Many of Nostradamus 900 predictions relate to catastrophic events at the end of this millennium. In view of the chilling accuracy with which he predicted his own death, his prophicies can not be taken too lightly - especially since other prophets predict similar events. Nostradamus predictions, culled from a mixture of astrology and alchemy and delivered in coded verses in French and Latin, were published in his book Centuries. At first glance his verses make little sense, but in-depth studies by various scholars have shed much light on their meaning - albeit with the dubious benefits of hindsight.
But was he really seeing the future? The key to his prophicies lies not only in the translation but in the interpretation, which can vary greatly fromscholar to scholar. Opinion is split, for instance, on the following verse :
From Fez the reign will
reach to those of Europe,
Fire their city and cut decisively:
The great of of Asia by land
and by sea a large group,
The cross that has scared stiff
will be driven out to death
Astrologer and psychoanalysist Peter Lorie believes this predicts that a
new religion, originating in the Fez, Morocco, will bring about the
collapse of Christianity in Europe.
Astrologer A.T.Mann, on the other hand, thinks Nostradamus was predicting
a new Arabian power invading Europe, bringing war, violence and destruction
in its wake. Because Nostradamus verses are so vague, however, researchers
tend to see what they want to see in their interpretations. Often, the
meaning can hinge on one word - as here, in the use of the French word
'feu', which could be translated quite differently as the destruction of
"fire" or as "inspiration" in a religious sense.
Again in another verse, the line "La loi Moricque on verra deffaillir" translates as "The law of Moor will be seen to decline." Astrologer Erika Cheetham thinks it refers to the law of Morocco, or the Moors, and interprets the verse as the end of the Islamic faith. On the other hand, Lorie reads Moor as "more", and interprets this verse as the fall of communism.
Cayce saw these disasters ending with the magnetic poles flipping, so that north becomes south, and vice versa, causing tidal waves and earthquakes that destroy the earth. Finally in the year 2000, he foretells of the Second Coming of Christ - and a new age of peace.
The last prediction reflects the prophecies as told in the New Testament Book of Revelations, in particular the lines "there was a great earthquake... and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth... and every mountain and island were moved out of their places".
Edgar Cacye was a deeply religious man and it is more than likely that the cataclysmic prophecies in the Bible had some influence on his visions. But his predictions, made in 1934, "of uphevals in the Arctic", whereby "frigid or semi tropical climates will become more tropical, and moss and ferns will grow"" is uncanny - particularly in the light of more recent concerns about the polar ice caps melting as a result of global warming.
Many of Cayce's other prophecies have been acurate. In 1939, for example, he predicted that two American presidents would die in office, amid a climate of violence and racial unrest, although he stopped short of naming dates.
His supporters say he was refering to Franklin Roosevelt, who died in 1945 - the year which ended a war that saw genocide on a huge scale - and John F. Kennedy, shot during a time of racial strife, in 1963. But sceptics would argue that Cayce's prophecy was vague, at best a lucky guess. The US is rarely free from violence and racial unrest, and history shows that, sooner or later, a president is bound to die in office.
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Edgar Cayce's prediction that the magnetic poles will flip in 2000 is
certainly possible.
The US Space Environment Center in Boulder, Colorado, expect violent
solar storms in 2000 and 2001. Satellite communications, power supplies
and radar systems will be severly disrupted during such a solar storm.
And Joseph Krischvink of the California Institute of Technology in
Pasadena believes that 90 per cent of some animal species may die
"in the first year or two". All of which lends some scientific credence to
Cayce's millennial warning.
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Various prophets predict disaster around the year 2000, but what
exactly will happen and when?
In May 2000, the planets will align themselves, with the earth and Pluto
on one side of the sun, and the other major planets arranged in a straight
line on the other side. Studies by NASA have shown that when only two of
these planets - Jupiter and Saturn - line up, there is a 20 per cent increase
in solar activity, this could lead to severe disturbances in the earths
crust. If all the major planets line up against us, the result could be the
destruction of our planet, as predicted by many prophets.
Millennium - Analysis
When North points South
According to scientists, the poles usually flip every 500,000 years. But
the last one occured over 780,000 years ago, so we are long overdue for
another one. Pascale Ultre-Guerarad and Jose Achache of the institute of
Geophysics in Paris believe that violent magnetic solar storms, lasting
longer than their usual period of a few days, can cause the poles to flip.
But when will this happen?
Millennium - Case Notes
Countdown to Catastrophe
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Millennium - Evidence
Planetary Alignments