| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Rinkitink In Oz by L. Frank Baum: Zella, however, had no more than time to turn her
head when a thick swarm of bees surrounded her, angry
because they had caught her stealing their honey and
intent on stinging the girl as a punishment. She knew
her danger and expected to be badly injured by the
multitude of stinging bees, but to her surprise the
little creatures were unable to fly close enough to her
to stick their dart-like stingers into her flesh. They
swarmed about her in a dark cloud, and their angry
buzzing was terrible to hear, yet the little girl
remained unharmed.
Rinkitink In Oz |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne: lips.
"Make haste!" cried his fellows: "we'll find the wine cask
itself at the palace, and that will be better than a hundred
crystal fountains."
Then they quickened their pace, and capered for joy at the
thought of the savory banquet at which they hoped to be guests.
But Eurylochus told them that he felt as if he were walking in
a dream.
"If I am really awake," continued he, "then, in my opinion, we
are on the point of meeting with some stranger adventure than
any that befell us in the cave of Polyphemus, or among the
Tanglewood Tales |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas: "No, but somebody has gone in."
"A man or a woman?"
"A man."
"Ah! ah!" said D'Artagnan, "there are two of them, then!"
"I wish there were four," said Athos; "the two parties would
then be equal."
"Perhaps there are four," said D'Artagnan.
"What do you mean?"
"Other men may have entered before them and waited for
them."
"We can find out," said Grimaud. At the same time he pointed
Twenty Years After |
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 Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: ugly weapon he had by his side, something like a pole-axe, he
wrenched it from him, and made shift to knock his Tartarian brains
out with it. But my old man had the third Tartar to deal with
still; and seeing he did not fly, as he expected, nor come on to
fight him, as he apprehended, but stood stock still, the old man
stood still too, and fell to work with his tackle to charge his
pistol again: but as soon as the Tartar saw the pistol away he
scoured, and left my pilot, my champion I called him afterwards, a
complete victory.
By this time I was a little recovered. I thought, when I first
began to wake, that I had been in a sweet sleep; but, as I said
Robinson Crusoe |
