Century IX, Quatrain 31
The trembling of the earth at Mortara the tin
Interpretation with Explanatory Remarks
In this quatrain Nostradamus uses two descriptive qualifiers to ensure we recognize that this prediction refers to Great Britain.
In earlier times the island of Great Britain was known as the “tin island”. Furthermore, England’s patron saint is Saint George.
Mortara is a town in Lombardy, Italy. So, what is the relationship of Mortara, which is in Italy, and the island of Great Britain? What is Nostradamus telling us?
Mortara is used as a geographic reference point to describe the magnitude and scope of a very devastating earthquake (see reference to trembling of the earth). He is saying that Europe will experience a devastating earthquake that will result in Great Britain being partially submerged by rising sea water. Of course, he is giving us a lot more information that is implied.
The words “drowsy with peace, war will arise” indicate that at the time the earthquake will take place Great Britain will be going through a peaceful period, but following the earthquake there will be war. The implication of Nostradamus wording is that this war will impact Great Britain directly. Note that he writes “war will arise”. The wording may infer more than one war. We will see why later on.
The word “temple” symbolizes financial institutions and financial instruments. This symbolic reference has been used by Nostradamus before in another quatrain.
The expression “at Easter in the temple abysses opened” infers that around Easter time the financial institutions and financial instruments will crash. Webster’s dictionary defines “abyss” as a bottomless pit or an immeasurably deep gulf. Obviously, Nostradamus is alerting us that this upcoming economic collapse will be a lot more serious than any previous depression mankind has ever experienced. Capital markets (see reference to “temple”) will be annihilated. Sounds incredible? Well, well – maybe not. Nostradamus has covered this subject-matter before.
General Comment:
Let us now examine this prediction to determine what exactly Nostradamus is telling us. The information he gives us in the quatrain is a very brief description of a specific event. We need to read between the lines and assess its overall implications in terms of micro and macro ramifications.
In this quatrain he is actually giving us a plethora of very important information. This “implied” information is in the form of logical inferences. In the final analysis, his quatrains must be analyzed in terms of “cause and effect”. Here he gives us the “essence” of a specific event. But, what are its attributes? What are the myriad of related consequences resulting from this great event? Fukushima, Japan experienced a powerful earthquake, but what were its immediate and long-term after-effects?
The prediction will be first decomposed and analyzed part by part. The second type of analysis and validation will be performed against other relevant Nostradamus quatrains to determine potential relationships. The subject of devastating natural disasters and weather/climate changes has been addressed extensively by Nostradamus in several of his quatrains. Is he forewarning mankind of what is to come?
Decomposition of Century IX, quatrain 31:
a. The quatrain clearly refers to an earthquake at Mortara, Italy. He does not say anything about the magnitude of the earthquake, but his reference to Great Britain being partially submerged by the sea clearly tells us that the earthquake would be powerful and very devastating. He couldn’t describe the event any better! A more detailed discussion follows up below.
b. Italy is known as an area prone to seismic activity. Past earthquakes resulted in topical destruction, not such widespread destruction as the one inferred from this quatrain’s wording. Could this earthquake be as powerful as the one at Fukushima, which not only caused a devastating tsunami, but was powerful enough to also displace the relative geographic location of Japan a few inches from the North Pole? Judging from what Nostradamus is telling us, the implication is that the Mortara earthquake could be greater in magnitude. It could also be considerably more catastrophic. It could change the course of human history and the quality of life as we know it today. It could also change the geologic profile of planet earth. A good portion of today’s continents could be submerged and many islands could either totally disappear or become partially submerged. It could be the portal to the era of the Apocalypse – the time of Armageddon, an era of social anarchy, disintegrating governments, and scarce natural resources.
c. The implication from the wording of the quatrain is that even though the earthquake may have taken place at Mortara, Italy, about 1,000 miles away from Great Britain, it must have been so powerful as to be felt, at least in the North Pole/Greenland glacier, if not at the South Pole.
d. If the earthquake would be so powerful as to be felt, at least at one of the two Poles, the logical deduction would be that it would break up the ice into multiple smaller floating icebergs. We could also assume that such a powerful earthquake could also adversely impact the Greenland glacier. Both situations could cause the sea level to rise at an accelerated rate and partially submerge Great Britain within a few years.
e. Another related logical deduction is that even though we could assume that the island of Great Britain may suffer considerable damage from an earthquake of such magnitude, the submergence of the island would not necessarily be an overnight event. However, the realization that the rate of the sea elevation has suddenly accelerated, maybe exponentially, would in and of itself, be a dramatic development. It would create panic throughout the planet.
f. Nostradamus does not tell us anything about a tsunami, but we know from experience that the Mortara earthquake could unleash a powerful tsunami within the Mediterranean. There could also be other tsunamis on the Atlantic coast.
