| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Night and Day by Virginia Woolf: have a beautiful square all to myself, when poor women who need rest
have nowhere at all to sit?" She looked fiercely at Katharine, giving
her short locks a little shake. "It's dreadful what a tyrant one still
is, in spite of all one's efforts. One tries to lead a decent life,
but one can't. Of course, directly one thinks of it, one sees that ALL
squares should be open to EVERY ONE. Is there any society with that
object, Mr. Clacton? If not, there should be, surely."
"A most excellent object," said Mr. Clacton in his professional
manner. "At the same time, one must deplore the ramification of
organizations, Mrs. Seal. So much excellent effort thrown away, not to
speak of pounds, shillings, and pence. Now how many organizations of a
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Heroes by Charles Kingsley: wait what would befall.
And the heroes obeyed her unwillingly, for they were ashamed
to leave her so alone; but Jason said, 'She is dearer to me
than to any of you, yet I will trust her freely on shore; she
has more plots than we can dream of in the windings of that
fair and cunning head.'
So they left the witch-maiden on the shore; and she stood
there in her beauty all alone, till the giant strode back
red-hot from head to heel, while the grass hissed and smoked
beneath his tread.
And when he saw the maiden alone, he stopped; and she looked
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen: "I was forgetting," he said, "that I too have something
to tell. I have received a letter from Dr. Harding of Buenos
Ayres. He says that he attended Meyrick for three weeks before
his death."
"And does he say what carried him off in the prime of
life? It was not fever?"
"No, it was not fever. According to the doctor, it was
an utter collapse of the whole system, probably caused by some
severe shock. But he states that the patient would tell him
nothing, and that he was consequently at some disadvantage in
treating the case."
The Great God Pan |
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 When a Man Marries by Mary Roberts Rinehart: going to sit in the refrigerator and cool the butter. She locked
herself in the dressing room--it had been assigned to me, but
that made no difference to Bella--and did her nails, and took
three different baths, and refused to come to the table. And of
course Jimmy was wild, and said she would starve. But I said,
"Very well, let her starve. Not a tray shall leave my kitchen."
It was a comfort to have her shut up there anyhow; it postponed
the time when she would come face to face with Flannigan.
Aunt Selina got sick that day, as I have said. I was not so
bitter as the others; I did not say that I wished she would die.
The worst I ever wished her was that she might be quite ill for
|
