Nostradamus predictions for 2023 are as dark as you'd expect

2022 is nearly over (where has the time gone?) and it's left many to look forward to 2023 and all it has to offer.

However, if you were to take the predictions of Nostradamus seriously, then you wouldn't have much reason to be optimistic.

The French astrologer, whose full name is Michel de Nostradamus, first wrote down his predictions in the 1555 book, Les Prophéties. And in the years since the book's publication, they've gained some notoriety.

Some believe that Nostradamus' writings have eerily accurate predictions, claiming he prophesied the attacks of September 11, the assassination of President Kennedy and Hitler's rise to power.

And if his track record is anything to go by, then his predictions for next year are nothing to get excited about.

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One gloomy forecast predicts that a 'great war' will be coming in the following year, which could be a reference to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Nostradamus wrote: "Seven months great war, people dead through evil. Rouen, Evreux shall not fall to the King."

This line seems to indicate that the French city of Rouen will be safe from warfare, however.

The astrologer's writings have also alluded to a 'great celestial fire on the royal edifice'. Given that edifice usually refers to a large building, this would seemingly imply that a royal residence could be impacted, however, it is not known where this fire would come from.

Economic disaster seems to be on the menu for next year also, as Nostradamus wrote: "So high will the bushel of wheat rise, that man will be eating his fellow man."

This comes as most of the world struggles through a cost of living crisis - though the likelihood of 'man eating his fellow man' can probably be disputed.

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Nostradamus' writings have also suggested that global warming could continue: "“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.”

However, not all of the predictions linked to the coming year are cause for concern.

He has seemingly predicted that humans will set foot on Mars, referencing 'light falling on Mars'.

This news would certainly excite the likes of Twitter's soon-to-be former CEO, Elon Musk, who had predicted that humans would make it to Mars by the end of the decade.

Ultimately, the reliability of Nostradamus' writings has been heavily debated over the years. His predictions do not come with dates and are often written in an obscure and mysterious way.

With everything's that come our way since 2020, surely one more year of chaos can't too much for us to handle, right?