| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Underground City by Jules Verne: below the unfixed strata, either until they found a resting-place,
such as the primitive bed of granitic rock, or, settling together
in a heap, they formed a solid mass.
As the waters were contained in no bed, and were spread over every
part of the globe, they rushed where they liked, tearing from
the scarcely-formed rocks material with which to compose schists,
sandstones, and limestones. This the roving waves bore over
the submerged and now peaty forests, and deposited above them
the elements of rocks which were to superpose the coal strata.
In course of time, periods of which include millions of years,
these earths hardened in layers, and enclosed under a thick
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Out of Time's Abyss by Edgar Rice Burroughs: The entire party was moody and glum. There was none of the
bantering that had marked their intercourse before, even in the
face of blighting hardships and hideous danger. This was a new
menace that threatened them, something that they couldn't
explain; and so, naturally, it aroused within them superstitious
fear which Tippet's attitude only tended to augment. To add
further to their gloom, their way led through a dense forest,
where, on account of the underbrush, it was difficult to make
even a mile an hour. Constant watchfulness was required to avoid
the many snakes of various degrees of repulsiveness and enormity
that infested the wood; and the only ray of hope they had to
Out of Time's Abyss |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Snow Image by Nathaniel Hawthorne: sea. The windows, from the floor to the ceiling of each stately
apartment, were composed, respectively, of but one enormous pane
of glass, so transparently pure that it was said to be a finer
medium than even the vacant atmosphere. Hardly anybody had been
permitted to see the interior of this palace; but it was
reported, and with good semblance of truth, to be far more
gorgeous than the outside, insomuch that whatever was iron or
brass in other houses was silver or gold in this; and Mr.
Gathergold's bedchamber, especially, made such a glittering
appearance that no ordinary man would have been able to close his
eyes there. But, on the other hand, Mr. Gathergold was now so
The Snow Image |
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 Tin Woodman of Oz by L. Frank Baum: anything in eleven years."
"Eleven years is nothing," remarked another Dragon,
sleepily opening and closing his eyes; "I haven't
feasted for eighty-seven years, and I dare not get
hungry for a dozen or so years to come. Children who
eat between meals should be broken of the habit."
"All I had, eleven years ago, was a rhinoceros, and
that's not a full meal at all," grumbled the young one.
"And, before that, I had waited sixty-two years to be
fed; so it's no wonder I'm hungry."
"How old are you now?" asked Woot, forgetting his own
The Tin Woodman of Oz |
