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Nostradamus is the darling of the occult tabloid press, and for good reason. Michel de Nostradame actually lived (1503-1566), prophecied, and was taken seriously in his own time, particularly by the French court and Queen Catherine de Medici, the death of whose husband Henry II he predicted. And yet, the writings of N. are anything but clear, providing endless fodder for interpretations both wild and reasonable. The tabloids take advantage of this both by reporting on real N. writings, or by making them up (or passing on the work of fabricators). Because Nostradamus has historical credibility, it was not surprising that his name and prophecies were attached to predictions of the events of September 11, 2002.
Nostradamus's writings are confusing. Because his vision of the future was fragmentary and strange, perhaps due to threats from the Inquisition, and certainly keeping with a philosophy that truth should only be revealed to the initiated, N. published his predictions in a way that hid the obvious meanings. He wrote a series of four-lined verses (known as quatrains) in French, but heavily loaded with Latin, Greek, and other odd linguistic bits. He spoke in a highly metaphoric and symbolic language designed to puzzle and conceal. A student of the skies, he frequently used astrological / astronomical indicators of time and place. As a final deterrant to easy understanding, N. deliberately mixed the order of his verses, so that the quatrains are in no discernible chronology. These texts are gathered into groups of 100, known as Centuries. Three hundred fifty-three original texts were published as Centuries in 1555 and a complete edition of the quatrains appeared in 1568, after N's death. All together, his writings consist of 10 centuries (with Century 7 containing only 42 verses), extra prophetic verses, medical treatises, and some correspondance, notably the Preface written to his son César explaining his life's work and a letter to King Henry II. It is a scholar's labor to sort out the various editions and corrupt copies (see Peter Lemesurier's FAQ). It is also an interpreter's paradise, for the imagery is rich, vivid, and challenging.
In some cases, the tabloids rely on and report the activities of what we might call a "legitimate" Nostradamus scholarly tradition, that studies and publishes the writings of the seer. What constitutes a "good" or "valid" interpretation of Nostradamus? Like any claim to truth in prophecy, the real test comes after the event, which doesn't convince a skeptic one bit. In truth, most of the work on the man is written by believers, those who tend to believe that N. was accurate in the past and has insight for our future. (True skeptics find the body of written work so arcane and confused that they don't even begin to read it). Generally, the scholars can be identified by their concern with questions of translation, consistency, and methodology.
Routinely, the tabloids publish material that really comes from Nostradamus' work and reflects strands of interpretation that can be found in published work or in the Nostradamus community. (Example: Stefan Paulus's book) But the tabloids are always very sloppy. To give authenticity to their work, they quote endless passages, but rarely if ever allude to the original, problematic text. They might give the number of the quatrain, but never the century, so that it is difficult to check their work against the original texts, even if they are legitimate. (It's like quoting the Bible, verse 19--not enough, dudes!) More often, the tabloids will pick up on a very eccentric--and probably erroneous-- interpretation of one of N's obscure words, designed to fit in with something we know. (Example: Insubria = Florida) And of course, the tabloids are primarily interested in connecting sensational prophecy with sensational current events. They aren't alone in this desire, and many other books and websites offer fairly convincing readings that simply can't be taken seriously. (Example: Nostradamus and the pentium chip). Here are some tabloid discussions of legitimate Nostradamus material.
Fabricating Nostradamus prophecies has always been good business. In WWII, Germans dropped fake prophecies of doom on the Allies, and the Brits returned the favor in a leaflet campaign over Germany. Tabloids likewise participate in this game of faking Nosty. Why? For one thing, it's pretty easy. Nostradamus' actual writings are very obscure, rarely specific, and widely open to interpretation. Moreover, very few people are really familiar with all 942+ of them, especially in the original languages. In some cases, very little need be done to tweak an existing prophecy into something more current and sensational. Other verses are just plain made up. Although there are many prophecies that evoke scenes of destruction, most of the prophecies that have been applied to the events of September 11, 2002 are fakes. (Check this list of Nostradamus tabloid prophecies that just haven't convinced us.) When it comes to reporting on Nostradamus, tabloids often deserve their reputation for sensational headlines based on little or no attention to the facts.
In his Nostradamus FAQ, James Flanagan offers some good advice about how to approach bogus N. in the tabloids. But his bottom line is not to take anything in the tabloids seriously, which negates the purpose of this website completely. Besides, sometimes the tabloids get it right. So here are some general clues for separating the sheep from the goats in tabloid reporting on Nostradamus: