| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum: asked Scraps.
"Because it is ladylike and proper," replied the
Chief.
"But some are just children, poor things!
Don't they ever run around and play and laugh,
and have a good time?"
"No, indeed," said the Chief. "That would he
improper in young ladies, as well as in those who
will sometime become young ladies. My daughters
are being brought up according to the rules and
regulations laid down by a leading bachelor who
The Patchwork Girl of Oz |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Aesop's Fables by Aesop: Avaricious and Envious The Ass's Brains
The Crow and the Pitcher The Eagle and the Arrow
The Man and the Satyr The Milkmaid and Her Pail
The Goose With the Golden Eggs The Cat-Maiden
The Labourer and the Nightingale The Horse and the Ass
The Fox, the Cock, and the Dog The Trumpeter Taken Prisoner
The Wind and the Sun The Buffoon and the Countryman
Hercules and the Waggoner The Old Woman and the Wine-Jar
The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey The Fox and the Goat
Aesop's Fables
The Cock and the Pearl
Aesop's Fables |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Hunting of the Snark by Lewis Carroll: And it's handy for striking a light.
" 'You may seek it with thimbles--and seek it with care;
You may hunt it with forks and hope;
You may threaten its life with a railway-share;
You may charm it with smiles and soap--' "
("That's exactly the method," the Bellman bold
In a hasty parenthesis cried,
"That's exactly the way I have always been told
That the capture of Snarks should be tried!")
" 'But oh, beamish nephew, beware of the day,
If your Snark be a Boojum! For then
The Hunting of the Snark |
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 Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne:
In this matter, Hester Prynne came to have a part to perform in
the world. With her native energy of character and rare
capacity, it could not entirely cast her off, although it had set
a mark upon her, more intolerable to a woman's heart than that
which branded the brow of Cain. In all her intercourse with
society, however, there was nothing that made her feel as if she
belonged to it. Every gesture, every word, and even the silence
of those with whom she came in contact, implied, and often
expressed, that she was banished, and as much alone as if she
inhabited another sphere, or communicated with the common nature
The Scarlet Letter |
