Monthly Archives: June 2025

Reflections from news of a beheaded journalist, originally posted in August 2014. He was kidnapped in Syria in 2012, then beheaded in August 2014, prompting me to compose this article.

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The news of August 19, 2014 was of American journalist James Foley, captured by Islamic militants for ISIL (ISIS), having been executed by his captors.  A video tape was released which showed him being beheaded, with one masked terrorist speaking English, giving reason to believe he was from London.  This was said to be an indication of increased recruitment of terrorist in the West.

In the video, the masked man speaking English said, “You will drown from the flow of your own blood.”  In a previous publicized threat by ISIS, a terrorist proclaimed the flag of Islam would fly over Washington D.C.   When these two threats are seen as more than excited rhetoric, as more than meaningless “knee-jerk” spews of feeling, rather than insights into an intellectual plan – a strategy – a pointed objective with possibility of becoming reality – then the statement about blood flowing and drowning becomes important.  It is important because Nostradamus prophesied this coming. Prophecy means a future that will come true, unless a holy warning is heeded.

Nostradamus published the following quatrain in 1555.  It is found in his second “chapter,” as the 26th verse of 100.  It states:

Quatrain II-26

Pour la faveur que la cité fera,

Au grand qui tost perdra camp de bataille.

Fuis le rang Pau Thesin* versera.

De sang, feux, mors noiés de coup de taille.

Line four can be translated to state, “From blood, fires, deaths drowning from stroke of cut.”  When the standards of syntax are applied, along with more common word translations, line four gives the feel of throats being slit, causing victims to drown in their own blood.  Erika Cheetham (blending line four into the text of line three) wrote that line four meant, “blood, firing, dead men drowned and slashed.”  John Hogue wrote of line four, “The blood, fires, deaths, drowned by the blow of the blade’s thrusting edge.”  So, you can see why this quatrain comes to mind when there is news of any beheadings by terrorists.

In all, quatrain II-26 can say:

For there support that here warned to appear will effect,

At the great who suddenly will lose field of battle.

Escapees it order Stake one Lost deposit* will pour out.

From blood, fires, deaths drowning from stroke of cut.

*Thesi (Latin, Dative case of thesis): (Religion usage) Deposit of money is lost, if the wish that one form is granted.

Now, when I say line four can be translated to state the above, I means there are many ways to see the words of this quatrain be translated differently.  Cheetham and Hogue prove that.  Each variation does nothing to diminish one translation from the others, as all translations are capable, if not fully intended.  One translation can add detail to what another translation presents in a broader sense.  All subsequent translations add more depth and detail to that basic or standard translation – the width and length dimensions –  yielding a three-dimensional view of a poetic verse that prophesies our future, from many years in the past.  There is absolutely no generalization found in any of Nostradamus’ quatrains, due to this being the consistent method that must be applied, for reading any prophecy to result in an understanding worthy of faith and belief.

An example of how each word must be seen as multi-dimensional, rather than fixed or linear, since its source if God and He cannot be limited by a human brain, one finds in line one of quatrain II-26 the word “cité.”   Those fluent in French would read that word and declare, “That means “city,” rather than “warned to appear,” as my translation shows above.  This is true to a degree, as the noun use of the word “cité” most commonly is used in that sense.  However, the scope of meaning includes, “cited to appear [in court], summoned to appear [in court], warned to appear [in court], and alleged,” when “cité” is read as the past participle form of the verb “citer.”

From the verb’s meaning, “to cite,” one can imagine the origin of citations means an order from the king to some citizen to appear in a court to answer some question, charge, or request, relative to the royal house.  Probably this primarily included reported acts of crime against the king, where grievances would be made in a proper court for judgment.  Those courts would be in limited population centers, such that a burg, village or town might be too small to have such a seat of justice.  The places one would then be “summoned to appear” in would be the places where courts existed – “cities.”  Thus, any use of “city” by Nostradamus would imply a major population center, or a place where the royal court maintained their courts of justice.  That would cover cities like London, Rome, and Washington D. C. (although Nostradamus knew nothing of this last “city,” in 1555).

With all that in mind, one must understand that IF the line that says, “From blood, fires, deaths drowning from stroke of cut,” is to be linked to the news of a threat made by a terrorist, then that line (which is line 4, the last line in quatrain II-26) has to clarify how line one (the main theme statement of quatrain II-26) is also relative to that terrorist’s statement.  As such, one is not allowed to cherry pick clauses and phrases from Nostradamus’ writings, out of context, and apply those words to world events, when the root meaning is overlooked.  Since everything written in an individual quatrain is interlinked, to pick a part from line 4 means one must understand all that leads to line 4.

When one looks at line one, relative to the quote from the terrorist who beheaded a journalist, one can then see how his words match a theme of “warning” of justice that is to come.  As a terrorist believed to have been recruited from London, one can see how that terrorist was “For” a cause away from his home.  He went “there” in “support” of that cause.  His personal benefit would be for “favor” received by Allah, as his actions would be perceived as serving the royal house of Islam.

In line one there appears to be two simple articles, of the feminine gender, “la.”  When reading Nostradamus, one must realize the words come from God, and nothing is “simple.”  Everything has meaning, such that simple articles are not the primary translations of intent.  By writing a noun word, it is implying that noun to be “a, an, or the” noun written.  Only when an article is abbreviated into a noun (such as “l’nom”) can “the” be part of the translation.  This understanding means that EVERY appearance of “le” and “la” is meant to be purposefully read as something other than an article.

In the case of “le,” is bears pronoun translation capabilities, as “he, it, and him,” which is helpful in identifying some important individual character in play within the story of that quatrain.  In the case of “la,” it must morph into its accented adverb form, as “là.”  This becomes a statement of “there, here, or then,” which plays the important role of showing placement and timing, which is of greater value than a simple statement of “the.”

Because line one has two uses of “là,” one must realize there is a sense of movement conveyed, as a change of placement from “there” to “here,” or vice versa.  Thus, a terrorist in Iraq or Syria, with a London English accent, implies the terrorist went “there” (the Middle East) from “here” (the West).  This fits a recruitment theme, where this volunteer from the “city” of London in some way felt “cited to appear there,” in Iraq or Syria, for the purpose of responding to a call for judgment.

Once there, extremist Islamic justice was executed, based on “alleged” (translation capability for “cité“) charges, thereby justifying the murder of an American journalist (as well as the capture of another Western journalist presented in the video), with that second prisoner “warned to appear” before the same blade of judgment, if America’s bombing of ISIS installations did not cease.  This citation and this response to that call is then said to have an “effect,” meaning it “will become acts” committed in the name of justice, and it “will make” others take notice of a warning that more is to come, to this “effect” of justice.

Now, line four is linked to the main theme statement (line one) and all the other lines, in many ways, but line four is most directly stating supporting details for the secondary theme statement (line two).  The secondary theme is then also related to the main theme of two places of warning, but has merits that allow it to represent a self-sufficient theme that is subsequent to a call to act upon justice.  The secondary theme can then be seen as saying, “At the great who suddenly will lose field of battle.”  The places “here” and “there” are now contained, limited to a focus on the “great,” where this word is at all times in Nostradamus’ writings to be read as a noun (more than as an adjective or adverb), representative of those who routinely administer judgment and justice, because they rule over “great” kingdoms (as royalty).

This means the secondary theme is focused on the “effect” on the “great,” as a reaction to the theme of terrorist recruitment from the lands of the “great.”  In a way, it reflects the result of the withdrawal of allied troops from Iraq and, as well as the absence of a “great” power in the warfare in Syria, where the one nation being more “great” that the others is the United States of America.  The second most “great” nation whose presence has been removed is “Great” Britain, and the forces of its children: Australia and Canada.  In short, the “sudden” disappearance of “support” for a pro-Western style of government (thus justice system) is English-speaking.  This means the terrorist beheading an American journalist, who speaks English with a London accent, is symbolic of those “great” allies who “swiftly lost the field of battle” where ISIS sprang into being.

Much has been made of the armament of the ISIS military, because it is largely the equipment with what was “cast away” by the “great” American military, leaving it behind for the Iraqi military to use in defense of themselves and their people.  Instead, the weaponry was dropped by Iraqi soldiers, who then disbanded and ran away, meaning America “spent idly” in its arming of Iraq.  This failure (“loss”) had the “effect” of later forcing America to use war planes to attack the instruments of warfare its own military left behind in haste.  Because the “great” allies gave up the “field of battle,” their lack of foot soldiers on the “field,” in “camps,” means they can only excel in the air of “battle,” for as long as there is a “field” to return the planes safely.  If they “suddenly lose that field of battle,” the “great” will have no recourse to “swiftly” wage “battle.”

