| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Pagan and Christian Creeds by Edward Carpenter: have had, from earliest times, a profound influence on
the generation of religious myths and legends. To say
that it was the only influence would certainly be a mistake.
Other causes undoubtedly contributed. But it was a main
and important influence. The origins of the Zodiac are
obscure; we do not know with any certainty the reasons
why the various names were given to its component sections,
nor can we measure the exact antiquity of these names; but
--pre-supposing the names of the signs as once given--it
is not difficult to imagine the growth of legends connected
with the Sun's course among them.
Pagan and Christian Creeds |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Dawn O'Hara, The Girl Who Laughed by Edna Ferber: we stood transfixed in the doorway, and laughed a short,
sneering laugh that was like a stinging blow on the
cheek.
"So!" he said; and I would not have believed that men
really said "So!" in that way outside of a melodrama.
"So! You are in the little surprise, yes? You carry
your meddling outside of your newspaper work, eh? I
leave behind me an old wife in the morning and in the
evening, presto! I find a young bride. Wonderful!--
but wonderful!" He laughed an unmusical and mirthless
laugh.
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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 War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells: lightning flashes I saw the black bulk of the overturned dog
cart and the silhouette of the wheel still spinning slowly. In
another moment the colossal mechanism went striding by
me, and passed uphill towards Pyrford.
Seen nearer, the Thing was incredibly strange, for it was
no mere insensate machine driving on its way. Machine it was,
with a ringing metallic pace, and long, flexible, glittering
tentacles (one of which gripped a young pine tree) swinging
and rattling about its strange body. It picked its road as it
went striding along, and the brazen hood that surmounted
it moved to and fro with the inevitable suggestion of a head
War of the Worlds |
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 Mansion by Henry van Dyke: back to
the ample, well-gowned, firm-looking lady, and sat beside her on
the sofa.
He took her hand gently and looked at the two rings--a thin band
of
yellow gold, and a small solitaire diamond--which kept their
place on
her third finger in modest dignity, as if not shamed, but rather
justified,
by the splendor of the emerald which glittered beside them.
"Mother," he said, "you have a wonderful hand. And father made
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