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The world is facing another “great war” and economic ruin in 2023, at least according to the predictions of the 16th-century astrologer Nostradamus.
In his famous book ‘Les Propheties’, published in 1555 and with 942 poetic lines, known as quatrains, the Frenchman is said to have predicted the future.
Some believe that Nostradamus predicted 9/11, the devastation caused by global warming, the rise of Adolf Hitler, and even advances in AI technology.
The world is facing another ‘great war’ and economic ruin in 2023, at least according to the predictions of the 16th-century astrologer Nostradamus (pictured)
Described as the ‘prophet of doom’, the doctor drew inspiration from biblical texts and his own experiences with the plague, with his predictions centering on hunger and pain.
More than 400 years after Nostradamus published his book, his work remains popular because his predictions are completely open to interpretation and can mean anything.
Here MailOnline takes a look at some of Nostradamus’s predictions for the coming year.
A ‘great war’ waged by forces of ‘evil’
‘Seven months of great war, people killed by evil.’
Ukrainian soldiers fire a Pion artillery system at Russian positions near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Friday, December 16, 2022
The operation of Nostradamus foresaw a ‘great war’ in the year 2023.
The ominous prediction comes at a time of heightened global tensions between the world’s major superpowers.
Russia is growing desperate as Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has so far failed to secure any semblance of victory.
Could the 75-year-old dictator break out and go nuclear in his former Soviet satellite state? Or could he declare war on a NATO ally after sabotaging more undersea cables?
Or perhaps an emboldened China will provoke a confrontation with the US with an invasion of Taiwan or over disputed territory in the South China Sea?
Elsewhere, tensions could resurface between Pakistan and India, two nuclear-capable powers that frequently skirmish over disputed territories in Kashmir and Jammu.
However, for those who believe in Nostradamus’ abilities to see the future, the ‘seven months’ description might offer some comfort.
He suggests conventional warfare, since any battle involving the exchange of nukes would be over in a matter of hours.
‘The light on Mars will go out’
A Nostradamus prediction says that ‘the light on Mars will go out’
This is another cryptic message in the same quatrain that predicts a ‘great war’.
Could this be a warning to Elon Musk, whose company SpaceX plans to send people to Mars by 2026?
Perhaps their dream of populating the red planet will somehow evaporate next year.
It comes as its takeover of Twitter was widely criticized in 2022, with dozens of users, including several celebrities, deactivating their accounts.
The world’s richest man reportedly lost $92 billion of his fortune after buying Twitter earlier this year.
It could also spell trouble for NASA’s exploration program. His Perseverance Rover is currently on the Red Planet, taking pictures and collecting samples.
One would hope that there is no risk to the planet Mars itself through some kind of catastrophic astrological event.
economic disaster
‘The bushel of wheat will rise so high that a man will eat his neighbor.’
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in November 2022
This chilling prediction paints the picture of a complete collapse in food supply networks, with some people so desperate that they resort to cannibalism.
Could it be a sign of terrible things to come as the war in Ukraine rages on? It comes after Putin blocked grain shipments out of the war-torn country earlier this year.
One of the ships blocked in October was carrying a vital 40,000 tons of wheat to Ethiopia as part of a UN aid programme.
Meanwhile, the cost of food around the world has skyrocketed, contributing to cost-of-living crises and rising poverty rates, including in the UK.
But there are other factors at play as the world’s largest economies struggle to recover after the devastating Covid pandemic threatens a new economic downturn.
In the UK, a recession is looming after the economy contracted by 0.2% between July and September.
And in a grim outlook report for 2023, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that “the worst is yet to come.”
“For many people, 2023 will feel like a recession,” he said, predicting an economic contraction in at least a third of the world.
Climate change to accelerate
‘For forty years the rainbow will not be seen. For forty years it will be seen every day.
‘The dry land will become parched more, and there will be great floods when it is seen.’
Houses are surrounded by floodwaters in the town of Sohbat Pur, a district of Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan province, in August.
This particular prophecy seems quite apt given the current state of the weather.
Europe experienced its worst drought in 500 years in 2022, while the Horn of Africa is currently experiencing its longest and most severe drought on record, threatening millions of people with famine.
There were also catastrophic floods in Pakistan between June and October, killing more than 1,700 people and causing more than £14 billion worth of damage.
If Nostradamus’s prediction is to be believed, next year could see even worse weather disasters, though one doesn’t expect anything to last 40 years.
Revolt and civil unrest
‘Sooner or later you will see great changes, terrible horrors and revenge’
‘The trumpet trembles with great discord. A broken pact: raising the face to the sky: the bloody mouth will swim in blood; his face anointed with milk and honey lies on the ground.’
A protester holds a portrait of Mahsa Amini during a rally in support of Amini, a young Iranian woman who died after being arrested in Tehran by the Islamic Republic’s morality police, at Istiklal avenue in Istanbul on September 20, 2022.
These Nostradamus quatrains warn of potential civil riots and uprisings, and come at a time of rising tensions between classes and other groups, both in Western democracies and more autocratic states.
There is growing disdain for the super-rich, who have continued to increase their astronomical wealth despite the Covid pandemic, which has left the overwhelming majority of the world’s population poorer.
Could the lower economic classes launch some kind of revolt, similar to the US Capitol revolt in January 2021?
This year has also seen other potential riots, including in Iran, where protests and demonstrations continue following the murder of a woman by the country’s so-called “morality police.” The country says it is shutting down the force, but will this be enough to stem the wave of widespread resistance?
According to the global protest tracker, more than 132 countries have experienced ‘significant protests’ in 2022, with nearly a quarter (23 per cent) lasting more than three months.