| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Heap O' Livin' by Edgar A. Guest: At the jeers of a doubting crew,
Or dare you, whether you win or fail,
Strike out for a goal that's new?
REVENGE
If I had hatred in my heart toward my fellow
man,
If I were pressed to do him ill, to conjure up a
plan
To wound him sorely and to rob his days of all
their joy,
I'd wish his wife would go away and take their
A Heap O' Livin' |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from What is Man? by Mark Twain: that this position is not assailable.
Free Will
Y.M. What is your opinion regarding Free Will?
O.M. That there is no such thing. Did the man possess it
who gave the old woman his last shilling and trudged home in the
storm?
Y.M. He had the choice between succoring the old woman and
leaving her to suffer. Isn't it so?
O.M. Yes, there was a choice to be made, between bodily
comfort on the one hand and the comfort of the spirit on the
other. The body made a strong appeal, of course--the body would
What is Man? |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass: noon on Friday; and this, together with the pelting, excitement,
and the loss of blood, had reduced my strength. I, however,
darted back into the woods, before the ferocious hound could get
hold of me, and buried myself in a thicket, where he lost sight
of me. The corn-field afforded me cover, in getting to the
woods. But for the tall corn, Covey would have overtaken me, and
made me his captive. He seemed very much chagrined that he did
not catch me, and gave up the chase, very reluctantly; for I
could see his angry movements, toward the house from which he had
sallied, on his foray.
Well, now I am clear of Covey, and of his wrathful lash, for
My Bondage and My Freedom |
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 Dreams by Olive Schreiner: Then, to the right among the trees were men working. And I said to God, "I
should like to go and work with them. Hell must be a very fruitful place,
the grass is so green."
God said, "Nothing grows in the garden they are making."
We stood looking; and I saw them working among the bushes, digging holes,
but in them they set nothing; and when they had covered them with sticks
and earth each went a way off and sat behind the bushes watching; and I
noticed that as each walked he set his foot down carefully looking where he
trod. I said to God, "What are they doing?"
God said, "Making pitfalls into which their fellows may sink."
I said to God, "Why do they do it?"
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