Seeing Nostradamus

As we sit on the brink of what some have claimed are the waning years of civilization, especially since both Nostradamus and the Mayan calendar have pointed to global extermination in the year 2012, it's probably time to take a deep breath and recognize that we are basing these forecasts not necessarily on what either of these two sources have claimed but on how individuals in today's reality have interpreted them.

I think before we dismiss Nostradamus completely, we must recognize that the fault of inaccuracy or deception may not lie with the originator but with those of us that try to give meanings to his sayings of which he had absolutely no intention. As the old adage expresses, "let us not hold (shoot)  the messenger responsible for the message."   Nostradamus may have seen images but were they as  we have interpreted them; probably not.  Most people that claim to have the ability to foresee the future claim that their powers of observation are limited to perhaps a few years at best. Nostradamus's predictions are vague and do not clearly provide a timeline to their actual occurrence, so why are we so insistent that they extended 500 years in to the future.  Let's examine another scenario; accused as a Judaizer, opponent frequently to the Church, protected by the aristocracy so that excommunication papers could not be upheld, a donator of 1 Mark to the church that built him a fabulous tomb, of course Rome would want its payback, even after his death.  In order to exact that revenge, they could inflict their punishment upon his son Caesar.  But Nostradamus was aware they would do this, so he provided Caesar with all his predictions, especially the ones referring to the Redhats in order that his son had protection via blackmail.  Sounds terrible to say that he would blackmail the Church but considering the consequences of being on the wrong side of the Inquisition, blackmail was hardly a crime.  But fearing this was not enough, Michel de Nostradame made certain that he left behind enough quatrains to protect Caesar when certain events would lead to Pope Sixtus trying to take everything from his son. When examined in light of the events that Caesar had to face, the outcome that resulted, and the protection that Caesar achieved (he was even made magistrate of his town) the quatrains make perfect sense and you can be awed by Nostradamus’s ability to see very clearly at least thirty years into the future.  These specific quatrains are explained in the book Shadows of Trinity http://www.eloquentbooks.com/ShadowsOfTrinity.html  .  The clarity of the quatrains is only evident when placed into their proper historical context.  That's our chief failing today.  We try to view everything from our 21st century perspective and forget that Nostradamus was dealing with the reality of his own time and world.  We have to remember that Nostradamus was a student of the kabbalah.  He understood that words had special hidden meanings and if understood they could unlock special codes or treasures.  Since most of us can't make a similar claim of having such knowledge (Except Madonna) then why are we insistent on ascribing our interpretations to his words as the correct ones.   Detractors of Nostradamus will exclaim that it is all a matter of coincidence.  But then how many coincidences does one seer have before there is an admission that something more was taking place.  So if we are to say there are truly no coincidences when discussing Nostradamus after five hundred years of attempting to unscramble his quatrains, then perhaps we must try to see the world that he saw through his own eyes rather than view our present world and believe they are one and the same.  And if we are to do so, then perhaps we will actually see and understand the mind of the one they called Nostradamus.