As a secondary theme of a weakness in the abilities of the “great” to do “battle” and “effect” its measure of justice, line four is then adding the depth of meaning that says what losses will become, in a war between “here” and “there,” between the “great” and the supposedly inferior forces of ISIS and the likes of al-Qaeda, Hamas, the Islamic Brotherhood, and all other “rag-tag” groups that “support” terrorism.  The beheading of a foreign journalist represents the spillage of “blood,” a “death” from the “slit” of a “cut.”

Still, for one to make a statement that more than one person would face this end, in such a flow of blood that “great” nations of people will “drown” from figurative “strikes” and “blows” that “cut, dash, and shred,” one beheading (or a handful shown in video tapes), the incident of one beheading becomes symbolic of the “warning” that this “will appear” in the “cities” of the “great.”  A statement that says the flag of Islam will fly over the government buildings of Washington D. C. is not meant to be so much literal, as much as it is to be meant as metaphor.  As metaphor, the presence of Barack Obama, a student of Islam while a child in Jakarta, Indonesia, is flying over Washington D. C. today, as the president, the one who ordered the withdrawal of “great” troops from the “field of battle.”

In that sense, the warriors of ISIS have not only gone from “here” to “there,” but they have come from “there” to “here,” and we are seeing the “effect” that will “suddenly” cause the “great” to “lose” or “spend idly” its greatness, when the “field of battle” is “here,” and not “there.”  The recruitment of terrorists in and from the West, to fight as masked soldiers in the “camps” of Iraq and Syria may be the distraction that keeps Westerners from seeing the danger is no longer over “there,” but “here.”  Westerners have adopted ideologies that elect leaders who seem to be fighting for the rights of the poor and defenseless, when the result of their actions (planned or unplanned) may have the “effect” of bleeding Western economies to “death,” having the “effect” of causing the “great” to no longer be able to fight and win on any “field of battle,” including its own.

That is the story told by Nostradamus in many quatrains, where each quatrain links to others and all are inter-related.  Quatrain II-26 is reflecting a symptom of a future still to come, although it is already happening around us.  We see it in the news every day, so much that news of an American journalist being murdered by jihadists has a “ho-hum” effect.  We have become desensitized to an emotional plea, unable to let our religion come “pouring out,” seeing prophecy tell of our demise, if we do not get up and do something inspired by God.  Without such a reaction, we “suddenly” wake up and find ourselves “drowning” in our own “blood.”  They know it is headed to that reality, while we think it could never happen “here.”  Not to us.  We are the “great.”

It is important to also realize that the French word “sang,” and the English translation “blood,” is more than that red stuff that pumps through our arteries and veins.  “Blood” is also a “lineage,” a certain “stock” of people, a special “race” of the world, those who share common “parentage,” and those who share a “kindred” relationship with one another.  Thus, a “pouring out of blood” is not limited to the spillage from one beheading.  It represents those who share a commonality to the people routinely killed in Gaza, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, as Muslims all around the world, particularly those in the Western societies.  Remember it is the “blood” of Christ that Christians must share, which equates to the Holy Spirit controlling our minds, causing out actions to be acts of God, as Jesus acted. An “outpouring” of religious fervor likewise excites the “blood” of any devout faithful; but the problem then comes from the source of that excitement – is it truly holy, or is it truly evil?

When line three comes under inspection, the words “Pau” and “Thesin” can be seen as “cities,” although they are more properly rivers.   This can be because of the word “cité” has been translated as “city” in line one, and both words of line three are capitalized, giving the impression of proper names, like “cities.”  There is a place named Pau in southwestern France (a population of around 85,000), but there is also mention of a Biblical Pau, which was in the land of Edom.  The spelling of “Thesin” becomes problematic, as one has to do some stretching to turn this into the Swiss canton named Tesin, which is a variation of Tisin or Tessen (Lombard and German spellings), which the rest of the world calls Ticino (a population of around 315,000).   The river “Tessin,” (Ticino) flows through northern Italy (Lombardy region), feeding the Po River.  Erika Cheetham reads “Pau” as “Po.”  Still, all of that requires throwing away that awkward “h” that messes everything up.

