| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen: pretended to roll the cloth off the looms; cut the air with their scissors;
and sewed with needles without any thread in them. "See!" cried they, at last.
"The Emperor's new clothes are ready!"
And now the Emperor, with all the grandees of his court, came to the weavers;
and the rogues raised their arms, as if in the act of holding something up,
saying, "Here are your Majesty's trousers! Here is the scarf! Here is the
mantle! The whole suit is as light as a cobweb; one might fancy one has
nothing at all on, when dressed in it; that, however, is the great virtue of
this delicate cloth."
"Yes indeed!" said all the courtiers, although not one of them could see
anything of this exquisite manufacture.
Fairy Tales |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Red Seal by Natalie Sumner Lincoln: detective. "She came to the library for a book, and the bookcases
are in another part of the room."
"Quite so, but the book she wished was lying on the top of this
casket," replied McIntyre, meeting their level looks with one
equally steadfast. "I know because I left the book there."
Ferguson glanced from McIntyre to Kent and back again at the Colonel
in non-plussed silence. The explanation was pat.
"I'd like to talk with Mrs. Brewster," he remarked dryly.
"Certainly." McIntyre pressed an electric button. The summons was
answered immediately by the new servant, Murray. "Ask Mrs. Brewster
if she can see Detective Ferguson in the library, Murray," McIntyre
The Red Seal |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy: of his action would be to divert Wildeve's movement
rather than to stop it. The gambling with the guineas
had not conduced to make him a welcome guest to Clym;
but to call upon his wife's relative was natural, and he
was determined to see Eustacia. It was necessary to choose
some less untoward hour than ten o'clock at night.
"Since it is unsafe to go in the evening," he said,
"I'll go by day."
Meanwhile Venn had left the heath and gone to call upon
Mrs. Yeobright, with whom he had been on friendly terms
since she had learnt what a providential countermove he
Return of the Native |
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 Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: fierce destroyers. In my case it was love--love of the divine
Dejah Thoris; and the cause of the Thark's great and sudden
love of life I could not fathom, for it is oftener that they seek
death than life--these strange, cruel, loveless, unhappy people.
At length, however, we reached the shadows of the forest, while
right behind us sprang the swiftest of our pursuers--a giant plant man
with claws outreaching to fasten his bloodsucking mouths upon us.
He was, I should say, a hundred yards in advance of his
closest companion, and so I called to Tars Tarkas to ascend a
great tree that brushed the cliff's face while I dispatched the
fellow, thus giving the less agile Thark an opportunity to
The Gods of Mars |
