| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Koran: be ye steadfast in prayer, and give glad tidings to those who
believe.'
Moses said, 'O our Lord! verily, Thou hast brought to Pharaoh and
his chiefs ornaments and wealth in the life of this world; O our Lord!
that they may err from Thy way! O our Lord! confound their wealth
and harden their hearts that they may not believe until they see
grievous woe!' He said, 'Your prayer is answered; be upright then,
ye two, and follow not the path of those who do not know!'
And we brought the children of Israel across the sea; and Pharaoh
and his hosts followed them eager and hostile, until when drowning
overtook him, he said, 'I believe that there is no god but He in
The Koran |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Twilight Land by Howard Pyle: Yes; he did! He desired to be rid of the Genie!
When he thought of how all that he was in power and might--he,
the Emperor of the World--how all his riches and all his glory
had come as gifts from a hideous black monster with only one eye,
his heart was filled with bitterness. "I cannot forget," said he
to himself, "that as he has given me all these things, he may
take them all away again. Suppose that I should lose my ring and
that some one else should find it; who knows but that they might
become as great as I, and strip me of everything, as I have
stripped others. Yes; I wish he was out of the way!"
Once, when such thoughts as these were passing through his mind,
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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 Pool of Blood in the Pastor's Study by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner: "Yes, there is but one door to the room."
"Let the four other attendants stand outside this door. Gyuri will
be inside with us. Tell the men outside that they are to seize and
hold whomever I shall designate to them. I will call them in by a
whistle. You can trust your people?"
"Yes, I think I can."
"Well, I have my revolver," said Muller calmly, "and now we can go."
They left the room together, and found Gyuri waiting for them a
little further along the corridor. "Aren't you well, sir?" the
attendant asked the doctor, with an anxious note in his voice.
The man's anxiety was not feigned. He was really a faithful servant
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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 Lady Susan by Jane Austen: in the course of a few days seemed somewhat less formidable. The lucky
alarm of an influenza decided what might not have been decided quite so
soon. Lady Susan's maternal fears were then too much awakened for her to
think of anything but Frederica's removal from the risk of infection; above
all disorders in the world she most dreaded the influenza for her
daughter's constitution!
Frederica returned to Churchhill with her uncle and aunt; and three
weeks afterwards, Lady Susan announced her being married to Sir James
Martin. Mrs. Vernon was then convinced of what she had only suspected
before, that she might have spared herself all the trouble of urging a
removal which Lady Susan had doubtless resolved on from the first.
Lady Susan |
