Calling All Nostradamites

Pejoratives, I suppose, are inevitable when anyone takes a firm position on an issue. For example, the case of the "prophecies" of Michel de Michel de Nostredam, popularly known as Nostradamus. Those who take his prophetic quatrains seriously are dismissed as Nostradamites. 

On the other hand, there are those who take such a cut-and-dried skeptical position about Nostradamus, preferring to "debunk" rather than seriously weigh the words of the old magician and astrologer - and this because, according to their worldview, such things are impossible to begin with - they often catch a lot of flak.

So I wondered: is there a middle ground between being a Nostradamite or a hidebound Nostradamus skeptic?

So much friction has resulted from debates over whether Nostradamus was using an anagram (Pau, Nay, Loron) to refer to Napoleon, called out Louis Pasteur by name or was simply referring to an unknown priest or "pastor," used the noun Hister to refer to the Danube River or the notorious madman Adolph Hitler, among many interesting things, that I believe something has been lost here.

The suggestions of the Nostradamites are often no more strained than the some of the explanations offered by the skeptics.

However, I also feel those who sincerely feel Nostradamus was a prophet have stuck out their necks so far and so often that they have done considerable harm to their cause. This is especially true when they attempt to use the prophecies to foretell the future.

 

The number one response from the skeptics is: How come it is only after the fact that the alleged prophecies can be understood?

Can that challenge be met by those who take Nostradamus seriously?

What if something like the Jewish pesher hermeneutic were used on Nostradamus' quatrains? That is, for those unfamiliar with that method of interpretation, what if there were both a common meaning and at the same time a deeper, hidden meaning to be found?

The well-known skeptic of all things occult and paranormal James Randi wrote a book about the subject, The Mask of Nostradamus. In it he helpfully, in my opinion, provides some historical and cultural context for the old seer.

The question I feel has to be asked is, is that all there is to it? Could the so-called Nostradamites be employing pesher interpretations? That is, the Randian approach might be okay as a starting point, but might there be deeper, fuller meanings to be culled?

Perhaps so. But if so, we must be careful to be consistent in our approach. If we are dealing with pesher interpretation let us not make the mistake of pretending Nostradamus was speaking only to a distant future.

Think about it. If the present is understood so incompletely, how much more murky might visions from the future be? Might it then be the case that the deeper meaning is only fully comprehendible after the events have fully unfolded? Perhaps history is cyclical and there can be recurring fulfillments of visionary material.

It seems to me that World War ll brought a revival of interest in the prophecies of Nostradamus. MGM produced a little Nostradamus propaganda with a series of shorts on the subject produced by Carey Wilson (who also brought us Andy Hardy and Dr. Kildare). Wilson's first short in his Nostradamus series came out in 1938.

 

Finding Hitler and the rise of Nazism in Nostradamus seems to me to be pure pesher interpretation. Those same lines had been applied to other historical situations beforehand, naturally enough.

Perhaps the critics who find Nostradamus' quatrains vague and subject to numerous interpretations miss the point. Ancient wisdom seems to find a home among the more idealist minded people because it is always relevant. 

The Warlock And I

As a teenager my hobby was magic. Chattanooga, the city where I grew up, had only one magic shop and I soon became friends with one of its demonstrators. There was another fellow who worked there - a dark, brooding character who not only was a sleight of hand artist (and a good one), but a warlock as well. At least that was his claim. He was a male witch.

After awhile my friend had the opportunity to purchase the magic shop. He was a young man but his parents believed in him enough to mortgage their home in order to raise the funds to make the purchase. Briefly I worked for him in his shop part-time.

Mr. Warlock, I will call him, had a creepy persona. He also was a man of few words, but I always found a connection with the underdogs in life. Unfortunately his personality didn't lend itself well to his job and he soon was dismissed. Which is how I got hired.

One day when I stopped by the magic shop I found the regulars and the other employees in a huddle. They were discussing Mr. Warlock. Seems he had placed a curse on the shop in retaliation for his dismissal. This was taken quite seriously.

To make a long story very short, several months after taking ownership of the shop my friend was forced to go out of business - because of lack of sales ... or because of the curse. Believe me, many took the latter very seriously indeed.

The successful magician must be a good actor in order to put his magic over. Anybody can be taught to perform tricks. It is the ability to act the part that causes one to stand out.

Mr. Warlock was quite mysterious. There is no doubt about it, he made a convincing warlock. There was something uncanny, even uncomfortable about being in his presence. People took the curse thing seriously.

I didn't, but timing is everything, and Mr. Warlock's timing couldn't have been better. The magic shop my friend bought was an established shop. My friend didn't change the way the shop operated in any way. Yet still the curse at least apparently came to pass. Coincidence?

Dream Warns Of Death In "Unseen Way"

Robert J. Grier II was the attorney for Andrew J. Nestler and he filed with probate court his client's handwritten will based on a dream. The will, dated November 17, 1952, stated:

The reason I am writing this statement Nov 11-17-52 (is) what happened tonight at a little after 3 a.m.

