Nostradamus’ ‘Predictions’ for 2027: What His Verses Actually Say, and What They Don’t

Every year, as December approaches, Nostradamus is back in the headlines.

This time, stories about his supposed “predictions for 2027” are spreading fast, warning of conflict, a French election shock, a financial crash and wildfires.

But there’s a catch: none of his verses actually mention 2027. Here’s where the claims come from, what the verses say, and what historians make of them.

Who Was Nostradamus?

Michel de Nostredame was born in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France, in December 1503 and died in nearby Salon-de-Provence in 1566. He worked as a physician and astrologer.

In 1555, he published Les Prophéties, a collection of four-line verses called quatrains. He wrote more than 900 of them, in a cryptic mix of French, Latin, Greek and Occitan, and he didn’t attach dates to them.

Where Do the “2027 Predictions” Come From?

Most of this year’s stories trace back to one idea, laid out by Sky HISTORY: that the 27th verse of each section, or “Century,” might point to 2027. Sky HISTORY itself notes that none of the quatrains “specifically mention 2027.”

Outlets including LADbible, UNILAD and the Daily Express have since repeated the same readings. Among the verses being shared:

• Century V, verse 27: “Through fire and arms not far from the Black Sea, / He will come from Persia to occupy Trebizond,” read as a sign of conflict involving Turkey and Iran.
• Century IX, verse 27: a line about striking “the Dauphin,” the title once given to the heir of the French throne, interpreted as an upset in France’s 2027 presidential election.
• Century VIII, verse 28: lines about gold and silver being “inflated,” linked to a financial crash, even though it isn’t a 27th verse at all.
• Century I, verse 27: “Beneath the oak tree of Gienne, struck by lightning, the treasure is hidden,” which fans connect to Canada’s Oak Island treasure hunt.

One Viral “Prediction” Isn’t in His Book

Another verse appearing in many 2027 stories warns of “celestial fire from the Western side” and is linked to wildfires. It is often labeled “Century XI, verse 27.”

But the surviving text of Les Prophéties includes only two quatrains in Century XI, numbered 91 and 97. The “celestial fire” lines actually come from a separate set of six-line verses known as the Sixains, which were first presented in 1605, nearly 40 years after Nostradamus died.

Even the election reading has critics. “The original wording does not mention an election, a modern political leader or the French presidency,” the Indian Defence Review noted.

Why His Predictions Always Seem to “Come True”

Historians have long been skeptical. Britannica notes that because of their cryptic style and content, the prophecies “continued to create much controversy.”

Benjamin Radford, deputy editor of the Skeptical Inquirer, has described believers’ matches as “post-dictions,” statements that seem to come true only after events happen.

Past forecasts show the problem. Readings that tied 2025 to the end of the war in Ukraine did not hold up. As the Irish Times put it in January, “That war continues.”

What About Baba Vanga?

The Bulgarian mystic Baba Vanga, born Vangeliya Pandeva Gushterova in 1911, is also back in the news, with claims about “superhuman” survivors and a surge in gold prices in 2027.

Those claims are even harder to check. The Guardian reported that no one recorded Vanga while she was alive and that she “did not leave any written records.”

Nostradamus will almost certainly be back in the headlines next December. His verses are a fascinating piece of history, but they are best read as poetry, not as a forecast for 2027.

Sources:

• Sky HISTORY: Nostradamus predictions for 2027
• Wikisource: Les Prophéties (full text)
• Britannica: Nostradamus
• Indian Defence Review (November 2026)
• NBC News: Benjamin Radford on Nostradamus
• The Irish Times (January 2026)
• The Guardian (March 2026): Baba Vanga

You might also want to read: What Nostradamus & Baba Vanga Got Right About 2025