g. The quatrain does not give us any hint as to when this event would take place. However, in other quatrains Nostradamus infers that circa December 2012 the planet will experience noteworthy seismic activity.
h. The expression “…at Easter in the temple abysses opened.” could be interpreted as follows: The earthquake may have actually taken place earlier, but the after-effects could potentially linger for a few weeks or months. It could be something similar to what happened at Fukushima, where the final realization of the degree of destruction and impact to the local communities took several weeks to be recognized.
i. During 2010-2011 the European Common Market has been beset with serious budget deficits by several of its nation members. Those countries with deficit problems are taking drastic steps to mitigate and/or resolve their respective budget imbalances. We could assume that considering the seriousness of the current ongoing economic issues the European Common Market is experiencing, any unexpected catalyst, such as a devastating natural disaster, would throw off course all the ongoing economic programs that are being enacted to restore stability of the Euro and to reverse the current economic deterioration and rise in unemployment and human suffering. Both the micro and macro implications of the Mortara earthquake would indeed be disastrous. Let there be no doubt about it.
j. In this quatrain Nostradamus only mentions the earthquake in Mortara and the ensuing submergence of Great Britain by rising sea level but the implications are that this earthquake, in one way or another, would affect the entire planet. Some of the devastation would be immediate. Some would be indirect and time-dependent, such as the ensuing rising sea level. Part of the devastation would be caused directly by the “tremors”. High rise buildings, bridges, tunnels, overpasses, underpasses, infrastructure facilities, and residential houses could be affected. Another even more potentially devastating result could be damage to nuclear power plants. Europe, especially France, has a rather high number of nuclear power plants situated among densely populated areas (unlike Fukushima which was somewhat isolated from the main population centers). The meltdown of even one of these power plants could be catastrophic (France alone currently has 58 operational reactors with two more in the construction/design phase. The oldest one, 33-year-old at Fessenheim, is near the Swiss border.). In another quatrain Nostradamus tells us that the Northern hemisphere will be “desolated”, in other words, it will be affected by radioactivity. This will be discussed further in the Validation Section of the analysis.
k. The impact of the earthquake and/or its after-effects on the economic sector would be devastating. The destruction and damage of private and public property would, in all likelihood, bankrupt a good portion of the banking system and national treasuries. The value of most assets would fall precipitously. The nominal value of collateralized assets that banks hold would be lost overnight. Asset valuations would become a critical concern. Banks would automatically become both insolvent and illiquid. Availability of credit would be non-existent. Consumer demand would disappear. Hedge funds, sovereign funds, and private equity funds could end up worthless. In all likelihood, banks would close their doors, and they would be unable to pay off their creditors and depositors. Derivatives and Credit Default Swaps would not be worth the paper they were printed on. Pension funds would suffer immense loses. Credit worthiness of public and private financial institutions would become a serious issue for an extended period of time. The financial cascading contagion would likely spread throughout the world. In brief, the world could change dramatically overnight. Central Banks or their equivalent would have no recourse but to print money – lots of it. The gap between rich and poor would narrow.
l. The reference to war (see his remark “war will arise”) is indeed very intriguing. Normally, after a devastating natural disaster and ensuing widespread human misery, no country (with logical leaders) would consider even the idea of waging war against another country. We could assume that Russia would have no interest in starting a war. There would be nothing to gain. Moreover, Russia itself would be impacted from this earthquake. Similarly, China would be primarily concerned about the adverse impact to its exporting capabilities and potential rise of unemployment and social instability. Up-to-date the Chinese government has demonstrated a rather high degree of collaborative spirit with the World Order, and has been pursuing a rather paternalistic attitude towards its society. There would be no logical reason for them to start a war. The question therefore is “To whose interests would it be to take advantage of such dire circumstances and start a war?” Three potential candidates come to mind: Pakistan, Iran, and North Korea.
• Pakistan, even though it is already a nuclear power and is in the process of building additional plutonium processing plants, would have no interests in starting a war with far-distant superpowers. In fact, we could logically assume that such a devastating earthquake would force the U.S. to retract its remaining troops from all overseas bases (including Afghanistan). We could safely assume Pakistan’s military leadership is interested primarily in its domestic and peripheral sphere of influence. They would not even consider such an option. Furthermore, their nuclear delivery system could be lacking the technical sophistication for such an attack.
