BIOGRAPHY, MOTIVES, NOSTRAMANIA
Biography
No theory concerning Nostradamus' life should be dismissed before its relevance
is determined. Once this is done, a clear distinction must be made between
assumptions and proven facts. Only facts that were "stamped" by
an independant authority can be considered to be proofs. As for the others
they line up in one fo the following categories.
Some alleged facts were reported by the seer's immediate surroundings like
his son, his secretary and other contemporaries. They are on the whole believable
but may also contain a share of subjectivity. Others come from the study
rooms of impassioned researchers. They should contribute to solve the mystery
of the Centuries but often only make it worse and require that a particular
attention be given to the validity of their assertions. As for the remainder,
there circulates many invented comments by dishonnest gurus and mythomaniacs.
They usually fit in the recruitment process of their sects, which are more
often than not dangerous. Aoum is a good example of this. He pretended to
have private conversations with Nostradamus in another world before going
on with the murder of tens of innocents in Japan.
One in the other, a legend was built around the Nostradamus character throughout
the centuries and countries while literature abounds. But the myths often
hold an underlying truth; So in the end, each reader has to determine his
own opinion.
Motives
One can wonder whether the author of the Centuries used sorcery and if
he belonged to an occult order. Except for legends never proven, the study
of his life brings only few elements to clarify this issue. But it is
possible to study his writings where he gives clues, and to obtain an
idea of his sincerity by analyzing his motivations and sources of inspiration.
He only implied most of his revelations, but they turn out after analysis
to be very precise. With the study of the dates he mentioned in the Centuries
and his secret code, this topics constitutes the framework for all following
analysis.
Nostramania
The phenomenon of "Nostramania" consists in the continuously
increasing popular interest for the Nostradamus prophecies. It started
while the seer was still alive and continues today with a seemingly increasing
importance. The cause of this may reside in the threats of war from the
Middle East, a new social disequilibrium, ecological disasters and emerging
new religious beliefs. The articles in this section deal with all aspects
related to the sociology of the Nostradamus phenomenon.
Enjoy.
