child. An autopsy was held on her corpse, attended by several followers and medical doctors. No sign of pregnancy was found. Instead, Joanna’s abdomen had swollen to nearly four times the usual size thanks to a build-up of fat and gas.
With no sign of a Second Coming, her followers disbanded, suitably deflated that the End of the World had not come to pass.
11
PORTENTS OF THE END: NOSTRADAMUS AND PROPHECIES
----
NOSTRADAMUS
----
Michel de Nostradame, known by the pen-name Nostradamus, is a notorious figure when discussing the End of the World, and no book discussing the Apocalypse would be complete without referencing him.
Born in France in the early sixteenth century, Nostradamus was an apothecary – a posh, old-fashioned name for a chemist – and seer. After years of studying and practicing medicine, Nostradamus published his first almanac in 1550, collecting a number of predictions that he had previously made. He published the book under the Latinised version of his own name, the sixteenth-century equivalent of the heavy-metal umlaut. Some of these predictions were specific, involving weather or crops, others were significantly vaguer.
This almanac sold so successfully that Nostradamus was encouraged to write more, publishing over 6,000 prophecies and star charts. He also entered into correspondence with dignitaries and nobles, both from his native France and internationally, creating personalised star charts and predictions for them and their families.
One such noblewoman to embrace Nostradamus – or perhaps respond in fear to the fact that such prophecies existed – was Catherine de Medici, the wife of King Henry II of France. Nostradamus initially feared for his life when contacted by Catherine, but she was so convinced by his prophetic words that she hired him as the family’s personal physician.
Fearing repercussions from both the Crown and the Church, Nostradamus adopted a sort of code for his prophecies, which became similar to the Book of Revelations: by using Latin, Greek and other contemporary languages, Nostradamus hid his own meanings. While it kept Nostradamus alive, it also meant that his predictions could apply to multiple things at once and were usually only attributed as correct after an occurrence that fulfilled them.
In 1555, Nostradamus published another book of prediction, called Les Propheties or The Prophecies . He took this opportunity to downplay the involvement of any ‘magic’ or occultism in his predictions. Instead, he associated historic events with the positions and alignments of the planets and stars, suggesting that similar events would occur again when the planets were next in a similar position.
This made Nostradamus one of the first people to apply a scientific approach to prophecies and the End of the World, but he certainly was not the last: science and faith would continue to intertwine, creating new approaches to religion that bordered on the occult.
Nostradamus’ prophecies were condemned by both contemporary scientists and clergy, but the legacy of his work has lasted to the present day, and readers have suggested that he predicted the French revolution, the rise of Hitler, the atomic bomb and the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
Nostradamus’ prophecies are curiously quiet on the End of the World, however – or rather very few interpretations point towards a definite series of events leading to it. But perhaps these will only be discussed after the Endtimes have happened.
Some conspiracy theories suggest that there is a Cult of Nostradamus, possessing secret knowledge of these prophecies, either holding some key to translating them or possessing some predictions that have not been made public.
This cult supposedly uses this knowledge to manipulate events in their own favour; as befitting any conspiracy theory, political leaders and businessmen are rumoured to be amongst the most senior members of the cult.
As with the best conspiracy
With no sign of a Second Coming, her followers disbanded, suitably deflated that the End of the World had not come to pass.
11
PORTENTS OF THE END: NOSTRADAMUS AND PROPHECIES
----
NOSTRADAMUS
----
Michel de Nostradame, known by the pen-name Nostradamus, is a notorious figure when discussing the End of the World, and no book discussing the Apocalypse would be complete without referencing him.
Born in France in the early sixteenth century, Nostradamus was an apothecary – a posh, old-fashioned name for a chemist – and seer. After years of studying and practicing medicine, Nostradamus published his first almanac in 1550, collecting a number of predictions that he had previously made. He published the book under the Latinised version of his own name, the sixteenth-century equivalent of the heavy-metal umlaut. Some of these predictions were specific, involving weather or crops, others were significantly vaguer.
This almanac sold so successfully that Nostradamus was encouraged to write more, publishing over 6,000 prophecies and star charts. He also entered into correspondence with dignitaries and nobles, both from his native France and internationally, creating personalised star charts and predictions for them and their families.
One such noblewoman to embrace Nostradamus – or perhaps respond in fear to the fact that such prophecies existed – was Catherine de Medici, the wife of King Henry II of France. Nostradamus initially feared for his life when contacted by Catherine, but she was so convinced by his prophetic words that she hired him as the family’s personal physician.
Fearing repercussions from both the Crown and the Church, Nostradamus adopted a sort of code for his prophecies, which became similar to the Book of Revelations: by using Latin, Greek and other contemporary languages, Nostradamus hid his own meanings. While it kept Nostradamus alive, it also meant that his predictions could apply to multiple things at once and were usually only attributed as correct after an occurrence that fulfilled them.
In 1555, Nostradamus published another book of prediction, called Les Propheties or The Prophecies . He took this opportunity to downplay the involvement of any ‘magic’ or occultism in his predictions. Instead, he associated historic events with the positions and alignments of the planets and stars, suggesting that similar events would occur again when the planets were next in a similar position.
This made Nostradamus one of the first people to apply a scientific approach to prophecies and the End of the World, but he certainly was not the last: science and faith would continue to intertwine, creating new approaches to religion that bordered on the occult.
Nostradamus’ prophecies were condemned by both contemporary scientists and clergy, but the legacy of his work has lasted to the present day, and readers have suggested that he predicted the French revolution, the rise of Hitler, the atomic bomb and the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
Nostradamus’ prophecies are curiously quiet on the End of the World, however – or rather very few interpretations point towards a definite series of events leading to it. But perhaps these will only be discussed after the Endtimes have happened.
Some conspiracy theories suggest that there is a Cult of Nostradamus, possessing secret knowledge of these prophecies, either holding some key to translating them or possessing some predictions that have not been made public.
This cult supposedly uses this knowledge to manipulate events in their own favour; as befitting any conspiracy theory, political leaders and businessmen are rumoured to be amongst the most senior members of the cult.
As with the best conspiracy
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