| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Reef by Edith Wharton: She began to run her fingers through her hair, rejoicing in
its thickness; then she desisted and sat still, resting her
chin on her hands.
"I want him to see me as I am," she thought.
Deeper than the deepest fibre of her vanity was the
triumphant sense that AS SHE WAS, with her flattened
hair, her tired pallor, her thin sleeves a little tumbled by
the weight of her jacket, he would like her even better,
feel her nearer, dearer, more desirable, than in all the
splendours she might put on for him. In the light of this
discovery she studied her face with a new intentness, seeing
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Bunner Sisters by Edith Wharton: see."
Evelina laid down the hat she was trimming, and took the clock
from its shelf.
"There--I knew it! She's wound jest as TIGHT--what you
suppose's happened to her, Ann Eliza?"
"I dunno, I'm sure," said the elder sister, wiping her
spectacles before proceeding to a close examination of the clock.
With anxiously bent heads the two women shook and turned it,
as though they were trying to revive a living thing; but it
remained unresponsive to their touch, and at length Evelina laid it
down with a sigh.
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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 Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson:
Treasure Island |
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 Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy: found the "merchant" had been there before him and had bought up
all the provisions. Still, the people continued to bring him
money.
Tarras at last became so indignant that he ordered the "merchant"
out of his kingdom. He left, but settled just outside the
boundary line, and continued his business with the same result as
before, and Tarras was frequently forced to go without food for
days. It was rumored that the "merchant" wanted to buy even
Tarras himself. On hearing this the latter became very much
alarmed and could not decide as to the best course to pursue.
About this time his brother Simeon arrived in the kingdom, and
The Kreutzer Sonata |
