The NostradamusPredictions: How They Have Changed the World

By Annabelle Chua

The sky will burn at forty-five degrees.
Fire approaches the great new city.
-Prophecy of 15th century astrologer Nostradamus
   -Thought to refer to the 9/11 WTC plane crashes

Many of us have no doubt heard about Nostradamus and his controversial prophecies concerning many of the major events that have happened in the past two centuries. Let us take a look at this man, whose writings have spawned thousands of conspiracy theories and, in a way, have changed the way we perceive life.

Nostradamus, as we all have come to know him, was born Michel de Nostredame. He was of French origin, and his family converted from Judaism to Catholicism when he was 9 years old. Despite his religion, he dabbled with divination and the occult - his book Centuries, which contain his prophecies, bears testament to that fact.

Today – four centuries after his death – his prophecies remain the subject of intrigue and speculation. Many of his fans claim that Nostradamus’ predictions tally with many of the occurrences in history, among which are the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert, the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler, and most recently, the bombings of World Trade Center during September 11, 2001. Faithful believers insist that though somewhat vague and obscure, his prophecies have happened – and thus, may happen once more. Indeed, after the hysteria inspired by the WTC bombings, many unbelievers became fans of Nostradamus. If his prophecies were untrue, they argued, how else could one explain the fact that a lot of his prophecies tally with history? His descriptions of Hitler – detailed and accurate – seem to support that fact.
 
Nostradamus in fact actually came close to naming Hitler, missing him by only one letter (he wrote ‘Hister’ in his accounts.) The WTC bombings were another sign, as stated in the verses above. Many experts however believe that a lot of his prophecies are merely historic coincidences, tailored to fit circumstances by the interpretation of the human mind. Nostradamus’ prophecies, they say, could fit not just one, but many occurrences in history. The famous ‘WTC prophecies’, in fact, one expert claims, seem to make more sense when made to refer to the explosion of Mt. Vesuvius near Naples. And there remains the fact that a lot of his prophecies have not come true at all. It is just our imaginations, powered by our own preferences and hopes, that make us think that Nostradamus had predicted true events to come.

Whether or not he was a true prophet or just a lucky guesser, we will never know. It is highly doubtful though that we will come to agree on our opinions of this man and his works. But whether his prophecies are true or not, they have changed the world we live in. Today, there exists the belief of the possibility of divining the future – because a man like him was thought to have done so. People allow a lingering doubt and a vague belief in their minds about the occult, because if he could have done it, then maybe there really are such things. There also exists belief, that some of his prophecies will come true, and for some people at least, it has changed their way of life. People have become guarded and careful, and have begun to prepare for something that they know may not happen, but want to ready for in case it does occur. People have learned not to let their guards down, because you never know what is around the next corner.

But the greatest change that Michel de Nostredame made, I believe, was that he taught people how to think. In the unending debate about the accuracy and truth of his predictions, Nostradamus taught people to think critically and to stop taking things for granted. Not everything you see and hear is real. Sometimes, you just have to make decisions for yourself and stop letting others make them for you.
 
Perhaps, in a way, this was what his prophecies, true or not, were really meant to do: not to forewarn people on disasters or to make them believe in him, but instead, to teach people that the difference between you and the next person lies in what you think, what you believe in, and what you do.