Nostradamus was born Michel de Nostradame on December 14 or 21, 1503 in the south of France in Saint-Remy-de-Provence. He was one of nine children born to Reyniere de St-Remy and her husband Jaume de Nostradame, a well-to-do grain dealer and part-time notary of Jewish descent. Nostradame’s grandfather, Guy Gassonet, had converted to Catholicism a half century earlier and changed the family name to Nostradame, in part to avoid persecution during the Inquisition.

At the age of 14, Nostradame entered the University of Avignon to study medicine. He was forced to leave after only one year, however, due to an outbreak of the bubonic plague. According to his own account, he traveled throughout the countryside during this time, researching herbal remedies and working as an apothecary. In 1522 he entered the University of Montpelier to complete his doctorate in medicine. He sometimes expressed dissension with the teachings of the Catholic priests, who dismissed his notions of astrology. There are some reports that university officials discovered his previous experience as an apothecary and found this reason to expel him from school. Evidently the school took a dim view of anyone who was involved in what was considered a “manual trade.” However, most accounts state he was not expelled and received license to practice medicine in 1525. At this time, he Latinized his name—as was the custom of many medieval academics—from Nostradame to Nostradamus.

Nostradamus and The Plague
Over the next several years, Nostradamus traveled throughout France and Italy, treating victims of the plague. There was no known remedy at the time; most doctors relied on potions made of mercury, the practice of bloodletting and dressing patients in garlic-soaked robes. Nostradamus had developed some very progressive methods for dealing with the plague. He didn’t bleed his patients, instead practicing effective hygiene and encouraging the removal of the infected corpses from city streets. He became known for creating a “rose pill,” an herbal lozenge made of rosehips (rich in Vitamin C) that provided some relief for patients with mild cases of the plague. His cure rate was impressive, though much can be attributed to keeping his patients clean, administering low-fat diets and providing plenty of fresh air.

In time, Nostradamus found himself somewhat of a local celebrity for his treatments and received financial support from many of the citizens of Provence. 1n 1531, he was invited to work with a leading scholar of the time, Jules-Cesar Scaliger in Agen, in southwestern France. There he married and in the next few years, had two children. In 1534, his wife and children died—presumably of the plague—while he was traveling on a medical mission to Italy. Not being able to save his wife and children caused him to fall out of favor in the community and with his patron, Scaliger.


How He Got His Powers
During his travels to the ancient mystery schools, it is believed that Nostradamus experienced a psychic awakening. One of the legends of Nostradamus says that, during his travels in Italy, he came upon a group of Franciscan monks, identifying one as the future Pope. The monk, called Felice Peretti, was ordained Pope Sixtus V in 1585, fulfilling the prediction of Nostradamus.

Within a few years of his settling into Salon, Nostradamus began moving away from medicine and more toward the occult. It is said that he would spend hours in his study at night meditating in front of a bowl filled with water and herbs. The meditation would bring on a trance and visions. It is believed the visions were the basis of his predictions for the future. In 1550, Nostradamus wrote his first almanac of astrological information and predictions of the coming year. Almanacs were very popular at the time, as they provided useful information for farmers and merchants and contained entertaining bits of local folklore and predictions of the coming year. Nostradamus began writing about his visions and incorporating them into his first almanac. The publication received a great response, and served to spread his name all across France, which encouraged Nostradamus to write more.

Nostradamus Prophecies
By 1554, Nostradamus’ visions had become an integral part of his works in the almanacs, and he decided to channel all his energies into a massive opus he entitled Centuries. He planned to write 10 volumes, which would contain 100 predictions forecasting the next 2,000 years. In 1555 he published Les Prophesies, a collection of his major, long-term predictions. Possibly feeling vulnerable to religious persecution, he devised a method of obscuring the prophecies’ meanings by using quatrains—rhymed four-line verses—and a mixture of other languages such as Greek, Italian, Latin and Provencal, a dialect of Southern France. Oddly enough, Nostradamus enjoyed a good relationship with the Roman Catholic Church. It is believed he never faced prosecution for heresy by the Inquisition because he didn’t extend his writings to the practice of magic. His popularity grew and he became one of the most famous figures during the Renaissance.

Nostradamus ran into some controversy with his predictions, as some thought he was a servant of the devil, and others said he was a fake or insane. However, many more believed the prophecies were spiritually inspired. He became famous and in demand by many of Europe’s elite. Catherine de Medici, the wife of King Henri II of France, was one of Nostradamus’ greatest admirers. After reading his almanacs of 1555, where he hinted at unnamed threats to her family, she summoned him to Paris to explain and draw up horoscopes for her children. A few years later, she made him Counselor and Physician-in-Ordinary to King Henri’s court. In 1556, while serving in this capacity Nostradamus also explained another prophecy from Centuries I, which was assumed to refer to King Henri. The prophecy told of a “young lion” who would overcome an older one on the field of battle. The young lion would pierce the eye of the older one and he would die a cruel death. Nostradamus warned the king he should avoid ceremonial jousting. Three years later, when King Henri was 41 years old, he died in a jousting match when a lance from this opponent pierced the king’s visor and entered his head behind the eye deep into his brain. He held on to life for 10 agonizing days before finally dying of infection.

