| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Jungle by Upton Sinclair: There was no place to entertain company except in the kitchen, in the
midst of the family, and Tamoszius would sit there with his hat between
his knees, never saying more than half a dozen words at a time, and turning
red in the face before he managed to say those; until finally Jurgis would
clap him upon the back, in his hearty way, crying, "Come now, brother,
give us a tune." And then Tamoszius' face would light up and he would
get out his fiddle, tuck it under his chin, and play. And forthwith
the soul of him would flame up and become eloquent--it was almost an
impropriety, for all the while his gaze would be fixed upon Marija's face,
until she would begin to turn red and lower her eyes. There was no
resisting the music of Tamoszius, however; even the children would sit
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Tono Bungay by H. G. Wells: There was an immense assenting silence.
"You've puzzled me so. At first--I mean quite early--I thought
you meant to make me marry you."
"I did."
"And then?"
"To-night," she said after a long pause, "I can't explain. No!
I can't explain. I love you! But--explanations! To-night my
dear, here we are in the world alone--and the world doesn't
matter. Nothing matters. Here I am in the cold with you and my
bed away there deserted. I'd tell you--I will tell you when
things enable me to tell you, and soon enough they will. But
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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 The Life of the Spider by J. Henri Fabre: crosses, ornamenting the back, will tell me that my find
corresponds with the Cross or Diadem Spider (Epeira diadema,
WALCK.).
When the sun reaches this part of the enclosure, one of the two
groups falls into a great state of flutter. Nimble acrobats that
they are, the little Spiders scramble up, one after the other, and
reach the top of the stem. Here, marches and countermarches,
tumult and confusion reign, for there is a slight breeze which
throws the troop into disorder. I see no connected manoeuvres.
From the top of the stalk they set out at every moment, one by one;
they dart off suddenly; they fly away, so to speak. It is as
The Life of the Spider |
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 Last War: A World Set Free by H. G. Wells: phosphorescences beneath the fair surfaces of life. Man had not
been always thus; the instincts and desires of the little home,
the little plot, was not all his nature; also he was an
adventurer, an experimenter, an unresting curiosity, an
insatiable desire. For a few thousand generations indeed he had
tilled the earth and followed the seasons, saying his prayers,
grinding his corn and trampling the October winepress, yet not
for so long but that he was still full of restless stirrings.
'If there have been home and routine and the field,' thought
Holsten, 'there have also been wonder and the sea.'
He turned his head and looked up over the back of the seat at the
The Last War: A World Set Free |
