| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Reign of King Edward the Third by William Shakespeare: KING EDWARD.
No farther off, than her conspiring eye,
Which shoots infected poison in my heart,
Beyond repulse of wit or cure of Art.
Now, in the Sun alone it doth not lie,
With light to take light from a mortal eye;
For here two day stars that mine eyes would see
More than the Sun steals mine own light from me,
Contemplative desire, desire to be
In contemplation, that may master thee!
Warwick, Artois, to horse and let's away!
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Manon Lescaut by Abbe Prevost: during nearly ten months which I had now passed in America, to
know in what manner the natives should be approached. Death was
not the necessary consequence of falling into their hands. I had
learned a few words of their language, and some of their customs,
having had many opportunities of seeing them.
"Besides this sad resource, I derived some hopes from the fact,
that the English had, like ourselves, established colonies in
this part of the New World. But the distance was terrific. In
order to reach them, we should have to traverse deserts of many
days' journey, and more than one range of mountains so steep and
vast as to seem almost impassable to the strongest man. I
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Yates Pride by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman: the tea-tray, was an unclassed being, neither maid nor mistress,
but outranking either. She had tied on a white apron. She bore
the silver tray with an ease which bespoke either nerve or muscle
in her lace-draped arms.
She poured the tea, holding the silver pot high and letting the
amber fluid trickle slowly, and the pearls and diamonds on her
thin hands shone dully. Sophia passed little china plates and
fringed napkins, and Anna a silver basket with golden squares of
sponge-cake.
The ladies ate and drank, and the blue and white bundle on the
sofa remained motionless. Eudora, after she had finished her
|
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: "Then I'm sure she couldn't live in that little house," said Woot.
"Let's go down," suggested the Scarecrow. "I'm almost
sure I can see a straw-stack in the back yard."
They descended the hollow, which was rather steep at
the sides, and soon came to the house, which was indeed
rather small. Woot knocked upon a door that was not
much higher than his waist, but got no reply. He
knocked again, but not a sound was heard.
"Smoke is coming out of the chimney," announced
Polychrome, who was dancing lightly through the garden,
where cabbages and beets and turnips and the like were
The Tin Woodman of Oz |