How Did Nostradamus Die?
Nostradamus suffered from gout and arthritis for most of his. adulthood. In the last years of his life, the condition turned into edema or dropsy, where abnormal amounts of fluid accumulate beneath the skin or within cavities of the body. Without treatment, the condition resulted in congestive heart failure. In late June of 1566, Nostradamus asked to see his lawyer to draw up an extensive will, leaving much of his estate to his wife and children. On the evening of July 1, he is alleged to have told his secretary Jean de Chavigny, “You will not fine me alive at sunrise.” The next morning, he was reportedly found dead lying on the floor next to his bed.


Till today his predictions have stood the test of time science and critics to be true and still come true

NOSTRADAMUS: WHICH OF HIS PREDICTIONS CAME TRUE?

Nostradamus became famous in his own lifetime for publishing a long series of prophecies which continue to mystify, intrigue and (frankly) exasperate us to this day. The fact that he wrote in enigmatic poems, or quatrains, means that his words can be endlessly reinterpreted to fit historical events.

1 THE DEATH OF HENRY II
Henry II of France was a personal acquaintance of Nostradamus, who once addressed him in a letter as 'The most invincible Henry King of France'. Unfortunately, Henry actually turned out to be very vincible indeed, and came to a horribly painful end aged just 40. A passionate sportsman fond of hunting and jousting, Henry’s active nature proved his undoing when, in the summer of 1559, he held a tournament to celebrate a recent peace treaty. During a joust with one of his young soldiers, the latter’s lance shattered, driving splinters into the king’s eye and skull.

A slow and painful death from sepsis followed, and many believe it was foretold by Nostradamus. The quatrain in question tells us 'the young lion will overcome the older one', that he will 'pierce his eyes through a golden cage', and that 'two wounds' will ensure a 'cruel death'. Uncanny? Perhaps. Although critics have pointed out the quatrain also says the killing occurs 'on the field of combat in a single battle', while Henry was accidentally slain during a playful joust.

2 THE GREAT FIRE OF LONDON
It’s worth quoting the alleged Great Fire of London quatrain in full, because it’s one of the most mysterious prophecies of all.

'The blood of the just will commit a fault at London,

Burnt through lightning of twenty threes the six:

The ancient lady will fall from her high place,

Several of the same sect will be killed.'

It’s tantalising if you interpret, as some do, “twenty threes the six” as 66 (20 x 3 + 6). Add to that the mention of London and references to deaths, and you can see why it’s believed to be a prophecy of the Great Fire of London in 1666. As ever with Nostradamus, ambiguities make it hard to be definitive. The Great Fire was set off by a flame in a bakery, not by 'lightning', and what does the 'ancient lady' signify? Perhaps London itself? This is one to puzzle over, even by Nostradamus’ standards.

3 THE COMING OF ADOLF HITLER
Nostradamus has been credited with quite a few 20th Century predictions, and the rise of Adolf Hitler is often cited as one of them. And, to be fair, his writings do provoke a slight chill of recognition.

'From the depths of the West of Europe,' Nostradamus wrote, 'A young child will be born of poor people'. And what does this child do? He will 'by his tongue… seduce a great troop', and his fame will spread far beyond Europe. Another quatrain of possible significance mentions fighting 'close by the Hister' – which is either a loose reference to Hitler, or a more mundane mention of the old name of the Danube river. Depending on your point of view.

5 THE HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI BOMBS
'Within two cities,' Nostradamus wrote, 'there will be scourges the like of which was never seen.' That description would certainly apply to what occurred in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which were devastated by atomic bombs at the end of World War Two.

The quatrain paints an increasingly bleak picture, foretelling 'famine within plague' (potentially a reference to radiation sickness and the lasting disruption of war) and 'people put out by steel', which may point to the planes which dropped the bombs. Of course, this may well have been Nostradamus talking about a literal plague affecting any potential cities, given that the man himself had first hand experience of treating plague patients. But, again, it depends on how much you really want to believe.

5 THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION
The killing of President John F. Kennedy was one of the pivotal moments of the 20th Century, so it’s not surprising that many have scoured the works of Nostradamus for any hint of a prophecy. A commonly quoted contender is the bit that reads 'From on high, evil will fall on the great man' – perhaps a reference to the fact he was shot from a distance by a sniper (or snipers).Tellingly, the quatrain continues with 'A dead innocent will be accused of the deed' – is this Lee Harvey Oswald, the suspected assassin who was himself shot dead soon after, and has long been regarded as an innocent fall guy? As if that wasn’t enough to convince us, Nostradamus assures us the true guilty party will 'remain in the mist' – a sentiment which countless JFK conspiracy theorists will surely agree with.

Nostradamus' prophecies end in the year 3797, possibly foretelling the end of the world.


Alot of his prophesies now fall under restricted documents in the Catholic church in Rome and are not available for public consumption. He even stated in one of the leaked documents that he would have reincarnated as at when the when time draws near.

So he has reincarnated and is here with us now.

He talked of the antichrist who would wage a war against Christianity and how the world would be split into two between two religions

He spoke of the last days in a leaked scroll which was later banned titled the lost scroll of Nostradamus. There was a commercial version editted and released titled the lost book but this was editted and alot of information removed.

All of his works in original Latin are locked away in the Vatican