Nostradamus And His French Astrological Legacy

by Brian Alcamo

Astrology has been seeing a huge revival in the past few years, in France as well as in the US. It seems like more people than ever know about not just their singes solaires (Sun Signs), but also their signes d’ascendant (Rising Signs/Ascendant Signs) and their signes lunaires (Moon Signs). It turns out that France is home to one of the West’s most famous astrologers, Nostradamus. Read on to learn more about this fascinating sky-reader!

In The Beginning

Depending on who you ask, Michel de Notredame, more commonly known as Nostradamus, was born on either December 14th or December 21st. One of nine siblings, he was born in the South of France in Saint-Rémy de Provence. As a child, Nostradamus rapidly progressed through school, learning Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and math. His grandfather, born Jewish but converted to avoid the Catholic Inquisition, introduced him to astrology, piquing the young savant’s interest in the study of celestial happenings and their impact on human life.

Nostradamus began his study of medicine at the ripe age of fourteen when he enrolled at the University of Avignon. Malheureusement, he had to leave the university after a year because of a Bubonic Plague (“La Peste”) outbreak. Nostradamus worked as an apothecary afterwards, traveling throughout the Franco-Italian countryside. His treatment of the plague moved away from the common practice of mercury potions, bloodletting, and garlic-soaked robes, opting for his signature “rose pill,” which was rich in Vitamin C. Despite how deliciously aromatic a rose pill sounds, historians and scientists nowadays attribute Nostradamus’ high cure rate to his novel treatment routines which included rigorous personal hygiene, removing infected corpus from city streets, and good ol’ fresh air.

The man of the hour: Nostradamus

He was finally able to complete his medical degree in 1525 at the University of Montpelier, where his penchant for astrology got him into hot water with Catholic priests from time to time. Now a certified university graduate, Michel de Nostradame officially changed his name to Nostradamus in an attempt to Latinize himself, which was all the rage in the most fashionable of medieval academic circles.

In 1531 Nastradamus was invited to Agen in France's southwest where he met his wife and had two children. Financially supported by Jules-Cesar Scaliger by scholar Jules-Cesar Scaliger, Nostradamus enjoyed monetary security and celebrity status because of his successful treatments. This posh life came to a swift end when Nostradamus’ wife and children died of the plague, and the great healer quickly fell out of public favor. Scaliger, ever the careerist, brutally dropped Nostradamus for fear of looking like he was sponsoring a fool. Unfortunately, Nostradamus didn’t have a talent agent or manager at the time to help him spin this tragic loss into a tell-all book deal.

What’s Your Sign?

A More Celestial-Minded Chapter

When Nostadamus was summoned to be tried by the Catholic Inquisition after making a joke in 1538, he said “No thanks,” and began bounding eastward out of Province through Italy, Greece, and Turkey. This journey was not only the original Eat, Pray, Love (don’t fact check me), but it was also the backbone of Nostradamus' psychic awakening. One account said that the man even met a group of Franciscan monks, one of which he predicted would become Pope. Low and behold, Felice Peretti, a monk he’d met, was ordained as Pope Sixtus V in 1585. 

French Astrological Vocab For Your Next Reading

• “C’est quoi, ton signe ?” - “What’s your sign?”

• Planète maitresse - Ruling planet

• “Mercure est en rétrograde.” - “Mercury is in retrograde.”

• Thème astral - Birth chart

• Retour de Saturne - Saturn return

Nostradamus returned to France in 1547 after spending what he believed to be adequate time avoiding the Inquisition. He once again took up treating plague victims, and settled in Salon-de-Provence where he married and had six children with Anne Ponsarde, a rich widow. He once again quickly ascended the ranks of medical notoriety for innovations in the treatment of plagues in Aix and Lyon. During this time, Nostradamus published two books, one a translation of Galen, the Roman Physician, and the other called the Traité des Fardemens, an apothecary cookbook that included both cosmetic and culinary recipes. Perhaps trying to drive up industry demand, many of the culinary recipes were based on the use of sugar, whose supply was regulated by the apothecaries’ guild of that time.

Despite publishing two books on medicine, Nostradamus’ fascination with the occult continued to grow. Allegedly, he spent many nights meditating in front of a bowl of water and herbs (which was NOT soup!) in order to transcend the mundane world and enter the spiritual realm. He had many visions, which helped him write his prophecies. Nostradamus wrote his first astrological almanac in 1550, incorporating his visions and astrological knowledge into digestible information for farmers and merchants. The success of this first almanac pushed Nostradamus to write more. 

By 1554, Nostradamus had made his prophecies a key part of his almanacs. In an attempt to concentrate his creative energy into one work, Nostradamus began writing a ten-volume oeuvre called Centuries which would attempt to make one hundred predictions for the preceding two thousand years. In 1555, he published “Les Propheties,” a collection of his greatest hits that included major long term predictions. Nostradamus hid his mystic predictions behind quatrains (four-line versions that rhyme) and a linguistic potluck including French, Latin, Greek, Italian, and Provençal— a Southern French dialect. Nostradamus evaded persecution from the Catholic Church, and his writings were never condemned by the church’s book-regulating body, the Congregation of the Index. He did so by leaving his predictions detached from magical practice.

While some questioned Nostradamus’ sanity, or posited his ties to Satan, many more were enraptured by his prophecies. He entered the inner circles of Europe's elite, eventually catching the attention of Catherine de Medici, Queen Consort of Henri II. She summoned the seer to her court in Paris to draw up horoscopes for her children and was eventually made the court’s Physician-in-Ordinary to his court. In 1556, Nostradamus’ owned up to Catharine de Medici that one of his prophecies from Centuries I was most likely referring to King Henri II. Three years later, the prophecy came true. Here’s the text:

Le lyon jeune le vieux surmontera,

En champ bellique par singulier duelle,

Dans cage d’or les yeux luy creuera,

Deux classes une, puis mourir, mort cruelle

"The young lion will overcome the older one,

On the field of combat in a single battle;

He will pierce his eyes through a golden cage,

Two wounds made one, then he dies a cruel death."

In 1599, King Henri II jousted with younger nobleman Gabriel comte de Montgomery, seigneur de Lorges. In one last swing, Montgomery’s lance splintered in two, one piece slipping through the King’s visor, hitting his eye, and the other finding its way into his temple. King Henri then waited 10 days for the wound to finally deal its final blow on his life. Do you think the prophecy predicted the his death? 

Nostradamus was critiqued by ordinary citizens and astrologers alike. Regarding his King Henri II prophecy, critics have said that a joust between friends shouldn’t necessarily be considered the “field of battle.” Additionally many professional astrologers of the era considered him incompetent and didn’t agree with his use of comparitive astrolgy to predict the future.  Some believe that many of Nostradamus’ predictions were based on biblical depictions of the apocalypse as well as the writings of classical and medieval historians. He then matched with their respective astrological readings in the past before being rearranged and appropriated for the future. 

Goodbye, Mr. ‘Damus

Nostradamus’ lifelong battles against gout and arthritis eventually took a turn for the worse when his gout developed into edema (dropsy) where large amounts of body fluid build up under the skin. Eventually, the untreated edema led to congestive heart failure, and Nostradamus died on July 1st, 1566.

Nostradamus’ writings are continually inspected by people today. Being so cryptic means that they are always up for interpretation, and some believe he correctly predicted events that occurred during the French Revolution. Nostradamus loved to predict apocalyptic phenomena, and most of his predictions dealt with war, murder, plagues, and other death-focused happenings. Some believe that he has predicted events ranging from the French Revolution to the development of the atomic bomb. Others believe that some prophecies are said to foretell future events that have not yet occurred. His writing’s vagueness has proven to be a fabulous vehicle to interpret and reinterpret what he has predicted. Think what you want about the validity of his predictions, but the man was a genius marketer whose written word left a legacy with viral staying power well beyond his body’s physical lifespan. Not sure what to think? Maybe it’s time to ask the stars. 

Thanks for Reading!

Are you a fan of astrology? Comment down below, and be sure to share this article with a friend!

Thumbnail Photo by Josh Rangel

Lights, Camera, Action! A Primer on French Cinema

by Brian Alcamo

Agnès Varda, Bridget Bardot, François Truffaut, do any of these names ring a bell? If not, they should! France has a huge cinema culture. Not only is the country home to one of the largest film industries outside of the US, it was also the birthplace of many of the cinematic technologies we take for granted nowadays. A history of the artform runs deep in this hexagonal country, and it’s time to check it out. 

A Super-Brèf History of French Cinema 

So where does that history begin? It begins in Lyon, with les Frères Lumière. Auguste and Louis Lumiere, also known as the Lumière brothers, were kind of like France’s Wright brothers, in that they were brothers who invented something together. Growing up with a father in the photography industry, this dynamic duo took what they learned while growing up and developed the cinematograph. This three-in-one device was used to shoot, print, and project film.

In late 1895, the brothers released 10 very-short films at the Salon Indien du Grand Cafe in none other than Paris, France. The films dazzled their audience, who had never seen anything like it before. However, the film that embedded itself into the modern cinematic tradition the most was L’Arriveé d’un train en gare de La Ciotat, or “Arrival of a train at La Ciotat,” This film was not part of the original ten, but was instead showed for the first time in January 1896. The audience members were so new to the concept of cinema that they purportedly ran away from the screen, thinking that the train would come barrelling towards them!

A second early-cinema film that took the world by storm was Le voyage dans la lune (1902), which is widely considered the first science fiction film. Directed by magician-turned-filmmaker Georges Méliès, the film was the first to use many techniques and special effects that are the building blocks of modern editing methods.  

After the dawn of the cinematic artform, French film went through several artistic movements: German (yes, German) Expressionism, La Nouvelle Vague, Left Bank Cinema, Le Cinéma Vérité, Le Cinéma du look, and others. It’s consistently evolved on its own, and in response to work being put out by Hollywood. Some say that the infamous Nouvelle Vague was created out of a reaction to the formulaic, studio-based films coming out of Los Angeles at the time.

French Cinema Today

French film is a strong industry, and receives substantial amounts of financial support from the government. Movie theaters are typically used as a refuge from sometimes unbearable summer heat, since so many french dwellings don’t have air conditioning. If you’re ever in France during a canicule, be sure to catch a movie to cool off while experiencing some culture.

To keep up with the latest in French entertainment news, you should keep your eyes on AlloCiné, a French website that combines elements of IMBD and Variety. You can search for information on your favorite shows and also get updates on the industry as a whole, all while your comprehension écrite.

If you want to get a romanticized glimpse into the French film industry, check out the series Dix Pour Cent. Named after the percent of money that agents typically get from an actor’s contract, the show follows the lives of four stressed-out Frenchies as they make deals with France’s biggest vedettes. The show is a great primer on the names of French movie stars, since every episode features a different big ticket actor playing a fictionalized version of themself. In the US, the show is known as Call My Agent! and is available on Netflix. If you need subtitles, try putting them in French instead of English to push your language learning to the next level.

Take a Dive into Some French Classics!

Thanks to streaming platforms, French-language movies and television are easily available online. They’re also a great way to practice your French, and to get a glimpse into the specificities of French culture. What’s your favorite French film? Be sure to comment below, and give this post a heart!

(Thumbnail photo by Michał Parzuchowski)

5 Words To Know If You’re Spending The Holidays in France This Year

By Brian Alcamo

Joyeuses Fêtes, tout le monde! If you’re in France this year for les fêtes de fin d'années, which take place during the month of December and the beginning of January, add these words to your vocabulary to make sure that you can celebrate along with the Frenchiest of Frenchies. 

Le Marché de Noël

New Yorkers might be impressed enough by the Christmas markets at Bryant Park and Union Square, but if you’re looking to be blown away, you must go to Strasbourg for their Marche de Noel (Christmas market). The market is so massive that the city has dubbed itself the “Capital of Christmas” according to its website. The official name for the market is Christkindelsmärik, which is tied to this border city’s German heritage. 

La Bûche de Noël

(A more “loggy” buche de noel)

This is a French Yule log cake, and it’s absolument delicieuse. Also known as a gâteau de Noël or a gateau roulé, this cake is prepared with a sponge cake that is iced and then rolled into a cylinder before being iced once again. Some people like to decorate their cakes in a Christmassy fashion, while others are intent on making sure you understand that this cake was inspired by a log. Either way, be sure to get your hands on a slice of a bûche de noël anywhere you are in France. 

La Crèche

This word means “Nativity Scene,” and most in French are very typical, with Mary and Joseph holding court in a nondescript manger with Jesus. However, a creche provencale is a little different. It transposes the story of the nativity onto a southern French village. Little figurines, or santons, carry provencale essentials, like lavender and rosemary (yes, I said essentials). 

Les Papillotes

While the word papillote can be used to denote anything wrapped or cooked in paper, une papillote is a special holiday treat wrapped in a metallic foil, which typically contains a message. The papillote’s origin story is that sometime during the 18th century, a Lyonnaise candy maker created small treats so that he could send little love messages to the girl in the village that he was smitten with. Now, the candies are simply cute and edible holiday decorations. 

Le réveillon du jour de l’an

It’s New Years’ Eve! Like most places in the world, France turns out for the last party of the year. A few hours before this, though, the President address the French people on television, discussing the current political climate and his vows for the new year. If you’re looking for fireworks on this special night, please note that Paris does not put on any of these cherished feu d’artifice on New Years’ Eve. Fireworks along the Champs Elysees used to be part of the New Years’ tradition there, but in recent years have stopped. This lack of fireworks should not deter you from running out into the street at midnight to shout your heartiest bonne annee!

Also: You might also hear this day called Le réveillon de La Saint Sylvestre (Saint Sylvestre is another way to say New Years’ Day in France).

We hope you enjoy your holiday season wherever you are. If you’re in France, be sure to keep an eye out for these cultural traditions!

Thumbnail Image Credit: Alicia Steels

Wrangling With French Wine Consumption

France has one of the highest alcohol consumption rates in Europe largely attributed to wine (with just over 50% of the country’s total alcohol consumption). This past Monday, the public health agency and the National Institute of Cancer (INCa) launched a national campaign, with recommendations for the maximum daily intake of alcohol of two glasses per day on non consecutive days. Currently, alcohol is the second-biggest cause for preventable deaths in France after tobacco, killing over 40,000 people each year.

Previously, the daily limit had been set at 2 glasses per day for women and 3 glasses per day for men.

France’s relationship with alcohol has been a long embroiled one as the first-ever campaign to try to get the French to reduce their alcohol consumption in the mid-1950s and encouraged the French to “drink less than a liter of alcohol per meal.” Oddly enough, it wasn’t until 1956 that France banned the serving of alcohol to children under the age of 14 in the school canteens. Prior to that, school children had the right to drink half a liter of wine, cider or beer with their meals. It was only in 1981 that France implemented a total alcohol ban in the country’s schools.

It is safe to say, however, that this recommendation is not going over well with everyone as even France’s Agriculture Minister Didier Guillaume suggested that wine “ isn’t like other alcohols” and rarely the cause of binge drinking amongst the youth. “Alcohol addiction is a real problem, notably among young people with binge drinking and so on,” Guillaume said, blaming the problem rather on hard liquor.

French President Emmanuel Macron similarly found himself a target of criticism last year after telling journalists that he drinks wine with both lunch and dinner and has announced that he had no plans to tighten the laws on alcohol advertising during his presidency.

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We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about how the public health agency and the National Institute of Cancer are Wrangling With French Wine Consumption. What are your thoughts on these new recommendations? Join the conversation below!

The Newest Language Learning App

The French Ministry of Culture has just launched its a brand new application called ‘‘Romanica’‘ that features 8 Romance languages on all mobile devices. The theme of the app includes greetings, time, travel and arts, and the central aspect of the game teaches that learning doesn’t have to be a daunting task as the languages are not very different.

The French minister of culture, Franck Riester stated that “This game is a way of bringing together languages and cultures…(&) shows everything that unites us.”  Currently, the app is available for free on download platforms and partnership is expected to be formed between the game producers and the French Ministry of National Education. This would allow Romanica to be used in schools for learning languages thus making the languages more accessible to students earlier in life.

The initiative was praised by the Romanian Ambassador to France who welcomed this interest in languages via by mobile technology.

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We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about The Newest Language Learning App! Looking to hone your linguistic skills? Our culturally immersive group classes and private lessons will put you on the path to fluency faster than you may think! Click below to learn more.

Mobile Phone Prohibition

A French court has ruled that it is now illegal for drivers to use mobile phones in their cars and that drivers can be punished for using a mobile device any time the vehicle isn't parked in a designated parking area, including a car park or private driveway with a fine of up to €135 (approx. $150 USD) along with 3 points on their driving license. The law does not apply to hands-free devices (but does restrict wireless headsets), and it makes exceptions for emergency calls, like being stranded on the side of the road.

