| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Father Sergius by Leo Tolstoy: Father Sergius remained seated on the bench at the entrance and
when she was passing and stopped beside him for his blessing he
was aghast at himself for the way he looked at her figure. As
she passed by him he was acutely conscious of her femininity,
though he saw by her face that she was sensual and feeble-minded.
He rose and went into the cell. She was sitting on a stool
waiting for him, and when he entered she rose.
'I want to go back to Papa,' she said.
'Don't be afraid,' he replied. 'What are you suffering from?'
'I am in pain all over,' she said, and suddenly her face lit up
with a smile.
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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 The Road to Oz by L. Frank Baum: there arose a harsh clamor of sound that swelled and echoed on every
side, until they were nearly deafened by the racket and had to put
their fingers to their ears to keep the noise out.
It was like the firing of many cannon, only there were no cannon-balls
or other missiles to be seen; it was like the rolling of mighty
thunder, only not a cloud was in the sky; it was like the roar of
countless breakers on a rugged seashore, only there was no sea or
other water anywhere about.
They hesitated to advance; but, as the noise did no harm, they entered
through the whitewashed wall and quickly discovered the cause of the
turmoil. Inside were suspended many sheets of tin or thin iron, and
The Road to Oz |
