Baba Vanga
Baba Vanga was a noted prophet and psychic with renowned healing abilities. Her followers believed she had tremendous powers of foresight and clairvoyance. Baba Vanga was born on January 31, 1911 in an area that is part of present day Bulgaria, though at the time, the region was under the control of the Ottoman Empire.
According to legend, the source of Baba Vanga's power originated from a childhood accident. The story states that when Vanga was a young girl of 12 years old, she was blown down by a strong gust of wind. Having been forcefully thrown to the ground, Vanga found herself with sand in her eyes. The sand scratched up her eyes, leaving the young girl blind. After that traumatic incident, Vanga's psychic powers began to develop. Even before this harrowing experience, Vanga showed signs that she may have had special powers. As a child, she was fond of playing games where she healed childhood friends with medicinal roots. Medical treatments for Vanga's newly acquired blindness proved to be unhelpful. As a result, Vanga's parents sent her to a school for the blind. While at the school, she learned how to cope with her new handicap and the skills necessary to live an independent and fulfilling life. While at this school, Vanga's powers began to slowly develop. At first, she started exhibiting clairvoyant powers where she would help to locate missing objects or persons. These accomplishments were initially treated as coincidences, but as more and more of her insights seemed to come true, Vanga developed a reputation of having psychic powers. After several years, word spread of her great powers. During this time, Vanga was visited by heads of state and other important Bulgarian dignitaries who sought her advice on important matters. Vanga died in August of 1996 at the age of 85.
Baba Vanga attributed her powers to what she called "invisible creatures," who would communicate with her and tell her all about a person's life and future. These creatures also allowed her to act as a spiritual medium, letting her assist family members in speaking with their dead relatives. Vanga also expanded on her childhood gift of healing with herbs, becoming a highly regarded herbal medicinal healer.
Vanga is also noted for her abilities to see the future, having predicted many events before they happened. Because Vanga was partially illiterate and blind, the transcription of her prophecies were left to aids and staff members. Here are some of the most famous prophecies attributed to Vanga by her followers:
1. The sinking of the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk.
In 1980, Vanga made the prophecy, ""At the turn of the century, in August of 1999 or 2000, Kursk will be covered with water, and the whole world will be weeping over it." Sure enough, in August of 2000, the Russian nuclear submarine called the Kursk sank in the North Sea.
2. The terrorist attacks on September 11 on the World Trade Center in New York.
Vanga's supporters say that in 1989, she successfully predicted the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York when she said, "Horror, horror! The American brethren will fall after being attacked by the steel birds. The wolves will be howling in a bush, and innocent blood will be gushing." Steal birds refer to the two aircraft that slammed into the two sky scrapers on the morning of September 11, 2001, while "brethren" is interpreted to mean the two towers of the World Trade Center. It is also interesting to note that Vanga used the word "bush" which coincidentally was the name of the sitting US President at the time, George W. Bush.
3. The death of her own brother.
Baba Vanga warned her brother of his impending death in the army at the age of 23. He failed to heed the warning and was subsequently captured, tortured, and killed.
4. The beginning of World War III in November of 2010 and lasting through 2014.
Vanga forecast the beginning of World War III to begin in November of 2010. She suggested that the war would begin like normal, but then escalate to where the use of nuclear and chemical weapons would be warranted. As a result of this, Vanga predicts that North America and Europe will be wiped out and covered with radioactive fallout that will leave the land useless for years to come. After the radiation subsides, Vanga predicts that Muslims will rule over the area that was formerly Europe and that China would fill the void as the next superpower.
Many critics of Vanga suggest that her prophecies like most other prophecies are vague and ambiguous, leading to several ways in which they can be interpreted. Still, her believers still hold her in high regard claiming that she has an approximately 80% success rate.
Regardless of whether she had true powers or not, Vanga has developed a great following as her prophecies become more widely known outside of her native country. As to whether or not her prophecies come to fruition, only time will tell.
