Nostradamus' Herbal Medicine
On 14 July 1556 Nostradamus set out on the then very difficult journey from
Salon to the French court in Paris. In spite of having permission to use the royal
post coach, the journey lasted a full month. Queen Catherine de Medici, who was
particularly interested in prophecy and the supernatural, had invited him to demonstrate
his knowledge and skill to the royal couple and courtiers to the best of his ability.
His visit to the area was great success. Nostradamus knew how to impress the
king and queen through prophecies (subsequently disputed) about themselves
(click here for
this story of Nostradamus and the Queen on CD-ROM disk). He was able to acquire clients
from among members of the aristocracy and the prosperous middle class. He shone as a
prophet and astrologer, as well as through his medical skill and the prescribing of
arbitrary, yet evidently effective, aids to virility and cosmetic powders and ointments
which, at least in the eyes of the ladies, obviously fully fulfilled their purpose.
The fact that his original recipes are now being made available on this
Web site (Click the store icon below to purchase a copy of The Elixirs of Nostradamus)
to a wider public is one step towards portraying Nostradamus
for what he really was: an open minded doctor and sympathetic healer, with intense
feeling for the forces of nature, and a preserver of mysterious recipes, handed
down through the ages.
|