When one understands that “cité” can be a verb, then one is no longer limited to making “Pau” and “Thesin” be foreign towns.  After all, places are named after things (nouns) and events (verbs), and the French word “pau” was used in Old French to denote a “stake” or “pale,” rooted in the Latin word “palus.”  In Portuguese, the word “pau” means, “stick,” which is then a slang term that refers to a man’s penis; so this may be why Pau was named after a pole, stick, or other long piece of wood.  Pau is located along a flow of water (the Gave de Pau), which is fed from the Pyrenees Mountains.  There is a bridge in Pau that fords the river where it reaches a point of width and smooth flow, while being rocky rapids along the path it flows downhill towards that point.  A “Stake” might have been required to ford the river, thus the etymology?

As for the word “Thesin,” a standard suffix in French is “-in.”  It is added to a word to indicate “one” who is associated to the root word.  In this case, if “-in” is removed, the root becomes “Thes.”  In French, the word “thèse” means, “thesis.”  In Latin, the word “thesis” is spelled “thesī” in the Dative Case, meaning a “thesis.”  The Dative Case refers to a noun used (mostly) as the indirect object of a verb.  In both scenarios (“Thès-in” or “Thesī –n”), the indication is to one who prepared a thesis.  By the definition of “thesis,” synonymous words can be used, such as, “arguer” or “hypothecator,” with the common result of a successful “thesis” understood as being “doctor” or one with a Phd (doctor of Philosophy).

Simply by seeing this possibility in “Pau” and “Thesin” means the focus of line three is no longer spread out, from “here” to “there,” southwest France to southeast Switzerland or northern Italy.  While that scope of place can be read into the details of the whole meaning in quatrain II-26, that is not the primary intent.  The removal of those places ceases misunderstanding of the main theme, as well as the rest of quatrain II-26.  The use of capitalization allows us to see a level of importance placed upon a “Stake” and one’s “Philosophy,” rather than a need to try and pin words to titles  That level of importance would be one that is generally recognizable to most people of education (people who actually keep up with the news and history that surrounds their own lives), rather than expect people to instantly know where Pau, France or Ticino, Switzerland are located.

When line three is read as, “Escapees it order Stake Theorizer will pour out,” and can see there is the importance of “Escapees,” a “Stake” being set, and someone of importance whose “Theory” or “Argument” of logic has allowed prisoners to “flow out.”  Important “Fleers” can be seen as the recent five detainees at Guantanamo, Cuba being “exchanged” for the captive American soldier Berghdal, as arranged and defended by President Barack Obama (amid protests that he did so illegally).  Should those prisoners “escape” from their home confinement in Qatar (1 year they must stay there?), then more people capable of beheading journalists have “flown out” to the “fields of battle.”

The important “Stake,” when read as a verb, and a common term used in gambling, then becomes a major gamble taking place, based on people “Escaping.”  This can also relate to the Christians of Iraq who have “Fled” their homes, which became the act that spurred aerial strikes against ISIS, and in turn led to the beheading.  A “Stake” is then an important claim on that land, which Iraq and Syria own the deeds to, and which the allied forces of the “great” withdrew from, allowing ISIS to grow.  When “Stake” is seen as an investment or share of something, then one needs to be aware of the possibility that a “Stake” of Islamic militancy is placed within the grounds of the “great,” just as our “Stake” has long been in the Middle East.

Much of Western involvement in that region of the world, historically, has been religiously motivated.  Because of that, the Latin word “Thesis” has a specific meaning, relative to the deposit of money for a wish (prayer), which is lost is one form of the wish is fulfilled.”  Since The Prophecies of Nostradamus are religious in nature and topic, one could see how a “Bet” or “Stake” on one’s reputation is then based on a “Thesis,” or a “Prayer” that the “Wish” of a wonderful world will come true, if “Escapees” are allowed to “pour out” of their place of imprisonment and return to the battlefields from which they came.  A “Deposit will be lost,” just as the “field of battle” was lost.