| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence: was awakened she was quite devoid of class feeling. Michaelis talked
frankly about himself, quite frankly, without affectation, simply
revealing his bitter, indifferent, stray-dog's soul, then showing a
gleam of revengeful pride in his success.
'But why are you such a lonely bird?' Connie asked him; and again he
looked at her, with his full, searching, hazel look.
'Some birds ARE that way,' he replied. Then, with a touch of familiar
irony: 'but, look here, what about yourself? Aren't you by way of being
a lonely bird yourself?' Connie, a little startled, thought about it
for a few moments, and then she said: 'Only in a way! Not altogether,
like you!'
Lady Chatterley's Lover |
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: But the professor was in the worst of tempers. Generally taciturn and morose,
he was more than usually uncivil whenever any one ventured to speak to him.
The loss of his telescope had doubtless a great deal to do with his ill-humor;
but the captain drew the most favorable conclusions from Rosette's
continued irritation. Had the comet been in any way projected from
its course, so as to be likely to fail in coming into contact with the earth,
the professor would have been quite unable to conceal his satisfaction.
But they required to know more than the general truth, and felt that they
had no time to lose in getting at the exact details.
The opportunity that was wanted soon came.
On the 18th, Rosette was overheard in furious altercation
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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 Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton: distrust of her efficiency, seemed an added reason for turning
down her street instead of going on to the club. He would show
her that he knew how to value her; he would ask her to achieve
with him a feat infinitely rarer and more delicate than the one
he had appeared to avoid. Incidentally, he would also dispose of
the interval of time before dinner: ever since he had seen Miss
Gaynor off, an hour earlier, on her return journey to Buffalo, he
had been wondering how he should put in the rest of the
afternoon. It was absurd, how he missed the girl. . . . Yes,
that was it; the desire to talk about her was, after all, at the
bottom of his impulse to call on Mrs. Vervain! It was absurd, if
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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 Herbert West: Reanimator by H. P. Lovecraft: from the well-shaped mouth; but I do know that at that moment
I firmly thought the thin lips moved silently, forming syllables
which I would have vocalised as "only now" if that phrase had
possessed any sense or relevancy. At that moment, as I say, I
was elated with the conviction that the one great goal had been
attained; and that for the first time a reanimated corpse had
uttered distinct words impelled by actual reason. In the next
moment there was no doubt about the triumph; no doubt that the
solution had truly accomplished, at least temporarily, its full
mission of restoring rational and articulate life to the dead.
But in that triumph there came to me the greatest of all horrors
Herbert West: Reanimator |
