This quatrain was interpreted in August 2007.
Century IV, Quatrain 50
Libra will be seen to reign in the West, holding the rule over the skies and earth. No one will see the strength of Asia destroyed until seven hold the hierarchy in succession.
Interpretation with Explanatory Remarks
This is an important quatrain, and it relates to current ongoing geopolitical events. Because it is so important, I will paraphrase the first portion of Erika Cheetham’s explanation from the 1986 edition of her book, The Prophecies of Nostradamus. She wrote “According to this prediction, when Libra the Balance rules over America, that country will be at the height of its powers. But Asian strength will be equally strong until the seventh comes. Does this mean the seventh ruler in Asia, or the seventh decade?”
In 1986 this prediction may have not been fully understood, but, hopefully, it should make more sense after the millennium.
This quatrain is self-explanatory. Salient points of what Nostradamus is telling us are discussed below.
General Comment: Nostradamus gives us four important pieces of information. Chronologically and factually, they all relate to ongoing evolving geopolitical events.
First, he tells us “Libra will be seen to reign in the West, holding the rule over the skies and earth.” “Libra” is an astrological sign and it stands for balance. This expression refers to American military and technological strength. Note his words “…over skies and earth.” Obviously, he recognized the value of “air power”. This is indeed a very precise and relevant observation.
Second, he tells us “No one will see the strength of Asia …”. Here he implies that Asia is strong, which is definitely correct. The Asian countries may not be military superpowers but they are definitely economic behemoths. They are also technologically advanced. Also, note that he refers to several countries collectively as “Asia”, which is also relevant and correct. (In fact, one potential alternative that has been considered in the last couple years by various countries is decoupling from the dollar as an exchange/reserve currency and replacing it by an “Asian basket of currencies”).
Third, he tells us “… No one will see the strength of Asia destroyed …”. Here, he tells us that Asia’s strength will be destroyed, which is about to happen for the reasons stated below; and,
Fourth, he tells us that Asia’s strength will not be destroyed “…until seven hold the hierarchy in succession.” Obviously, Nostradamus is referring to China and its line of successive governments. This is a noteworthy detail. In the last several years there have been numerous discussions regarding China’s line of succession. Nostradamus uses this rather well-known fact as a chronological reference to explain the “destruction of Asia”. This event coincides chronologically with North Korea’s nuclear attack. I will explain the “why and how” further down.
My comments below address China’s line of succession and explain the “type of destruction” Nostradamus refers to.
Line of Succession:
The line of succession cited below relates to succession of Premiers (the National President of China)[1]:
#1 Maozedong , 1st premier of Communist gov’t, 1949;
#2 Liu Shaoqi ,1959;
#3 Hua Guofeng, 1976. (He was later considered "no good" because of his involvement in the Cultural Revolution, and he was often omitted in the list);
#4 Li Xiannian, 1983;
#5 Yang Shangkun, 1988;
#6 Jiang Zemin, 1993;
#7 Hu Jintao, 2003. This is the current Premier. Nostradamus is telling us that the strength of Asia will be destroyed during this Premier.
There is also another list which refers to the head of the Communist Party, the Secretary of the Party. Mao served in both positions, but Dong Xiaping was in charge for many years and brought capitalism to China. He wasn't on the list for President/Premier, but rather the Party Secretary (a more important position).
The last and equally important point Nostradamus cites in this quatrain is that “the strength of Asia will be destroyed”. This comment ties into Century VIII, quatrain 77, which was posted in the 2003 website, http://www.currentpredictions.org/. In quatrain 77 he tells us that the antichrist (otherwise referred to as the man of blood) will annihilate the three. The “three” is a metaphor for the U.S. (but it could very well refer to the three superpowers). In fact, he probably does refer to all three superpowers because he goes on to qualify his statement by pointing out that the greatest adverse impact will be inflicted on the West (meaning the U.S.).
So, in view of the above, the obvious interpretation of quatrain 50 is that the North Korean nuclear attack will devastate the Western financial institutions and markets, which, in turn, will adversely impact the Asian economies. Unemployment and bankruptcies will soar throughout the world, especially in the U.S. Cash flow will stagnate. Corporate and private equity and collateral will shrink. Derivatives contracts and uncollateralized receivables will implode. Companies that hold securitized collateral will shrink in value. Margin calls will necessitate unnecessary sales, setting off a vicious cycle of selling off assets at prices well below their nominal value. Most U.S. banks, if not all, will either refuse to reimburse customers’ deposits on demand, or limit depositors from withdrawing all their funds, tying up billions of dollars for an indefinite period (just like the great depression)[2]. Availability of consumer and business credit will hit bottom, especially after the subprime/credit crisis of 2007-2008. In all probability, most credit card companies will close their doors because the risk factor will be too high. Residential and commercial real estate foreclosures will skyrocket. Consumer discretionary spending will fizzle. The drop in Asian exports and foreign investments to Asian countries will be a shock to Asian economies and industries. Domestic consumer demand by itself, in Asian economies, will not be enough to sustain their economic productivity. Their financial institutions and credit markets will weaken, but probably not to the same extent as in the West because they are in a much better financial position.
This is an awesome quatrain! It is full of several relevant chronological and factual details.
Footnotes:
[1] This is the best list I could come up with through the assistance of a Chinese friend.
[2] We all know that each bank deposit account is insured by the federal government for up-to $100,000 by the so called Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). However, considering the magnitude of the totality of the national debt burden (foreign and domestic, including the federal entitlement programs), it is doubtful that this insurance program will work. If the government decides to implement the insurance, they will have to print so many dollars, that the dollar will deflate to a small portion of its original value.
