5 Nostradamus predictions for 2022: AI takeover, inflation, invasion of France
French astrologer Nostradamus wrote a book titled Les Prophéties, a collection of 942 poetic quatrains that apparently predict future events. The book was first published in 1555 and has been known to foretell the coming of wars, natural disasters, assassinations, nuclear attacks and revolutions.
Aptly called the Prophet of Doom, Nostradamus's predictions were far from sunny. Inspired by Biblical texts and his own plague-time trauma, his prose heavily features the words- pestilence, famine, blood, sorrow and fire. He made predictions for the upcoming year, 2022, too.
Here are some of them:
1. THE INVASION OF FRANCE
The invasion of France by a threat from the East is a recurring theme throughout Nostradamus’s predictions, yet this particular prediction is speculated to be referring to the spring of 2022:
“Blue-head shall white-head
harm in such degree
As France’s good to both shall e’er amount.”
Could this prediction be alluding to the breakout of WW III, or France’s qualification into the 2022 Qatar World Cup?
2. THE YEAR OF INFLATION AND HUNGER
Another scary possibility that Nostradamus predicts is the rising prices in a failing economy. The prediction stated:
“No abbots, monks, no novices to learn;
Honey shall cost far more than candle-wax”
“So high the price of wheat,
That man is stirred
His fellow man to eat in his despair”
Nostradamus also predicted a global famine that would be caused by inflation and skyrocketed prices. The mass starvation will cause a conflict and people to fight over natural resources, impacted by climate change.
Political instability, the coronavirus pandemic and shortages in supplies of gas have already caused an inflation boom. Prices for food and energy bills have also risen exponentially. The question is: did Nostradamus predict the #EatTheRich movement? Or is this prediction to be deciphered metaphorically? In either case, it would not be a surprise if 2022 is the year that inflation and hunger lead to a modern-day French Revolution (that won't be so bad though, tbh...).
3. GLOBAL WARMING TO GET WORSE
Nostradamus predicted that climate change would become so extreme that the rising temperatures would 'half-cook' fish in the sea. He also suggested in his predictions that the human race will not see rain for 40 years, and when it finally does, there will be 'great floods' that would devastate nations.
“Like the sun the head shall sear the shining sea:
The Black Sea’s living fish shall all but boil.
When Rhodes and Genoa
Half-starved shall be
The local folk to cut them up shall toil.”
Maybe we won't be seeing fish boil in the sea (hopefully) but we are going through a mass-extinction event happening across the globe. Food chain complications, decimation of natural habitats, declining number of fish, heatwaves, flooding and droughts are all becoming more prevelant across the globe. It would not be farfetched to assume that this global warming may be getting worse in 2022.
4. CRYPTO BOOM
Nostradamus was able to predict the existence of crypto all the way back in 1555. Here is what the prediction said:
"The copies of gold and silver inflated
Which after the theft were thrown into the lake
At the discovery that all is exhausted and dissipated by the debt
All scripts and bonds will be wiped out"
Even though crypto trading isn't done in silver and gold, gold prices are currently surging and a wave of Silicon Valley engineers and executives are joining forces with crypto startups. Coincidence or prophecy confirmed? Only 2022 will tell.
5. RISE OF AI
Technology has evolved at such tremendous speed in the last few decades that it's nearly impossible to predict what developments will be made each year. This is what makes Nostradamus's hypothesis about artificial intelligence almost five centuries ago even more impressive.
“The Moon in the full of night over the high mountain,
The new sage with a lone brain sees it:
By his disciples invited to be immortal,
Eyes to the south. Hands in bosoms, bodies in the fire.”
Artificial intelligence can range from smart speakers, predictive text to facial recognition and self-driving cars. TIME magazine recently named Elon Musk 'Person of the Year 2021' for Tesla and his SpaceX, while more technologically advanced robots are coming into existence every day. (READ MORE HERE: Why is Elon Musk TIME Person of the Year 2021? Hubristic supervillain, for one)
Many experts have repeatedly issued warnings of relying too much on technology, especially when it comes to robots. Nostradamus was ahead of the warning curve with his description of immortal disciples and the potentially negative consequences.
Which one of these predictions do you think is the most likely to come true?