The decision came after a driver appealed a fine he received in 2017 which punished him for using a phone while he was parked at a roundabout with his hazard lights on. However, there is one exception that allows drivers to still make calls if they break down at the side of the road. 

The efforts are all of a program that the French government implemented in order to tackle the rising number of automobile related deaths. In 2015 some 300,000 drivers in France were fined after being caught using their phone and a recent survey revealed that 9 out of 10 drivers in France admitted using their phone while driving, thus contributing to the death toll in 2016 that reached 3,469 victims. A study conducted by Sécurité Routière, has concluded that about 10 percent of the country’s road accidents are caused at least in part by telephone use.

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We hope you've enjoyed learning about France's Mobile Phone Prohibition! Want to ensure you're up to date with French culture? Our Private Lessons and Group Classes at JP Linguistics are sure to set you on the road to linguistic fluency and cultural familiarity faster than you may think!  

5 Best Festivals in France

An important aspect of French culture is the extravagant celebratory festivals. We have cultivated the    5 Best Festivals in France, including the Cannes Film Festival, the Tour De France, the Nice Carnival, Bastille Day Parade and the Monaco Grand Prix -- the majority of which are held during the prime spring and summer vacation months. Keep these celebrations in mind for your next trip abroad, and don't miss out on all the fun!

Cannes Film Festival

The annual Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, has drawl visitors from worldwide since 1946 for its dedication to uncovering the best that the film industry has to offer and honoring those with raw passions for film making. Held at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, it is considered the most publicized and most prestigious film festival in the world. The festival takes place in May, and previews new films from all over the world and of all genres. Movie stars from Audrey Hepburn to Arnold Schwarzenegger to Marilyn Monroe have attended this glamorous event. Visit here for more information about this year's Cannes Film Festival!

Tour De France

Bicyclists and spectators alike from all around the world travel to France for the Tour De France, the world's most famous cycling competition. This annual multistage race held in France since 1903 is typically held in July, and consists of 21 day-long segments covering 3,500 kilometers (2,200 miles). The route of the race is ever-changing, however it consistently covers some of the most magnificent grounds of France, including the Alps and Pyrenees mountain chains. This is the perfect festival tocelebrate the world's best cyclists while enjoying the country's beautiful landscapes.

Nice Carnival

The Nice Carnival is the main winter event on the French Riviera and one of the largest carnivals in the world. The carnival offers a program of entertainment with over 1,000 international musicians and dancer, and a procession of 16 floats with giant colorful parades that take place day and night each year for one week in February. The earliest mention of the carnival in Nice is traced back to the 13th century, making it the oldest existing festival in the world. The root meaning of the word "carnival" is "away with meat," and was celebrated as a time to enjoy bountiful cuisines before Lent. Today, the event attracts over a million visitors to Nice every year and is celebrated on the Promenade des Anglais.

Bastille Day Military Parade

This festival commemorates the national French holiday Bastille Day, recognizing the historic storming of the Bastille that occurred in in Paris in 1789, and the Fête de la Fédération that occurred on the same day a year later to celebrate peace in the French nation during the French Revolution. Each year on the morning of July 14th since 1880, the French militants parade down the streets of Paris in remembrance of the violent revolution and to celebrate the unity of the French people. The holiday is celebrated throughout the country in a similar fashion to the United States on 4th of July, with fireworks and feasts.

 

Monaco Grand Prix

Regarded as one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the world, the Monaco Grand Prix is a Formula One motor race held in the Circuit De Monaco since 1929. Similar to the Tour De France in respect to the route's breathtaking scenery, the Grand Prix brings in thousands of spectators worldwide for this thrilling but glamorous weekend along the Monte Carlo Harbor. This event lines up perfectly with spring and summer trips, and will be held this year May 26 through the 29th. Click here to find out about tickets and more!

I hope you enjoyed these 5 Best Festivals in France! If you are looking to learn more French language and culture, make sure to sign up for our new Online Classes at JP Linguistics! Don't forget to tell your friends about Frenchie Fridays so they can receive fun French stories delivered directly to their inboxes - they can sign up HERE. Merci et à bientôt!

Credit: stokpic - Pixabay, Wikipedia Commons, Karen Corby - Flickr.com