2023 is set to be full of war, natural disasters and even cannibalism - that is, if the predictions of a famous prophet who lived over 450 years ago are to be believed.
French astrologer Michel de Nostradame, otherwise known as Nostradamus, made a series of unsettling prophecies about the future in his book Les Propheties back in 1555. While many are understandably sceptical when it comes to the accuracy of the predictions, the prophet is said to have made eerily close calls about several of the biggest events in recent history centuries before they happened.
Some believe that Nostradamus correctly predicted Hitler's rise to power, John F Kennedy's assassination, and the 9/11 terror attacks. And according to the astrologer, 2023 isn't set to be a particularly promising year either with a series of chilling events supposedly forecast in the coming months, the Daily Star reports.
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High food prices will lead to cannibalism
While many of us have had a tough year amid the cost of living crisis, we can all agree that things haven't quite got so bad that we're thinking about resorting to eating each other - but this could change next year if Nostradamus is to be believed. Predicting that a rise in the price of food could lead to cannibalism, the prophet wrote: "So high the price of wheat, that man is stirred, his fellow man to eat in his despair."
A 'great war' lasting several months
Another of Nostradamus' stand-out predictions for 2023 is a huge war, which some have already compared to the current ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. A line in the astrologer's book predicts for next year: "Seven months great war, people dead through evil."
A mysterious disaster on Mars
The prophet predicted that attempts by humans such as the likes of Elon Musk to colonise our neighbour Mars could be thwarted next year by a mysterious disaster on the red planet. Nostradamus wrote of a "celestial fire when the lights of Mars will go out".
Countries plagued by droughts and flooding
One prediction that perhaps seems the least far-fetched given the current state of the environment due to climate change, Nostradamus thought that 2023 would see more extreme weather events that could have a huge impact. He wrote: "The dry earth will grow more parched, and there will be great floods when the rainbow is seen."
Civil unrest leading to 'dreadful horrors'
The prophet hinted that social uprisings could be in store in the year ahead as he wrote of "trumpets shaking with great discord" and "an agreement broken". Nostradamus also penned: "Sooner or later you will see great changes made – dreadful horrors and vengeances."
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