Analyse:

estude reposé selle d'aerain flambe exiguë Sortant de solitude prospérer vain verge branches onde mouiller limbe pied manches Un peur et voix Splendeur Divine Divin près s'assied

in modern french étude, in english study. And here, there are two main definitions of the word study:1.- the acquiring of knowledge 2.- a room set apart for studying. Here, the word study means a place or a room, because if it had been the acquiring of knowledge, Nostradamus would have said études secrètes which, translated, gives secret studies. It is important to give an exact definition of all the words, because these two quatrains define how the prophecies came about. décontracté, relaxed. In order to receive the prophecies, Nostradamus placed himself in a relaxed or semi-trance state. In this state, he could visually receive or perceive future events. modern french tripode, tripod : a stool very common in those days. It had three legs and allowed for more freedom of movement. in modern french flamme, flame:: body of glowing, burning gas or a strong reddish color like a flame. Here, the astuteness is in the word exigüe, exiguous, which means very small, generally implying that something is much smaller than it should be. Therefore, the flame cannot be that of a candle which illuminates the space around it and gives a glow very perceptible to the naked eye from the moment it is lighted. In the present case flamme exigüe means a glimmer, or very thin light or mist, that grows bigger and bigger, until it becomes a screen where, in a constant stream, pictures and symbols appear before the eyes of the seer. out of nowhere croitre, se développer, which translated means to grow, to expand, which is exactly what the light, or mist is doing, by growing bigger and bigger. in the sense of infructueux, vain, fruitless. a metal rod, or metallic tringle used with some instruments. Here, the instrument in question is the alidade, a sighting device used in optical instruments, such as the sextant, theodolite, and surveying transit, in order to measure angles. The line of sight is rotated about an axis to point at objects, indicating their direction by the angle between a stationary mark and a mark that follows the line of sight along a calibrated circle. With a straight edge and an alidade placed on a map and revolved about the observer's position, a line can be drawn on the map representing the straight line from the observer to the object sighted. [Groelier Encyclopedia - CD-ROM 1997] branches. One of the french meanings is ramifications or divisions d'un appareil qui partent d'un axe ou d'un centre [translation: ramifications or divisions of a device going out from a center. Therefore, we say the branches of the alidade. It has, effectively, two legs or branches going out from a center, and the instrument is held at the junction, just as described in the quatrain. wave: one of the definitions is form filled with sinuosities, reminding one of the waves which is what the astrolabe is, two or more planispheres, or spheres, filled with sinuosities, or engraved, to represent the zenith, the horizon and the path of the sun and planets. to wet. One of the definitions isto cast weigh anchor, to stop, which is what the seer is doing when he stops, or places the legs of the alidade on the various parts of the astrolabe. limb: graduated edge of a quadrant which is the exact definition in both languages. foot. One of the definitions is: intersection point of a perpendicular. As I do not have the picture of a complete astrolabe, I can only guess that, in order to measure the distance of the stars, one of the legs of the alidade is held in a perpendiculary position while the other extends to one of the disks. It can also mean that one disc is perpendiculary to another disc. sleeve. Here, in order to understand the line, one has to have a certain knowledge of the metaphysical, as it pertains to clairvoyance, clairaudience and automatic writing. Nostradamus had the gift of clairvoyance and probably clairaudience, and while he used astronomy and astrology to define the events and the date of the events he was seeing in his visions, he also concurrently picked up these locations and dates intuitively, or psychically. By this I mean that the hand that held the alidade or compas suddenly became numb [such is the case in automatic writing] and someone or some force took over and moved the alidade to to exact location. If I were to define this faculty, I would say it is somewhere between automatic writing and psychometry, which is picking up facts and dates about a person from an object belonging to that person. fear or scare and voices. These are hideen meanings to indicate that a shiver runs through the arm and the hand to the handles [les manches] of the alidade the compas, thus triggering vibrations [the voices: a manifestation from spirit], which then activates the alidade. Divine Splendor. This comes as a complement to the third line to indicate that something extraordinary and divine is happening The Divine stands near by, this meaning that the spiritual Forces have invaded Nostradamus' body, and the seer is now ready to receive the visions.

Interprétation

Sitting at night in the secrecy of his study
Alone and comfortably installed on a brass tripod,
A glimmer appearing out of nowhere
Suddenly turns into real visions.

His hand on the alidade at the junction of the legs,
He places one leg on the rim of the astrolabe
And the other at the point of intersection.
A vibration sweeps through his hand to the leg of the instrument
Divine splendor! It is the hour of revelation!

And what is the meaning of all this? It is the set-up, or the ritual, by means of which Nostradamus is able to put himself in a semi-transe and receive the prophecies:
He enters the study, sits on the stool placed right in front of the astrolabe. There, he takes a relaxed position and releases the muscles of the body. The hand on the alidade, he stands still, in a semi-trance. After a while, a glimmer, or mist, appears out of nowhere and, growing bigger and bigger, forms pictures, scenes and symbols for Nostradamus to interpret. A shiver runs through the arm, to the hand and to the alidade which then moves on the astrolabe as if by itself, indicating dates and places where future events would occur. This ritual is repeated, night after night, until the time when all the prophecies are received and written down for posterity.