Snippets of Nostradamus' prophecies and beyond

Now this is one man who doesn't really need an introduction, but for the sake of our esteemed readers who still don't know who Nostradamus was, we'll give a brief introduction.

Michel de Nostredame or Nostradamus (in Latin) was born in St Remy, France (more famous for its brandy). He was a famous French apothecary and also a well-known seer, whose prophecies and psychic predictions have become known worldwide because of his book Les Propheties or 'The Prophecies'. Our curiosity led us to dig into his famed prophecies and learn of the ones that came true and these that are yet to come true. Note; we aren't conspiracy theorists. Take a sit, grab a drink and let's ride.

1.He predicted 9/11. Yes he actually did:

"Volcanic fire from the center of the earth
will cause trembling around the new city:
Two great rocks will make war for a long time.
Then Arethusa will redden a new river.
In the year 1999, in the seventh month,
from the sky will come the great King of Terror,
bringing back to life the great King of the Mongols.
Before and after, Mars to reign by good fortune."

In this prediction, ''two great rocks'' refer to the USA and their fight against terrorism. The ''new city'' is in reference to New York while ''Volcanic fire from the center of the earth'' is the twin towers burning and falling to the ground. ''Arethusa'' in that prediction is widely believed to be an anagram that is used to refer to Bin Laden.

2. Hitler and WW2. Our guy also predicted this:

"The two greatest ones of Asia and of Africa,

From the Rhine and Lower Danube they will be said to have come,
Cries, tears at Malta and the Ligurian side."
"From the depths of the West of Europe,
A young child will be born of poor people,
He who by his tongue will seduce a great troop;
His fame will increase towards the realm of the East." (Century 3, Quatrain 35)

"Beasts ferocious from hunger will swim across rivers:
The greater one will cause it to be dragged in an iron cage
When the Germany child will observe nothing."

Here, Seer Nostradamus was spot on because Hitler was born to poor parents, and his powerful speeches moved many, and also his alliance with Japan proved that his fame will increase towards the east to be true. The ''beast'' is also interpreted as Adolf Hitler and the German army, crossing over to capture France. The 'iron cage' might probably refer to Hitler's tanks, which the great seer did not know what it was called hundreds of years back. Thus, these are some of his predictions that came true, and the prediction of the Second World War and the rise of Hitler, is one of his greatest predictions of all time.

3.Death of Princess Diana:
 "The penultimate of the surname of Prophet
 Will take Diana [Thursday] for his day and rest:
 He will wander because of a frantic head,
 And delivering a great people from subjection." (Century 2, Quatrain 28)

Princess Diana's boyfriend Dodi Al-Fayed was the son of a person named 'Mohammad' (The Prophet). That was not his surname, but still. Some translations also say "will take Diana for her day of rest". This probably indicates her death and the rest that she got forever from the paparazzi. "His day of rest" indicates the Sunday, the day when Princess Diana and Dodi died. It may also indicate that the day when she dies was seen as a public holiday. Several parts of UK were closed down that time, as a mark of respect for the much beloved Princess. The people of UK are known to be emotionally reserved. But the death of their beloved Princess rocked not only UK but the entire world. Everyone mourned the death of Princess Diana. Thus "Delivering a great people from ruin". People from various cultures, from various backgrounds and countries, came together to mourn her death.

 Ok, so the great seer prophesied all this and it came true as sad as they remain in the history of the world. What worries us is the prophecy of a WW3. Read on.

 Nostradamus predicted a third world war will start somewhere between 2011 and 2012 and that it will be a war between the Christian world and the Arab world. The war will destroy many countries, except for the countries who will not take part in the war and that's India and China. This may not be a far-fetched thing now, because as we speak we are witness to the tension build-up between Iran and the US/Europe. So far, 2011 is gone and 2012 is already halved. We hope this particular prediction doesn't come to pass. What we found most disturbing is a breakdown of the prophecy. We'll sum it up for ya.

WW3 will start when Russia suddenly attacks Europe. Middle Eastern countries will ally with Russia. The US would be severely crippled by terrorist attacks, assassinations, a civil war and an economic collapse prior to the start of WW3. Also prior to that, Italy would have a civil war during which the Vatican will be over-run by the mob.The Pope will escape but lose many of his cardinals. Europe would be almost overrun by the Russian and eastern forces and many of its cities and also those of USA would be destroyed by conventional weapons as well as weapons of mass destruction like nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Russia would attack from the North as well as from the East of Europe. An Arab / Iranian army would attack from the south.

The Pope, and later the British Prime Minister would be forced to flee to the US. Paris would be destroyed by "revolutionaries" within France. The attack on the US would stop the Civil War there. New types of weapons, like Chemical Weapons and particularly what appears to be portable Laser weapons, would be used in the war. At the same time an unprecedented disaster would take place. A comet would suddenly appear over the earth in the peak of the war, would break into several pieces and fall to the earth. Smaller pieces would rain fire on cities and forests all over the world, burning them down. A large piece would fall into the sea creating a Tsunami of Biblical proportions, flooding parts of Europe (including Britain), USA and Africa. One medium sized chunk would fall on land, creating a huge crater, resulting in earthquake and volcano activities all over the world. This event would loosen the grip of the invading army over Europe. A joint coalition of US and European forces under the leadership of a charismatic leader "Chiren" would organize a counter-attack against the invading forces in Europe and elsewhere.

The Russian forces in Europe would be almost destroyed by the counter-attack and this would lead to a revolution in Russia and the Russian leader who started the war would be assassinated. Russia, under a new leader would then join the western coalition and fight against its former allies, who would eventually be defeated. The Pope would return to Europe and Chiren would be crowned the Monarch. Peace would return to the world after a loss of almost two-thirds of its population and the wealth of nations accumulated over millennia. But this would surely not be the end of the world.

It's downright scary and we hope to God this prediction doesn't come true. We are not seers nor prophets but whatever happens, rest assured that we are all in this together. This is no reason to brood and worry. Que Sera, Sera.