| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen: Are you made of stone, man? Why, the dread and horror of death
itself, the thoughts of the man who stands in the keen morning
air on the black platform, bound, the bell tolling in his ears,
and waits for the harsh rattle of the bolt, are as nothing
compared to this. I will not read it; I should never sleep
again."
"Very good. I can fancy what you saw. Yes; it is
horrible enough; but after all, it is an old story, an old
mystery played in our day, and in dim London streets instead of
amidst the vineyards and the olive gardens. We know what
happened to those who chanced to meet the Great God Pan, and
The Great God Pan |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Lady Baltimore by Owen Wister: return you shall have my answer? Not adequate either, I thought. Or had
it been, If you don't go, it shall be "no," to-day and forever? This last
was better; but there was no telling, nor did Beverly Rodgers, to whom I
propounded all my theories, have any notion of what was between Hortense
and Charley. He only knew that Charley was quite aware of the existence
of John, but had always been merely amused at the notion of him.
"So have you been merely amused," I reminded him.
"Not since that look I saw her give him, old chap. I know she wants him,
only not why she wants him. And Charley, you know--well, of course, poor
Charley's a banker, just a banker and no more; and a banker is merely the
ace in the same pack where the drummer is the two-spot. Our American
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Eugenie Grandet by Honore de Balzac: and never drain it dry."
"Mademoiselle, in speaking of this young girl we shall speak of you.
Listen! If you wish to insure your salvation you have only two paths
to take,--either leave the world or obey its laws. Obey either your
earthly destiny or your heavenly destiny."
"Ah! your voice speaks to me when I need to hear a voice. Yes, God has
sent you to me; I will bid farewell to the world and live for God
alone, in silence and seclusion."
"My daughter, you must think long before you take so violent a step.
Marriage is life, the veil is death."
"Yes, death,--a quick death!" she said, with dreadful eagerness.
Eugenie Grandet |
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 The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne: heat, which insures for the regions near the ocean a medium temperature,
less high in summer, but less low in winter."
"We shall prove that," replied Pencroft. "But I don't want to bother
myself about whether it will be cold or not. One thing is certain, that is
that the days are already short, and the evenings long. Suppose we talk
about the question of light."
"Nothing is easier," replied Harding.
"To talk about?" asked the sailor.
"To settle."
"And when shall we begin?"
"To-morrow, by having a seal hunt."
The Mysterious Island |
