With only three weeks remaining of 2024, Nostradamus is going to have to play a f**king blinder to get all his big prophecies in for the year.
While the centuries-dead Frenchman has in the past demonstrated an unerring ability to predict the future, he has whiffed a few big calls in the past, but with time left in 2024 it's still possible that something might happen to prove him right.
He's only got three previous weeks for his predictions that have not yet come true to turn around so it's looking like it'll go right down to the wire.
This of course all depends on you not finding prophecy a preposterous proposition, otherwise you're going to think Nostradamus was a guy who mastered the art of writing deliberately vague words about stuff that was bound to happen.
Advert
While Nostradamus has been credited with successfully predicting the likes of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the rise of Hitler, his words are often vague enough that people can make them fit events to make him look right.
With just three weeks to go before the year is out, here are his big three predictions still to come true:
Worry for the Windsors
According to Nostradamus interpreters, before the year is out King Charles will abdicate due to 'persistent attacks on both himself and his second wife'.
To be honest, there haven't been persistent attacks against Charles and Camilla and the relatively new monarch has stayed on his throne despite being diagnosed with cancer at an old age.
Nostradamus claims that in his place will come a new 'King of the Isles' who has 'no mark of a king', which would be something of a surprise, but it looks like this is a swing and a miss from Michel de Nostredame.
The red dread ocean
According to Nostradamus 'a red adversary will become pale with fear, putting the great ocean in dread'.
What on earth that's supposed to mean I'm sure I don't know, but those who consider themselves adept interpreters of the astrologer's words reckon it could refer to some sort of battle on the seas and this 'red adversary' could mean China, who are presumably red because of the whole communism thing.
What will cause them to 'become pale with fear' is unclear but 'putting the great ocean in dread' doesn't sound like a particularly pleasant thing to be happening.
If China ever invades Taiwan, you can probably expect people to start claiming that Nostradamus predicted it because of this, but it would help if he had been somewhat more specific.
On the other hand, if you time travelled back to the 16th Century and started coming out with very direct prophecies there wouldn't be much fun in them, and people might not believe you.
It's far better to say something like 'the wicked man and the Italian shall guide the fox to glory' and leave future generations to ponder your words than just writing 'Leicester City will win the Premier League'.
Papal problems
Another of the big Nostradamus predictions which had been tipped to occur this year was the death of a very old Pope and a new election to replace him.
Nostradamus claimed: "Through the death of a very old Pontiff, A Roman of good age will be elected, Of him it will be said that he weakens his see, But long will he sit and in biting activity."
Pope Francis is certainly 'a very old Pontiff', and he will turn 88 next week, so we'll have to wait and see if he sees out the year or not.
However, the subsequent papal election has been tipped to be 'acrimonious', so perhaps this was a prediction of the new movie Conclave which stars Ralph Fiennes.
I'm really reaching here, but you need to make great leaps of logic to make this all fit together.
Topics: Nostradamus, Weird, World News
Joe Harker