• Another possibility is North Korea. We could assume that the earthquake in Mortara, Italy, no matter how powerful, it would not adversely affect North Korea’s infrastructure that seriously. North Korea is fundamentally already a Stone Age country. Its infrastructure is minimalistic and probably rudimentary. Its people are already used to surviving under the worst possible living conditions. The North Koreans, like the Amish, would probably be the most suitable societies to survive under adverse circumstances. However, we cannot say the same for South Korea. South Korea’s manufacturing would be dealt a deadly blow. Contracts for ship building and heavy industry would be terminated right away. Its high precision electronics manufacturing would also be seriously affected. Aside from any potential physical damage, all of South Korea’s exports would come to a complete halt. We could safely assume that Western consumer demand for all consumer discretionary items, including the very popular iPhone and Samsung electronics, would come to a complete and abrupt halt. The Korea Stock Exchange KOSPI Index would plummet overnight. The nominal value of life savings of hard working South Korean people would be lost overnight. The country would be dealt a deadly blow. Panic and despair would prevail throughout the country and in all levels of its social strata. Its society would experience a psychological pandemonium. South Korea’s unemployment rate would skyrocket overnight. Therefore, its social structure could be very fragile and vulnerable to social instability. Its armed forces would, in all probability, be preoccupied primarily with maintaining internal social order. Kim Jong Un, on the other hand, could conceivably see these dire world conditions as a rare opportunity to invade South Korea, thus hoping to gain the respect of the military establishment and strengthen his precarious position. In one of his quatrains Nostradamus has written that what will motivate the “man of blood” to strike is “reporting of some numbers”. Could these “numbers” refer to statistical data describing the economic and social devastation that would afflict various Western countries? Such a devastating earthquake could be Kim Jong Un’s unique opportunity to glorify his family’s dynasty and prove himself as a worthy leader. Being so young, probably highly insecure and inexperienced, would he be capable of realizing that he may be committing a miscalculated blunder? One never knows what goes through the minds of people who suffer from illusions of grandeur or acute hubris. A good example is the Gaddafi family. In spite of the millions of dollars Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi’s family had stashed away and they could have lived comfortably the rest of their life, look at the way they went! They had so many chances to negotiate and save themselves, but hubris prevented them from doing so. Wasn’t that a totally senseless end? Could the Kim Jong Il dynasty demonstrate the same intransigent attitude? Only time will tell.
• Another country that would be likely to start a direct, or indirect war through its proxies, is Iran. In fact, members of its government have been waging a covert war against the U.S. and Arab/Iraqi Sunnis for several years. If the Western powers were to suffer a serious calamity as the one inferred in this quatrain, the Iranian junta would jump at the opportunity to avail of it. This will be discussed further under the Validation Section.
Validation of the prediction vis-à-vis other related Nostradamus Quatrains:
a. Century VIII, quatrain 81 says “The new empire in desolation will be changed from the Northern Pole….” For a detailed interpretation and discussion of this quatrain see the March 23, 2011 posting. Here I am copying a few relevant extracts.
• The words “the new empire”, most probably, symbolize the countries comprising the European Common Market (ECM). Nostradamus lived in France. He was familiar with Europe. He referred to a geographic area he was familiar with. For sure, the ECM covers a large geographic area, and from a geopolitical perspective its current governmental system has a lot of similarities with those of an empire. For centuries Europe existed as separate nations/State entities feuding with each other. From a historical perspective the ECM is a very recent development, and in this respect the term “New Empire” could be considered a very appropriate synonym. The reference to “New Empire” is indeed an excellent description of the European Common Market.
• Nostradamus then goes on to say that this New Empire “in desolation will be changed from the Northern Pole…” What does this expression mean?
• Webster’s Dictionary defines “desolation” as devastation, ruin, barren wasteland. The definition brings back to mind TV images of Fukushima’s devastation! Could this devastation take place as a result of one or more very devastating earthquakes, possibly in combination with tsunamis and/or the melt-down of nuclear power plants? The ECM covers a very large geographic area. So, he is obviously inferring that the cause of this desolation will have to be an extremely destructive event. Since this kind of desolation does not take place often – we have not experienced such a destructive event during the entire history of mankind – he is insinuating that the event is a very “rare and unusual occurrence”.
b. Century II, quatrain 19 says “Newcomers will build a place without defenses, occupying a place inhabitable until then. Meadows, houses, fields, towns will be taken with pleasure. Famine, plague, war, extensive arable land.
• This quatrain refers to the migration of people (presumably) from Europe to other areas.
• People could migrate for four different and distinct reasons: first, because they would be forced to abandon their area due to radioactivity resulting from a nuclear meltdown (like Fukushima); second, because they would be compelled to abandon islands and low-level area that would be submerged by the rising sea; third, people abandoning their area of residence due to severe climatic/temperature changes resulting from rising sea levels; and fourth, due to a devastating nuclear attack (presumably by North Korea and/or Iran).
• In this quatrain Nostradamus does not tell us anything about the reason for migration, but he does in other quatrains.
c. Century V, quatrain 32 says “Where all is good, all well abundant, in Sun and Moon its ruin approaches. It comes from heaven as you boast of your fortune, in the same state as the seventh rock.”
• The inference of this quatrain is that our planet will experience a destructive event (note the word “ruin”).
