| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Thuvia, Maid of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: As his eyes met those of his fellow-captive a smile
lit the other's face, and: "Kaor, red man!" burst from
his lips. It was Kar Komak, the bowman.
"Kaor!" cried Carthoris, in response. "How came you
here, and what befell the princess?"
"Red men like yourself descended in mighty ships that
sailed the air, even as the great ships of my distant
day sailed the five seas," replied Kar Komak. "They
fought with the green men of Torquas. They slew
Komal, god of Lothar. I thought they were your friends,
and I was glad when finally those of them who survived
Thuvia, Maid of Mars |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Madame Firmiani by Honore de Balzac: effect; her feelings are shown simply, because they are true. Frank
herself, she does not wound the vanity of others; she accepts men as
God made them; pitying the vicious, forgiving defects and absurdities,
comprehending all ages, and vexed by nothing, because she has had the
sense and tact to foresee all. Tender and gay, she gratifies before
she consoles. You love her so well that if this angel did wrong you
would be ready to excuse her. If, for your happiness, you have met
with such a woman, you know Madame Firmiani.
After Monsieur de Bourbonne had talked with her for ten minutes,
sitting beside her, his nephew was forgiven. He perceived that
whatever the actual truth might be, the relation between Madame
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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 Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne: who was accused of plotting against his life. He therefore made
little or no objection to Medea's scheme, and as soon as the
poisonous wine was ready, gave orders that the young stranger
should be admitted into his presence.
The goblet was set on a table beside the king's throne; and a
fly, meaning just to sip a little from the brim, immediately
tumbled into it, dead. Observing this, Medea looked round at
the nephews, and smiled again.
When Theseus was ushered into the royal apartment, the only
object that he seemed to behold was the white-bearded old king.
There he sat on his magnificent throne, a dazzling crown on his
Tanglewood Tales |
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 An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce: enforcing an erect carriage of the body. It did not appear
to be the duty of these two men to know what was occurring at
the center of the bridge; they merely blockaded the two ends
of the foot planking that traversed it.
Beyond one of the sentinels nobody was in sight; the railroad
ran straight away into a forest for a hundred yards, then,
curving, was lost to view. Doubtless there was an outpost
farther along. The other bank of the stream was open ground
-- a gentle slope topped with a stockade of vertical tree
trunks, loopholed for rifles, with a single embrasure
through which protruded the muzzle of a brass cannon
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge |
