There once was a writer in England who lived in the early 1500s. He had a problem getting work in his profession and decided to take on the persona of a fictitious person named Mother Shipton, a prophetess. He started out by predicting things that already happened and having the prophecies discovered. Yeah it is pretty easy to predict something after it happens and you can really be accurate that way. Anyway, people fell for this and even today many people believe that Mother Shipton was a real person, even though there is no proof that she ever lived. The writer took his predictions a step further and began to predict the future. Then a funny thing happened, many of his predictions came true and are still coming true. People that know this story, suspect that he found some sort of book of predictions and used this. Could this be true, is there a book that was lost that has predictions in it, that are mostly accurate?

If we look up Mother Shipton in such places as Wikipedia, the open source encyclopedia, we will find that there is a listing for a Ursula Southeil who lived from 1488 to 1561. They say that she was Mother Shipton. Well this is another opinion, but many would not agree. Whether Mother Shipton was Southeil, or whether she was the invention of a fraudulent writer, doesn't really matter, what really matters was the predictions that were made. I thought that it might be fun to look at some of them. What I like about the predictions is that they are not cloaked in some strange code or in quatrains that could mean anything. The meanings are pretty clear. There are those that have forged prophecies and attributed them to Mother Shipton, like the famous prophecy that said the world was going to end in 1881. Guess what, they were wrong. Sorry I couldn't resist saying that. What really gets me is the fact that there are so many attractions in England that claim to have something to do with Mother Shipton.

Over fifty books were printed about Mother Shipton and her predictions. One of her (or his) predictions was Water shall come over Ouze Bridge; and a windmill shall be set upon a tower, and an Elm Tree shall lie at every mans' door..." I admit that this doesn't sound like much, but York received its first water system after this and the water was piped over a bridge from the River Ouse and a windmill drew it up. The pipes were made from hollowed out trees. Needless to say that this prediction really impressed the people, but even more impressive was her (I will just say her from now on) prediction of a local disaster. "Before Ouze Bridge and Trinity Church meet, what is built in the day shall fall in the night, till the highest stone of the Church be the lowest stone of the Bridge." It is said that not long after the prediction, Trinity Church in York collapsed after a bad storm. The bridge was also mostly swept away. Were these really predictions or part of the false predictions that were made after the fact? I believe that these were NOT true predictions, but only created to impress people after the event actually happened. Since there is no proof of her actual existence, I would like to know how some places have a complete description of her? A description appeared of her in a book printed over 120 years after her death. It was the first book to describe her. I guess this is where a lot of the descriptions of her come from. This is like us describing a person from 1887 that we never met and there was no one alive that could have ever seen her, if she ever existed. It is said that the biographer of the 1684 book describing her invented the details of her life, his name was Richard Head.

She said, "A carriage without horse will go", this is taken by many to be a prediction of the modern automobile, I guess it could also be a train. She also said," Around the world men's thoughts will fly Quick as the twinkling of an eye.", many believe that she was predicting the modern communications system. Predictions were made of going beneath the oceans and flying through the air, when she said, "Beneath the water, men shall walk. Shall ride, shall sleep, shall even talk. And in the air men shall be seen In white and black and even green." Well this does seem to be pretty insightful, but would it rank as a prediction? Somehow I think that people that call these passages prophecies are wrong. If we went to a knowledgeable scientist today and asked what the future holds, he might get some of the things right that will exist. It is events that prove predictions, as far as I am concerned. If people can predict future events, that are not common knowledge to us all, then I might be impressed. Getting a little more precise, she stated that, " In water, iron, then shall float, As easy as a wooden boat". This passage is more impressive because no one at that time would have ever believed that iron boats could have been built that could float upon the water.

She did predict a war with Turkey and England by saying "A war will follow with the work, Where dwells the Pagan and the Turk". This one was right on the money. This was followed by an even more stunning prophecy, "These states will lock in fiercest strife, And seek to take each other's life. When North shall thus divide the south, And Eagle build in Lion's mouth, Then tax and blood and cruel war, Shall come to every humble door." This certainly sounds like the American Civil War, doesn't it? You have North and South, states and war. This was a stunning prediction, indeed. Moving away from war we get, "For in those wondrous far off days, The women shall adopt a craze, To dress like men, and trousers wear, And to cut off their locks of hair." I guess all one has to do is look around to see that this is true. Oh my goodness, I am beginning to rhyme! It is catching. Anyway women do wear pants and cut their hair short, so this was correct. Talking about flying again, she said, "And men shall fly as birds do now", yet another true statement. Here is something that might be interpreted as a warning about World War II, "In nineteen hundred and twenty six, Build houses light of straw and sticks. For then shall mighty wars be planned, And fire and sword shall sweep the land."

Here is a very ominous prediction, "When pictures seem alive with movements free, When boats like fishes swim beneath the sea, When men like birds shall scour the sky, Then half the world, deep drenched in blood shall die. For those who live the century through, In fear and trembling this shall do. Flee to the mountains and the dens, To bog and forest and wild fens. For storms will rage and oceans roar, When Gabriel stands on sea and shore, And as he blows his wondrous horn, Old worlds die and new be born." What does this sound like to you? To me it seems to be predicting a world disaster heading our way, possibly a war or natural event. Do I really believe it? Well truthfully no, but it does make interesting reading. It does go on to say that this is the end of the world and states that, "A fiery Dragon will cross the sky, Six times before this earth shall die". What could this dragon be? Is it a comet that strikes the Earth? If it is, how could it pass six times? Perhaps it is meant that the comet passes the Earth five times in its history, but hits on the sixth? If it is a comet, this is exactly what scientists are worrying about today.

I think that most of us know that there is a severe water shortage on this planet, I am talking about fresh water. It is getting worse every year. Let's see what Mother Shipton had to say about that, "But slowly they are routed out, To seek diminishing water spout, And men will die of thirst before, The oceans rise to mount the shore." This sound like global warming. It does go on to state that, which seems contrary to me, because of other predictions by Mother Shipton, that the entire human race will be wiped out except for a small group which seem to live on top of a mountain. These people, according to her prediction, will begin the human race again. Here is the exact prediction, "And in some far off distant land, Some men -- oh such a tiny band, Will have to leave their solid mount, And span the earth, those few to count" They are not going to start the human race on land however, "But not on land already there, But on ocean beds, stark, dry and bare" It seems that ufos are going to be part of the rebuilding process, "And before the race is built anew, A silver serpent comes to view, And spew out men of like unknown, To mingle with the earth now grown, Cold from its heat and these men can, Enlighten the minds of future man"

Well there you have it. Some of these predictions seem way to sophisticated for someone from that time period. If one were to really look at these things with a completely open mind, they might conclude that whoever wrote these predictions, just knew too much. Forget Nostradamus, or Cayce, they pale in comparison to Mother Shipton.