• The event will be unexpected and cataclysmic.
d. Century I, quatrain 69 says “The great mountain, seven stadia round, after peace, war famine, flooding. It will spread far, drowning great countries, even antiquities and their mighty foundations”. The interpretation of this quatrain was posted on December 20, 2008. Two relevant extracts are:
• “The great mountain, …” refers to icebergs resulting from the break-up of ice in the North and/or South Poles. Note that Nostradamus first mentions the “great mountain”, and in the beginning of the next sentence he qualifies this with the words “it will spread far, drowning …”. Obviously, he is referring to melting icebergs that will raise the sea level and submerge low elevation countries/areas.
• Probably, the most important piece of information he gives us in this quatrain is the sequence of the current and future evolving events. The sequence of the events gives us a relational timing reference, and at the same time it alerts us of future expected events (see expression “after peace, war, famine, flooding”).
e. Century III, quatrain 34 says “Then when the eclipse of the sun will be in broad daylight the monster will be seen. It will be interpreted quite differently; they will not care about expense, none will have provided for it.”
• The interpretation of this quatrain, titled “The Monster”, was posted on July 29, 2009.
• It is inferred from the wording of his quatrains that the “monster” Nostradamus refers to is mankind’s unexpected realization that we are suddenly confronted with an accelerated rise of the sea level.
f. Century X, quatrain 81. This is another quatrain in which Nostradamus uses the symbolic word “temple” to refer to financial institutions. The interpretation of this quatrain was posted on August 27, 2011. One relevant extract is:
• The word “temple”, most probably, refers to banks/financial instruments. Nostradamus may have used this word because he may have felt that the super-billionaires cherish their money to such a high degree, money is their God. The use of the word “temple” as a synonym to “bank/financial instruments” is indeed relevant to the current time-period. It is descriptive of the current prevailing mentality. Banks/financial instruments are perceived as temples where God is worshipped. Money has become the ultimate goal of the “capital” class. The pursuit of money has become the soul’s sole purpose, the new God. Isn’t his description befitting of the continuous growth of multibillion-dollar private equity funds?
g. Century I, quatrain 70 says “Rain, famine and war will not cease in Persia; too great a faith will betray the monarch. Those (actions) started in France will end there, a secret sign for one to be sparing.
• Nostradamus starts the quatrain by saying “Rain, famine, and war will not cease in Persia.” The most critical prediction he makes in this quatrain is his reference to “rain”, which symbolizes “radioactive rain”. We know that if an area becomes radioactive, the area cannot be used for the production of agricultural products or animal husbandry. Therefore, his reference to “famine” could be a correct observation. But he also tells us that rain, famine, and war will not cease, implying that Iran will suffer from nuclear radiation more than once and will be involved in war/hostile actions for a protracted period of time.
• The prediction refers to the Shah of Iran (Mohammad Reza Pahlavi) as a monarch. In fact, he was the only monarch in the entire history of Persia. Then Nostradamus tells us that the monarch’s downfall will come from a great faith, which is also correct. The downfall was brought about by the religious movement that swept through Iran, which also brought back to Iran Ayatollah Khomeini, who, until that point was exiled in Paris, France. But, here again, Nostradamus scores his third bull’s eye by telling us that this whole religious movement started in France – where Khomeini lived in exile. Then he has a cryptic comment, namely: “Those (actions) started in France will end there, a secret sign for one to be sparing.” I believe he is alerting us that, in the future, Iran will attack France with nuclear warheads.
h. Century V, quatrain 86 says “Divided by two heads and three arms, the great city will be troubled by water. Some of the great men among them, wandering in exile; Byzantium is hard pressed by the leader of Persia.
• The interpretation of this quatrain was posted on August 1, 2010, under the title Mabus – Mahmoud Abbas. This quatrain refers to current ongoing events and relates to both Iran and “rising sea level”.
• The critical information of this quatrain is that Nostradamus tells us clearly that it will be Iran which will, in the future, foment a pan-Muslim uprising against Israel and the West.
• Current ongoing events in the Middle East indicate that Iran is indeed trying to foment an anti-Western uprising.
Based on what Nostradamus has written in his quatrains, the inference is that North Korea will be the first to start hostilities, followed by Iran, which will avail of the ensuing chaos and confusion to foment a pan-Islamic jihad. In addition, it should be noted that even though Nostradamus (in other quatrains) refers to the Northern hemisphere as a “desolated” area, he does not make it clear whether this “desolation” will be the result of both the Mortara earthquake and the “war” he refers to. In other words, the Mortara earthquake could cause only earthquake damage and accelerate the rise of the sea level, but there may be no meltdown of any reactors. The desolation could come about from radioactivity resulting from the war he refers to. But, no matter how we interpret his predictions, future events look bleak.
