Nostradamus: biography of this French fortune teller and astrologer

In the year 2000, many people believed that the world was ending. Famous is the case of designer Paco Rabanne, who sadly passed away last February; the dressmaker interpreted one of the well-known prophecies of Nostradamus, the most famous astrologer in history, as an imminent end of the world.

The prophecy in question affirmed that, in the seventh month of the year 1999, the "King of Terror" would fall on the world. Rabanne proclaimed that the Russian space station Mir would collapse on France, that it would perish in flames and with it the rest of the world.

We all know that the prophecy, if that was its meaning, was not fulfilled. However, the anecdote served to put the names of Paco Rabanne and Nostradamus on everyone's lips; Many people who were unaware of the existence of the astrologer began to search for information about his life and his prophetic work.

Who was Nostradamus? What exactly do the supposed prophecies say about him? Have any of them actually been fulfilled? In this article we are going to try to rescue the real character from the legendary one. Join us through one of the most exciting lives: that of Michel de Nôtre-Dame, better known as Nostradamus.

Brief biography of Nostradamus, the most famous fortune teller in history

Turned into a true legend, his prophecies are invoked by everyone, but, paradoxically, they are still practically unknown. Let's dig a little more into the life of this interesting character.

The birth of our character could not have occurred at a better time: the 16th century, especially its second half, is the century of astrologers and fortune tellers. All the powerful of the time were truly obsessed with the language of the stars, convinced that the designs of God were hidden in them and, therefore, of his own existence and that of his people.

Famous is the case of Felipe II, Catholic monarch par excellence who, however, met in his palace in El Escorial to an important esoteric circle, whose main objective was astrological studies and alchemists. Also notable is the case of Catherine de' Medici, Queen of France by her marriage to Henry II, who was precisely one of Nostradamus' protectors.

And what role did the Church play in all this? Did the Papacy consent to such a “deviation” from the official dogmas? In reality, the Christian doctrine was especially inimical to everything that had to do with the divination and prophecy, since unraveling the future was the same as trying to discover the God's designs.

In other words, a full-fledged exercise in pride. Thus, the Church dedicated itself, especially through its most powerful vehicle, the Holy Office, to tracing every practice in which any hint of “magic” or prophecy was sniffed. Felipe II himself, by the way, had problems with the Inquisition, which insisted on analyzing the magnificent library that the king owned in El Escorial, and in which there were numerous volumes relating to astrology, alchemy and fortune telling.

Despite everything, divinatory practices proliferated, partly thanks to the support of the monarchs. We have already discussed how Catherine de' Medici protected Nostradamus and took a keen interest in his prophecies. On the other hand, it is necessary to take into account that, in the 16th century, the intelligentsia passed through study a series of disciplines that, to our 21st century mentality, would be mere pseudosciences. At that time, any self-respecting scholar was interested in the stars and the magic of in the same way as by science and medicine, since they considered it part of the same source of wisdom.

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The first steps of a myth of esotericism

Nostradamus was born as Michel de Nôtre-Dame in the French Provence, into a family of converted Jews, which, a priori, already made him suspect of heresy before the Church. However, it was not this condition that earned him his expulsion from the University of Montpellier, where he had enrolled to study medicine, but his past as an apothecary.

At that time, one of the conditions for entering higher education was not having previously performed any manual labor, considered unworthy of nobles and intellectuals. The apothecary was an occupation that fell within this classification, so, despite the fact that Michel had satisfactorily completed the studies of the Trivium (grammar, rhetoric and dialectic), an essential requirement to access higher studies, the University of Montpellier closed his access.

The year 1547 is crucial for our character, since it is then that he gets married for the second time (his first wife, along with his children, have died of the plague). His second wife, Anne Ponsarde Gemelle, is a very rich widow who is going to solve his problems. economic: from then on, Michel will be able to dedicate himself fully to what he considers his "vocation", the prophecy.

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Coveted throughout France

In the year 1550 his first almanac was published, where he reflects the events that, according to him, will take place during those twelve months. The play is a runaway success, and Michel, who is already known by his Latinized last name, Nostradamus, he begins to rub shoulders with the most important families around him. The rise of interest in astrology and divination makes Nostradamus soon acquire a large number of clients to satisfy, for whom he performs horoscopes and divination.

Much has been said about the work of Nostradamus and whether, really, his prophecies were originated by some real divination skills or if, on the contrary, they were mere hoaxes to attract themselves to the classes wealthy Some historians see in Nostradamus's prophecies an ambiguity made expressly, which means that his omens can be interpreted in different ways, according to the taste of the reader. Be that as it may, in 1555, the year of the publication of his work Les Prophéties (The Prophecies), the fortune teller has already become the most requested character; Among his clients is none other than the Queen of France.

Little could she taste the fame of him. In 1566, the gout that he had been carrying from a very young age caused him a severe edema that ended his life on July 2. He was 62 years old.

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The Prophets

This is his most famous work, for which he is known throughout the world. In The Prophets, Nostradamus expands the information in his almanacs and extends his predictions up to three centuries (ie, up to the 19th century). Later, in the 1557 edition, he will extend his divinations three more centuries.

Written in a mixture of French, Greek, Latin and Occitan, the quatrains containing Nostradamus's prophecies have aroused admiration and rejection in equal measure through the centuries. We've already discussed how his style is deliberately ambiguous, so the meaning can be “adapted” depending on who the reader is.

Some historians maintain that the author handled this unclear language to free himself from a possible persecution of the Inquisition, a shadow that was always over his head as a diviner and astrologer. In fact, in the introduction to his propheties, Nostradamus repeatedly invokes God as the only inspirer of his words and as the only one who is capable of knowing and changing events, thus making it very clear that what he did was not heresy, nor was it magic.

But let's show an example to see it more clearly. We have started this article commenting on the notorious case of Paco Rabanne and his personal interpretation of one of Nostradamus's prophecies. The original text tells, more or less, that, in the seventh month of the year 1999, a "King of Terror" will come from heaven, who will bring the king of the Mongols to life. Before and after these events, Mars will reign with good luck. Can we really extract in these verses the end of the world that Paco Rabanne feared so much? Really, It is a text that can be interpreted in many different ways.; its poetic and vague language gives rise to countless explanations.

Let's take another of the prophecies, which supposedly divines the advent of the French Revolution. In this case, Nostradamus speaks of "the chosen monarch", and then adds the words "fire, blood, beheading". We cannot deny that this quatrain is a little more "concrete" but, even so, it remains sufficiently ambiguous.

There are many other prophecies that, according to the followers of Nostradamus, have been fulfilled to the letter: the coronation of Napoleon as emperor (“An emperor to be born near Italy…”), in quatrain 60 of the century I; and even the attack on the Twin Towers, which would be prophesied in quatrain 97 of the VI century (“Five and forty degrees the sky will burn, fire approaching the great new city…”).

Anyway; Nostradamus's prophecies may be considered accurate... or they may not be. The only certain thing is that, in their time, they aroused enormous interest, and that even now, in the 21st century, they continue to feed theories.