MICHELE DE NOSTREDAME - NOSTRADAMUS
Nostradamus was born Michele de Nostredame in St Rémy de Provence in December1503. He studied medicine and became a physician and treated victims of the plague in both France and Italy. However, he is best known for his interest in the occult and his subsequent book The Prophecies in which he makes predictions about the future in the form of quatrains (rhymed four-line verses).
These quatrains focused mainly on disasters, both natural and man-made. There has been great debate surrounding the accuracy of his predictions as many are considered vague whilst others appear to relate to specific events in history, including the rise of Napoleon and Hitler and the development of the nuclear bomb. Whatever the case, he certainly found favour with King Henry II of France and his wife, Catherine de Medici.
Nostradamus married Henriette d‘Encausse in 1534 but she and their children perished in the plague in 1537. He remarried in 1547 – to Anne Ponsarde Gemelle. He died in 1566 in St Rémy de Provence.
THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE
The wheel of fortune has its origins in ancient philosophy and remained current in the middle ages. In simple terms, it is a representation of fate in the form of a wheel; the wheel belongs to the goddess Fortuna (Greek equivalent Tyche) who spins it at random, changing the positions of those on the wheel: some suffer great misfortune as they descend to the nadir of the wheel, others prosper as they ascend. Either way, they are subject to fate and are unable to dictate the circumstances of their life.
ASTROLOGY AND THE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC
Astrology also has its origins in ancient philosophy and in many cultures. In western astrology, the zodiac is divided into twelve signs, each occupying 30 degrees of celestial longitude and roughly corresponding to the constellations: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. Astrologers believe that they are able to divine information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the movements and relative positions of celestial objects. Once again, the implication is that events in the life of an individual are pre-ordained.
THE LEGEND
Legend has it that during the early part of the French Revolution, Soldiers purposely sought out the grave in which was found this Coffin. The grave was desecrated, the coffin forced, and a skeleton revealed. The only other object found in the coffin was a pendant, hanging loosely around the bones of the neck. Etched deeply into the pendant were words, unscathed by the ravages of over two centuries. The words began…
“This my grave will suffer desecration.”
Upon reading the inscription, the soldiers recoiled in horror, realising that the very date of their sacrilegious act was inscribed on the pendant – a prophecy from the past. The man whose body lay in this coffin was Michele de Nostredame – Nostradamus.