Today's Stichomancy for William Gibson
| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Voyage to Abyssinia by Father Lobo: invites the chumo or steward, who is appointed to make an estimate
of the value of each year's product, to his house, entertains him in
the most agreeable manner he can; makes him a present, and then
takes him to see his corn. If the chumo is pleased with the treat
and present, he will give him a declaration or writing to witness
that his ground, which afforded five or six sacks of corn, did you
yield so many bushels, and even of this it is the custom to abate
something; so that our revenue did not increase in proportion to our
lands; and we found ourselves often obliged to buy corn, which,
indeed, is not dear, for in fruitful years forty or fifty measures,
weighing each about twenty-two pounds, may be purchased for a crown.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Troll Garden and Selected Stories by Willa Cather: stopped at the track crossing, uncertain as to what direction he
should take to reach a hotel. A phaeton stood near the crossing,
and a woman held the reins. She was dressed in white, and her
figure was clearly silhouetted against the cushions, though it
was too dark to see her face. Everett had scarcely noticed her,
when the switch engine came puffing up from the opposite
direction, and the headlight threw a strong glare of light on his
face. Suddenly the woman in the phaeton uttered a low cry and
dropped the reins. Everett started forward and caught the
horse's head, but the animal only lifted its ears and whisked its
tail in impatient surprise. The woman sat perfectly still, her
The Troll Garden and Selected Stories |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Glinda of Oz by L. Frank Baum: disappeared. A moment later there arose to the surface
a beautiful White Swan. This Swan was of large size,
very gracefully formed, and scattered all over its
white feathers were tiny diamonds, so thickly placed
that as the rays of the morning sun fell upon them the
entire body of the Swan glistened like one brilliant
diamond. The head of the Diamond Swan had a bill of
polished gold and its eyes were two sparkling
amethysts.
"Hooray!" cried the Su-dic, dancing up and down with
wicked glee. "My poor wife, Rora, is avenged at last.
Glinda of Oz |
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 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad: deep in the tangled gloom, naked breasts, arms, legs, glaring eyes--
the bush was swarming with human limbs in movement, glistening.
of bronze colour. The twigs shook, swayed, and rustled,
the arrows flew out of them, and then the shutter came to.
`Steer her straight,' I said to the helmsman. He held his
head rigid, face forward; but his eyes rolled, he kept on lifting
and setting down his feet gently, his mouth foamed a little.
`Keep quiet!' I said in a fury. I might just as well have
ordered a tree not to sway in the wind. I darted out.
Below me there was a great scuffle of feet on the iron deck;
confused exclamations; a voice screamed, `Can you turn back?'
Heart of Darkness |
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