Attempting to find a trustworthy way to predict the future has been around since the beginning of civilization. Humans have always been intrigued by the “what if” factor that determines the time to come. Numerous methods and instruments were invented to divine the future, but some times it came to a point where the only people who were said to predict the future on a regular basis were considered to be “special.”
These special people occasionally were trained professionals as in the case of shamans and priests of particular religious sects and cults who had been taught to see into the future by wise elders in their exclusive position, trained as a life time vocation skill.
Sometimes these people with visions of the future were just born that way as though it were an inherited genetic mutation or gifted with the skill through divine assistance. Either way, these people had a tendancy to stand out of the general public and were constantly sought after by the rich rulers and even the poverty stricken commoners. Several of these gifted few from the past are still remembered today, particularly those of the last century who showcased their gifts on the world stage. Here are some of the most famous Seers, Psychics, and Oracles of history.
Michel de Nostredame (Nostradamus)
The collected prophecies of the future written by Nostradamus are some of the most widely studied and analyzed in the entire world. Even today, tabloid writers love to look into the works of Nostradamus and try to link it with the present and attempt to align it with the future—either with extreme stretches or with purposeful mistranslations.
In addition to being a popular seer in France, he was also an apothecary. The book Les Propheties (“The Prophecies”) has only been out of print a handful of times since his death in 1566 which was published with the Latinised version of his name by which we know him today—Nostradamus. However, his most popular works were the annual almanacs he published starting in 1550 until the year he died.
He usually would produce two a year, one that focused on detailed predictions entitled Almanachs and the other of more generalized predictions called Prognostications or Presages. During the French revolution, the people thought enough of him to re-inter his body in a specially constructed tomb at Collegiale Saint-Laurent instead of the small, local Franciscan chapel in Salon where his body rested until then.
Delphic Oracle (Pythia)
The Greek oracle at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi (along the slopes of Mount Parnassus) was actually a priestess. She was one of the most authoritative and prestigious seers throughout ancient Greece, and the fact she was a woman said even more for her power as Greece was very male-centered in its power structure. The tradition began during the 8th century BCE when the Pythia was first gifted with prophecies inspired by Apollo and the last prophecy recorded from the oracle was not until 393 CE when Theodosius I, as emperor, ordered the closure of the pagan temples.
With this extensive span of time, it is easy to guess that new young priestesses were circulated in the position of the oracle which is why she is generally referred to as “The Pythia” (from the original name of Delphi which was Pytho) or merely “The Oracle” instead of an actual name. Upon being chosen though, the young woman would cease all other responsibilities and cut off any familial connections (even marriage) to devote herself as being the Oracle.
Historical sources from such monumental authors as Herodotus, Sophocles, Aristotle, Plato, and Ovid liked to write about the oracle as speaking clearly and intelligibly in her own voice. However, modern scholars investigating the actual temple ruins found a geologic chasm that emits gases which were probably the true way the Oracle connected with the divine. Guesses of the type of gas the Oracle would inhale varies from scholar to scholar.
Baba Vanga
Baba Vanga was actually born Vangelia Pandeva Dimitrova in the constantly wavering land of Bulgaria/Yugoslavia that is now known as the Republic of Macedonia in 1911. She was actually born premature and had the health associated with such a birth. Therefore, she was not given a name until it was certain she would survive.
The name finally given to her was Vangelia which came from the Greek Vangelis, meaning “herald of the good news.” It was a common and popular name in that area during the time of her birth. As a young girl a storm pushed her into an abandoned field, filling her eyes with sand and dust. Her very poor family could only afford a partial operation, giving her weak eyesight for most of her life before it failed completely.
This loss of sight was said to be the source of her powers as it allowed her to see “invisible creatures” that told her things about happenings of the present in far away places or events of the future. However, after she returned home from her school for the blind during World War II to take care of her younger siblings, her talents attracted many followers as people would come asking about the current state of a loved one in the army. In addition to her predictions (of the break up of the Soviet Union, date of Stalin’s death, the Chernobyl incident, and the September 11th attacks on America), she was also a renowned healer through the use of herbal medicines.
Edgar Cayce
Edgar Cayce was born at the end of the 1800s in Kentucky. He was one of the founders of the New Age Movement and influenced its teachings (particularly karma, reincarnated souls, astrology, special dietary requirements, holistic medicine, and dream interpretation) even though he died before it really gained momentum and claimed to devoutly follow the Christian religion his entire life.
Even several of his prophecies would impart his personal belief in Christianity with the mention of humans who voluntarily followed the Jesus soul to save the rest of humanity who had “fallen” from a state of unity with God. He was said to have the ability to put himself in a sleep-like trance and then channel the answers to questions. This meditative state Cayce thought was the opposite connection of prayer—humans talk to God in prayer but God talks back through deep meditation.
Usually, his secretary would read questions to him in this state and record the answers given. His readings throughout most of his career had a tendency to revolve around the health of the inquiring individual. Yet, later he started to accept questions about business advice, dream analysis, or past lives—his conscious state of mind never remembering what was said during these self-induced hypnosis sessions.
Cayce also had a habit of mentioning Atlantis. He would go in-depth about his idea of the history of Atlantis in his trances and the battle of good and evil that took place there before it was destroyed upon multiple levels until it was completely ruined by a massive explosion from a power-overload of a giant crystal. He felt that most souls on Earth today were merely reincarnated spirits from Atlantis.
Author: Brooke Windsor, source: paranormalhaze.com
