At the start of each year, it has become quite a tradition for some people to look into the predictions of the 16th century prophet Nostradamus.
Nostradamus is renowned for supposedly foretelling a number of catastrophic events, including the Great Fire of London, the French Revolution, the rise of Adolf Hitler, the destruction of the atomic bomb, and the attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11.
The seer remains relevant today for the precision and lucidity of some of his visions, stated in quatrains.
This 2017, Nostradamus — along with another prophet named Baba Vanga from the Balkans — remains not only a source of wonder but also of warning about possible calamities and wars, which are allegedly set to take place soon.
In the interest of knowledge, Tech Times raises questions on these matters to uncover what they could mean for people of today. Conspiracy theories, of course, abound but it's important to view these with a curious and critical mind.
Trump Victory, Possible World War III
Soon after the U.S. presidential election, conspiracy theorists online began circulating the idea that Nostradamus had already foretold Donald Trump's victory. But the story is a bit disconcerting.
The great shameless, audacious bawler.
He will be elected governor of the army:
The boldness of his contention.
The bridge broken, the city faint from fear. (Century I: 40)
Trump who is, according to conspiracy theorists, described in the quatrain as "the great shameless, audacious bawler," is said to wreak havoc on the city. It can be recalled that immediately after the November election, a number of pro- and anti-Trump protesters clashed in different cities across the country: "the bridge broken."
The trumpet shakes with great discord.
An agreement broken: lifting the face to heaven:
the bloody mouth will swim with blood;
the face anointed with milk and honey lies on the ground. (Century I: 57)
Another line in Nostradamus's work also describes a "(false) trumpet," almost a direct reference to the Trump last name. Followers of Nostradamus interpret the doom supposedly surrounding Trump as the beginning of World War III or the cause of his assassination.
Baba Vanga And The Last U.S. President
It is also unsettling to read about the predictions of doomsday prophet Baba Vanga, who seems to support Nostradamus's claims. Baba Vanga predicted the 44th president of the United States, whom we all know now to be Barack Obama, would be African-American and would allegedly be the country's last.
Failed 'Blood Miracle'
In Naples, the congealed blood of the 4th century Saint Januarius, which is supposed to liquefy during a "blood miracle" ceremony, failed to. Reports claim this is a bad omen. In past instances of a failed blood miracle, there had been a deadly earthquake, cholera outbreak, and the Nazi occupation of Italy.
But do all these supposed signs point to a great catastrophe? Even skeptics would do well to, at the very least, consider the possibility that Nostradamus, Baba Vanga, and the blood miracle could be a reminder, if not an outright prediction, of how precarious our political and social situations are and how volatile our environment (both social and ecological) is going into 2017.
Upheavals are possible, so it's best to be prepared for the worst. After all, genius Stephen Hawking has his own set of predictions too about the future of the human race — from the perspective of science. It's wise to listen.
Photo: Salvatore Vastano | Flickr
