accurately describe either the Blitz or 9/11. While this is important to emphasize, I also feel it's relevant that sometimes Nostrademus offers a prediction that is more detailed to the point of it being eery. To give an example that was published in a Guardian article from last year. The author Mario Redding stated that the French prophet's quatrains (a line of 4 stanzas) are indexed to certain dates. According to Redding, the quatrain 10/22 forecasted the October 2022 death of Queen Elizabeth II. The prophecy reads "“Because they disapproved of his divorce / A man who later they considered unworthy / The People will force out the King of the islands / A Man will replace who never expected to be king.”
Redding interpreted this line to refer to Prince Charles (now King Charles III). Many Britons still to this day do not forgive Charles for his nasty breakup with his first wife, Princess Diana. Moving forward, If one were to follow this prophecy to it's natural conclusion that it could also hint to Prince Harry ("A man will replace who never expected to be King") sucedding his father to the British throne.
Anyway, Here's the spooky thing about Redding's intereptation. He made this analysis in 2006 and passed away in 2017. Years before Queen Elizabeth's departure. This leads us to a trilemna. Either, this is a wild coincidence, Redding was off the mark with his analysis or there is some truth to Nostrademus's alleged power. Whatever the case might be, examples like this showcase why Nostradamus has enjoyed staying power among the populace even 500 years after his death.
Link
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/oct/10/why-nostradamus-predictions-are-still-winning-converts
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I absolutely remember Ancient Aliens from the History Channel. I used to watch that channel with my dad when I was a kid and that's where my belief of aliens came from. It does seem like a wild coincidence as humans like to find meaning in everything even when there is no meaning to it. It's possible that the prophecy was talking about a different person when Nostradamus wrote. I feel that people like the idea of a prophecy because it feels as if we have control in life and that we can know what's going to happen in the future. It is impossible to predict the future because it can change at any minute. Humans are afraid of the unknown so maybe it helps us relieve that fear. There's a chance I could be wrong and Nostradamus does have the ability to predict the future, but it is difficult to prove it. I know oftentimes that people who predict the future usually use broad statements, but sometimes it does feel like they can predict the future. It's interesting how conflicting it can be to believe in stuff like this now especially after learning everything from the lectures.
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