You've heard of Nostradamus.
But who was this legendary sage, and what did he foretell for these precarious times? Prophet scholar John Hogue shares his knowledge and insights on Nostradamus and his unique methods of prediction on Gaiam's Beyond Belief with George Noory.
Who was Nostradamus?
Nostradamus, the "Jean Dixon of the 16th century," according to Hogue, caused quite a stir when he accurately predicted the jousting death of France's King Henry II, and whose wife, Catherine de Medici, sought his counsel.
A poetic prophet who wrote in puns, anagrams and quatrains, Nostradamus was the quintessential Renaissance man with a twist. Apothecary, healer and dyslexic, Nostradamus became interested in astrology and the occult. He put himself into a trance-like state using ancient spiritual conjuring techniques and then penned the predictions channeled through him from the spirits.
How closely should we heed his enigmatic ramblings? How accurate were his predictions? And what did he have to say about December 21, 2012?
Maya Miscalculation According to Hogue, due to a miscalculation, the end of the Maya calendar actually fell between the winter solstices of 1998 and 1999. And, in fact, most of Nostradamus' warnings focused on the end of the century, aligning with other doomsday prophets.
Of course, the world didn't end with the century's turn and, according to Hogue, is unlikely to do so this month, either. Still, all is not well. The seas of unrest are rising -- literally.
Nostradamus predicted the climate changes wrought by global warming hundreds of years ago. Sadly, his pessimistic predictions are now coming to pass.
Such global shifts don't happen overnight. Just as we don't awaken one day to find that spring has arrived, we're unlikely to get out of bed on December 22 to a changed world. Instead, we'll witness a gradual unfolding, a process which will evolve the way the seasons meld into one another. According to Hogue, ecological, political and cultural instability have been on the rise since the 21st century began. Systemic flaws are shaking our unstable foundations. We may be, in fact, in the middle of a "reboot" of time.
Lessons from the prophet scholarSo what can we do? How do we respond to this period of planetary opportunity and global schism?
Hogue says that the devil is indeed in our midst. To find him, we need only look in the mirror. Our minds and the confusion they create are the enemy. To counter this, we must meditate on the question, "Who am I?" until the clouds part and the questions melt into answers.
Good intentions will not suffice insists Hogue, who calls "hope" a four-letter word. Only action can save us. Nostradamus believed that we could change fate by changing our behaviors. But, like Henry II who refused to give up the sport of jousting, we're unlikely to change our stubborn ways. Human history bears the scars of our repeated refusal to grasp hold of the reins of the mind.
Watch Hogue's full interview on Gaiam's Beyond Belief with George Noory on Friday, December 21 at 7:00 p.m. EST.
Amy Taylor is a freelance writer for GaiamTV.com. She also teaches yoga to students of all ages. Find her columns on yoga and parenting here.