I was sudden awaken up by a dream of mother.

It was more like a warning than a dream. It was so clear to me.

So I bought this tablet for five cents at corner drugstore at Atwood and Forbes Street and I wrote down this statement.

Mother was close to me. One could believe she was still living. But I know she is dead. This is the third time she came to me.

She show (told) me in this dream I must write or make a paper. I must make a will or some kind of statement of all my affairs if (because) I Andy J. Nestler by some unseen way would not be here on April 1, 1953.

I used the transcription the newspaper provided because Mr. Nestler's note was a bit hard to decipher.

This interesting newspaper story, along with a picture of the handwritten will and of Mr. Nestler, can be found at this link.

The story goes on to relate that Mr. Nestler "was found unconscious by a guard in the washroom of the library." Nestler lived for only three more days.

A police report stated that all Nestler could tell them was he was hit on the head with some kind of instrument and he did not see who struck the blow, except for the assailant's feet.

This warning dream is fascinating because of its detail. Nestler was not "here" on April 1, 1953, as he died on March 1. His death was in an "unseen way" because he never saw who or what hit him the blow that directly led to his demise.

Dream insight fascinates because I feel I have been directed and informed by my dreams - although nothing as dramatic as this. But history is replete with dream warnings and information delivered through dreams.

Some feel we can communicate with spirits via the dream realm. My own personal theory is that during the dream state our normal filters are off and we are better able to connect with the great Cosmic Mind that undergirds reality.

The Beatrice Nebraska Church Miracle

The tiny city of Beatrice, Nebraska was the scene of a most fascinating incident for those of us who study life's synchronicities.

It was a chilly late winter evening in 1950. It would soon be time for the 7:30 choir practice at the West Side Baptist Church. The choir was in the habit of arriving early, usually  by 7:20. Pastor Walter Klempel earlier had lit up the furnace in preparation.

At 7:25 p.m. it happened. An explosion inside the church blew the walls outward, bringing down the heavy roof. But oddly enough nobody was injured because the choir's habit of punctuality had been broken - all fifteen people - because of a string of seemingly at the time trivial incidents.

Life Magazine is the my primary source for this story. The details were provided by George H. Edeal in his article Why The Choir Was Late in the March 27, 1950, issue.

Reverend Klempel was detained because his daughter, Marilyn Ruth, had soiled her dress. The time it took for his wife to iron a different dress for their daughter was the time it took to avert tragedy.

Ladonna Vandergrift was a high school student working on a difficult geometry lesson. Because she stayed put and worked on her homework, she was spared.

Royena Estes had car trouble. She and her sister Sadie called Ladonna Vandergrift for a ride, but because Ladonna was running late working on her homework the trio remained safe.

Mrs. Leonard Shuster and her young daughter would normally have arrived for choir practice at 7:20, but this time they were delayed because Mrs. Shuster had stopped by her mother's house to assist her in readying for a different meeting.

Herbert Kipf was composing a letter and finishing it meant he was  late. The Life story quotes him as saying "I can't think why."

Joyce Black admitted to being "just plain lazy," not wanting to leave her warm home and venture out into the cold. She lazed around long enough to put her arrival after the explosion.

Harvey Ahl was caring for his two sons whom he planned to bring along to practice. He simply lost track of time while in conversation and when he looked at his watch saw he was late.

Marilyn Paul was pianist for the choir. After eating supper she fell into a slumber. Her mother, Mrs. F. E. Paul, was the choir director. She tried unsuccessfully to awaken her daughter but was unable to do so until 7:15. It took Marilyn long enough to get herself back in order that they were late.

Neighbors Lucille Jones and Dorothy Woods were high school girls who were in the habit of going together to choir practice. Because Lucille became interested in a radio program that did not end until 7:30, and because Dorothy waited for her, they were both late and avoided the explosion.

Many of us can think of times when we would have been in harm's way had circumstances not altered our course. I believe this is common place. But it isn't common place for this to happen in a cluster the way it happened at West Side Baptist Church in 1950.

Is it possible there is a guiding hand that can either be heeded or ignored? What if Joyce Black had heeded her sense of duty rather than being "lazy"? What if Herbert Kipf had simply laid aside his letter to finish later? It wouldn't have been illogical for Ladonna Vandergrift to put aside her homework for later, perhaps allowing for a clearing of her head. Had she done so and picked up the Estes sisters they might all have been gone. What if Mrs. Paul had tried harder to awaken her daughter? What if Rev. Klempel had simply decided to go on to practice by himself. What if Dorothy had not waited for her neighbor. What if Lucille had simply turned off her program? What if Harvey Ahl simply had been more attentive.

But no, somehow everything conspired to spare the choir. They say that hindsight is always 20/20. But I wonder: can mindful living, following one's intuition, going with the flow avert catastrophe?