One thing must be clear from the outset; Nostradamus is not a
purveyor of doom and gloom. He does not predict the end of the world
nor does he foretell of the "second coming" of anyone. Regardless of
the words, he does not believe in an anti-Christ. Nostradamus does
not tell "all" in the quatrains, rather he reveals his mysteries in
his symbols.

The quatrains are like the parables that are understood by the few.
There inner truths reserved for the initiates. While many quibble
over the meaning of the words, they fail to see the heart that lies
beneath. The Universe speaks in images and symbols and Nostradamus
was a tool of the Universe – he was an initiate of the highest order
and it is to his symbols one must turn to grasp the rudiments of the
words. They go hand-in-hand; they are the duality that shapes the
entire manifest world.

Perhaps the biggest failure of most is their attempt to try to
interpret his symbols from the perspective of religious dogma. While
he had to use the words of the day and placate the powers that be,
Nostradamus was not under the thumb of religious ideology. He knew
how to play the game in order to keep his head. So much has been
slipped under the nose of theocracy it is a wonder they have not seen
the writing on the wall. There is a famous quote about pearls before
swine and so few have really understood its meaning.

As I have said in my writings in the novel, WAKING GOD, certain
symbols have been our guide for countless millennia. These symbols
became what are commonly called the Tarot. While many will argue
that the Tarot was a 16th century creation, that argument also falls
under the category of those beautiful pearls. That Nostradamus used
that symbology is indisputable. His real story is in the picture and
not the text. However, if one uses Christian myth as the basis for
interpreting those symbols, you are condemned to mire in the muck of
ignorance.

It is little wonder that the Church created devils and demons to gain
and maintain their power over the masses. All reasoning people would
surely understand that stories of a vengeful god, filled with wrath
and contempt for its creation would garner few converts unless they
were threatened with eternal damnation for disobedience. The
serpents and dragons of Nostradamus do not represent evil. That is
merely a lie told by those trying to protect a lie. Certainly,
anything that would expose that lie would be considered evil. To
them, the "truth" is evil since it underpins their very foundation.

To begin to understand the inner message of Nostradamus, all
religious connotations must be cast aside. Do not think of the
images of the pope as necessarily being the literal pope. Do not see
the serpent as evil, see it as wisdom. When Patrick drove the
serpents from Ireland, what he really did was drive the Druids from
their homeland. The serpent represents wisdom in the same way it did
in the story of Moses. Is DNA involved in his images? In WAKING GOD
we talk of the `good seed' imbedded within our DNA and this reference
is made in numerous Tarot pictographs. The wisdom of the awakening
DNA was no stranger to Nostradamus. Beware of seeing the crescent
moon as a symbol of Islam. It is important to note that it is often
portrayed as a double image. This deals not only with the inner and
hidden meaning of Islam; it also deals with the Goddess whose Tarot
card is number two. It is she who is the fount of wisdom. His many
female images do not allude to foreshadowing a female pope, but
rather to the return of the Goddess and all of her wisdom.

Contrary to very popular belief and error, the burning tower does not
represent the end of the world. The tower is man's dogma undergoing
purification of the spiritual fire. This fire is often portrayed as
destructive in religious circles, e.g the fires of hell and the lake
of fire in Revelations. Contrary to this erroneous thinking, the
alchemic fire gave birth to the universe and its purifying nature
frees the mind from mental bondage. Even Jesus said he came to"
baptize by fire." I doubt he meant he wanted to burn everyone in the
flames of Inquisition. Keeping in mind the importance of numbers and
their meaning, note that the tower has three openings. The number
three appears everywhere in the Tarot and in the plates of
Nostradamus. Card three of the Tarot is the Empress, the Goddess,
who gives birth to wisdom. She has one foot on a crescent moon and
her crown is adorned by 12 stars. Card 12 is the hanged man who, by
reversing his thinking is awakened to the inner truths of the
Universe. His coat displays two crescent moons.
***
This is the second piece of a multi-part article on THE LOST BOOK OF
NOSTRADAMUS.