Today's Stichomancy for Osama bin Laden
| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Long Odds by H. Rider Haggard: through the poor brute's neck, and I began to understand what had
happened. My rifle was in the waggon, and my first thought being to get
hold of it, I turned and made a bolt for the box. I got my foot up on
the wheel and flung my body forward on to the waggon, and there I
stopped as if I were frozen, and no wonder, for as I was about to spring
up I heard the lion behind me, and next second I felt the brute, ay, as
plainly as I can feel this table. I felt him, I say, sniffing at my
left leg that was hanging down.
"My word! I did feel queer; I don't think that I ever felt so queer
before. I dared not move for the life of me, and the odd thing was that
I seemed to lose power over my leg, which developed an insane sort of
Long Odds |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: voyage to the coast of Africa without some assistance both to our
ship and to ourselves.
With this design we changed our course, and steered away N.W. by
W., in order to reach some of our English islands, where I hoped
for relief. But our voyage was otherwise determined; for, being in
the latitude of twelve degrees eighteen minutes, a second storm
came upon us, which carried us away with the same impetuosity
westward, and drove us so out of the way of all human commerce,
that, had all our lives been saved as to the sea, we were rather in
danger of being devoured by savages than ever returning to our own
country.
Robinson Crusoe |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Complete Angler by Izaak Walton: It is agreed by most men, that the Eel is a most dainty fish: the Romans
have esteemed her the Helena of their feasts; and some the queen of
palate-pleasure. But most men differ about their breeding: some say
they breed by generation, as other fish do; and others, that they breed,
as some worms do, of mud; as rats and mice, and many other living
creatures, are bred in Egypt, by the sun's heat when it shines upon the
overflowing of the river Nilus; or out of the putrefaction of the earth,
and divers other ways. Those that deny them to breed by generation, as
other fish do, ask, If any man ever saw an Eel to have a spawn or melt ?
And they are answered, That they may be as certain of their breeding as
if they had seen spawn; for they say, that they are certain that Eels have
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The fourth excerpt represents the element of Earth. It speaks of physical influences and the impact of the unseen on the visible world, and is drawn from Enemies of Books by William Blades: many scourings, washings, dressings, and dryings as the parts
of old paper necessarily have suffer'd. And, indeed, when I
consider what a heap of sawdust or chips this little creature
(which is one of the teeth of Time) conveys into its intrals,
I cannot chuse but remember and admire the excellent contrivance
of Nature in placing in animals such a fire, as is continually
nourished and supply'd by the materials convey'd into the stomach
and fomented by the bellows of the lungs." The picture or "image,"
which accompanies this description, is wonderful to behold.
Certainly R. Hooke, Fellow of the Royal Society, drew somewhat
upon his imagination here, having apparently evolved both
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