Only One Quatrain

By editor in Teaching Anatomy April 15, 2020

For over 20 years of the existence of the Teaching, the thought “Could it have been predicted?” has occurred to more than one or two people. It visited me too. Indeed, if the Teaching is so important for humanity and if its appearance was predetermined by the course of events in our world, it is quite possible that someone predicted it. And if you search, perhaps something could be found. Fortunately, there is no shortage of various kinds of seers and prophets.

But as soon as we begin our search, we inevitably step onto a slippery path. After all, predictions are almost never clear or understandable. A more or less plausible interpretation can only be given post factum — that is, after something has happened that can be linked to a particular prediction. In the style of “Ah, so that’s what was meant!” And this opens up unlimited space for all sorts of speculations. This is exactly what we observe. The yellow press and the Internet are literally full of catchy headlines, in which the names of Nostradamus, Vanga — these two are the undisputed leaders in terms of frequency of mention — and other more or less famous seers. Not to mention the endless focus on biblical, Native American, and other prophecies. And 99% of such materials literally scream about their speculative nature.

All of this looks disgusting. And even if one wanted to search through the vast array of predictions for something that could relate to the Teaching, one would think ten times before embarking on such an ignoble enterprise, which reeks of adventurism from a mile away. This is exactly what happened to me. At one point, I seriously wondered whether to conduct such a search. And in the end, I gave up on the idea. Because if one really wants to, one can unearth a mountain of predictions that could be related to the Teaching. But would there really be even one of them that is truly relevant? Everything here is very subjective. It is too easy to believe in what one wants to believe. So it is better to be cautious.

However, even before I pondered this, the following event took place. It was a long time ago, in the second half of the nineties. By then, I was already engaged in extensive correspondence with people interested in spiritual matters — though at that time, I still had neither the Internet nor even a computer, and it was the old-fashioned paper letters. And one day, one of my Russian correspondents informed me about a recently released book by D. and N. Zima, “Decoded Nostradamus” in which, according to him, the appearance of the Teaching was predicted, and everything matched: that the new teaching would come from Hermes, that it would appear in the Russian-speaking space, the approximate time of its arrival, and even that its founder would be named Viktor. By that time, I had already heard a lot about Nostradamus, and I had gotten used to perceiving discussions of his predictions as a field for speculation, where various kinds of fraudsters graze. So the message disconcerted me. I bought the book (Parts 1 and 2), read it, and confirmed that it really seemed like a prediction of the appearance of the Teaching. However, a strange feeling arose: while I wanted to believe what was being said, the rest of the content of the book raised skepticism. This was extremely unpleasant because it felt biased. After much hesitation, I decided to ask the source directly — my Teacher, Hermes. The essence of the question was as follows: Did Nostradamus really predict the appearance of the Teaching? The answer was affirmative, but much less elaborate than I would have liked. The Teacher pointed to a single quatrain that could confidently be attributed to the Teaching:

«The long-awaited never returns,
Having appeared in Europe and Asia.
One who comes from the league of great Hermes,
Will rise above all the Kings of the East.»

Michel Nostradamus. Centuries, X,LXXV

Even now, many years later, I cannot say that I fully understand the meaning of this quatrain. If the third line refers to me, the fourth seems like a metaphor. And the first two are completely unclear as to whom they refer. I do not want to borrow interpretations from the works of various commentators because they are not particularly convincing. I did not receive any further clarification from the Teacher and, after some time spent pondering it, decided to accept it as it is. If this quatrain (or its second half?) refers to the Teaching, then so be it. Perhaps — and even probably — one day we’ll understand it better. If not us, then those who come after us.

In addition, several other questions arose. For example, is it really only this one moment from all of the “Centuries” that refers to the Teaching? If not, why was only this one indicated? And personally, I still don’t understand how right the Zima couple was in their interpretation of what can be attributed to the Teaching.

Another question is what Nostradamus’ predictions actually represent. It is generally accepted that he was an astrologer, and that they are the result of astrological calculations. But the Teaching agrees with the point of view that astrology is a pseudoscience and that, therefore, it should not be trusted. Moreover, the vivid, detail-rich pictures that emerge from the sparse lines of the quatrains do not resemble what could be derived from astrological charts. A more plausible version, in my opinion, is that Nostradamus was a visionary, and that in the “Centuries” he described his visions and feelings, which he probably did not fully understand himself but tried to convey as best he could through the images available to him. This could explain both the vividness of the predictions and their vagueness along with the difficult-to-understand symbolism, and the fact that most of his predictions are not destined to come true. After all, if he saw something, it was merely a possible future, which constantly changes and is adjusted. Truly predetermined events are, in fact, rare. So the version of him being a visionary seems more acceptable than the astrological one. Although even that doesn’t clarify everything.

In any case, it was after the story with this quatrain that I began to wonder whether I should search for predictions relating to the Teaching. Or rather, not “relating to” but “could be attributed to”, since predictions are usually vague, and one has to guess their meaning. And that is the most reliable way to accept the desired as the real, fall into self-deception, and embark on a crooked path of speculation. Therefore, after careful consideration, I decided not to even begin.

Thus, to this day, we only have the above-mentioned quatrain. Is that a lot or a little? Given that it is only four lines, and even those are not entirely clear — it’s very little. But considering that it’s still Nostradamus, and confirmation was received directly from Hermes — it’s a lot. I would say it’s just one tiny point — but that very important point of support, which, according to the well-known saying, can help move the Earth. I don’t know about others, but for me, that’s enough.