India, Dec. 23 -- The onset of a new year brings with it a sense of anticipation, a yearning to know what might happen in the next 12 months. While some news networks try to use astrologers to get predictions for the upcoming year, many decide to trawl through the writings of Nostradamus, the 16th-century mystic known for his prophecies.

Nostradamus' popularity rose sharply after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, with some of his verses having an eerie resemblance to the actual events. Since then, it has become customary to read what the medieval seer might have predicted for an upcoming year.

Nostradamus' writings are arranged into sets of 100 stanzas, called centuries. Since the coming year will be the 26th of this century, the 26th stanzas...