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Chapter 1
So cold
“Brrr, it’s so cold in here!”
“Stop complaining, Mercury; only thirty-one days
till you’ll be turned around.”
“Who’s there?”
“I am Hermes, your higher self.”
“Hermes, your visit is timely because those boring
turns around my orbit are driving me stark-raving
mad.”
“Well, I’ll tell you, Zeus has decided that your
assignment is almost done. You only have to be of
the flesh for a while before you get to shine.”
“And how do you know all this?”
“I am the fastest one in the Milky Way, and I put my
ear to the ground here and there, so to speak.
Besides, it’s my job to relay messages.”
“How much longer do I have?”
“Until you’re lined up with the Sun and the Earth,
so not much longer.”
“Hmm, at least it’s a change from being a dead
planet. My only diversion is causing shock waves and
sun baths.”
“You might well come to miss this simple existence,
my material brother, but please be patient just a
little longer.”
A month later, an extraordinary birth took place on
planet Earth. A person with unprecedented prophetic
gifts was born. The astrologer’s birth in the
village took place at the very beginning of the
Renaissance, in the French town of Saint Rémy de
Provence. In a stately mansion behind the market
halls where the merchants had been hawking their
wares for some time, the contractions had started.
Reynière de Nostredame had carefully calculated the
date of birth, but the onset of labor still came
unexpectedly. The little one probably had a slightly
earlier birth in mind in order to meet the optimum
position of the planets. The noticeably large mucus
plug, which closes off the cervix during pregnancy,
had just come out. This was the sign that showed the
end of the pregnancy was nearing. Reynière lost some
blood and asked for her father, Jean de Saint Rémy
to come; her father was the court physician of the
Good King René, the former count of Provence. She
lay on the bed, perspiring, and her husband,
Jacques, who had risen to the status of notary
public, hurriedly entered along with her father. The
contractions were now coming regularly and were
becoming more painful, until, at their peak, they
suddenly stopped. Her father looked worried and felt
his daughter’s belly with a professional touch.
Relieved, the physician established that the unborn
child was still moving and that Reynière was losing
amniotic fluid at a normal rate. Regular
contractions returned and the membranes broke; labor
was now well underway. Slowly but surely, Reynière’s
body made an opening for the baby to move through.
The cervix, which during pregnancy is drawn tight,
was now gradually opening. The peculiar newcomer was
fighting as if his life depended on it and the
expulsion stage was exhausting. The labor would take
as many as ten hours. Finally, the little head
emerged, the wide-open eyes critically taking in the
world. Jean and Jacques were amazed and looked at
each other with great joy. The shoulders were next,
after which the rest of the little body slid out,
without any problems.
“Michel!” his mother proudly welcomed the wet little
bundle. Jean carefully picked up the slightly bloody
baby, who was still attached to the umbilical cord,
and put him on the mother’s belly. The boy was born
with a caul*. Michel de Nostredame appeared at
exactly high noon on December 14 of the year 1503,
with the church bells of Saint Rémy loudly ringing
in the background. His parents were overjoyed with
their first child, who would have a safe future as a
Catholic. Jacques and Reynière were both descended
from old Jewish families, but several years earlier,
all Jews had been forced, under pain of death, to
convert to Catholicism. There was still a menorah on
the table, however, symbolizing the Jewish festival
of lights, Hanukkah, that was being celebrated that
month. For these special holidays, the tradition was
secretly honored and Jacques always read from the
Talmud. This time, he ceremoniously addressed his
newborn son, surrounded by the entire family, and
told him that the Talmud speaks about the wonder of
Hanukah. Michel, securely wrapped in swaddling
cloths, only heard some paternal sounds.
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