| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The First Men In The Moon by H. G. Wells: There was no doubt they existed surely enough, and, said I, "This is your
world, and you are Bedford, and you are going back to live among things
like that for all the rest of your life." But the doubts within me could
still argue: "It is not you that is reading, it is Bedford, but you are
not Bedford, you know. That's just where the mistake comes in."
"Confound it!" I cried; "and if I am not Bedford, what am I?"
But in that direction no light was forthcoming, though the strangest
fancies came drifting into my brain, queer remote suspicions, like shadows
seen from away. Do you know, I had a sort of idea that really I was
something quite outside not only the world, but all worlds, and out of
space and time, and that this poor Bedford was just a peephole through
The First Men In The Moon |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Off on a Comet by Jules Verne: Here they halted.
"Ah! the vagabonds! the rascals! the thieves!" suddenly exclaimed Ben Zoof,
stamping his foot with rage.
"How now? Are your friends the birds at their pranks again?"
asked the captain.
"No, I don't mean the birds: I mean those lazy beggars
that are shirking their work. Look here; look there!"
And as Ben Zoof spoke, he pointed to some scythes, and sickles,
and other implements of husbandry that had been left upon the ground.
"What is it you mean?" asked Servadac, getting somewhat impatient.
"Hush, hush! listen!" was all Ben Zoof's reply; and he raised
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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 Somebody's Little Girl by Martha Young: to that big house, and they took up that little tiny girl that
breathed so softly and so quickly--just so!
And they read on her little white night-gown the words written with
the linen thread: ``Bessie Bell.''
And they said: ``Let us take this little girl with us.''
They put a big soft white blanket around the little girl and walked
out of the big house with her, someone carrying her in strong arms.
And the big white cat got down off the big white bed and rubbed
himself against the bedpost, and went round and round the bed-post,
and rubbed himself round and round the bed-post.
And the tiny little girl never saw the big house, or the big soft
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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 Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz by L. Frank Baum: "Our people do not acquire their real life until they leave their bushes,"
said the Prince. "You will notice they are all attached to the plants by
the soles of their feet, and when they are quite ripe they are easily
separated from the stems and at once attain the powers of motion
and speech. So while they grow they cannot be said to really live,
and they must be picked before they can become good citizens."
"How long do you live, after you are picked?" asked Dorothy.
"That depends upon the care we take of ourselves," he replied. "If we
keep cool and moist, and meet with no accidents, we often live for
five years. I've been picked over six years, but our family is known
to be especially long lived."
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz |
