| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Dracula by Bram Stoker: brethren with the clammy hands of death, and many a one shuddered
at the wreaths of sea-mist swept by.
At times the mist cleared, and the sea for some distance could
be seen in the glare of the lightning, which came thick and fast,
followed by such peals of thunder that the whole sky overhead seemed
trembling under the shock of the footsteps of the storm.
Some of the scenes thus revealed were of immeasurable grandeur
and of absorbing interest. The sea, running mountains high,
threw skywards with each wave mighty masses of white foam,
which the tempest seemed to snatch at and whirl away into space.
Here and there a fishing boat, with a rag of sail, running madly
Dracula |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe: to include, in the minds of the peasantry who used it, both the
family and the family mansion.
I have said that the sole effect of my somewhat childish
experiment--that of looking down within the tarn--had been to
deepen the first singular impression. There can be no doubt that
the consciousness of the rapid increase of my supersition--for
why should I not so term it?--served mainly to accelerate the
increase itself. Such, I have long known, is the paradoxical law
of all sentiments having terror as a basis. And it might have
been for this reason only, that, when I again uplifted my eyes to
the house itself, from its image in the pool, there grew in my
The Fall of the House of Usher |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Two Poets by Honore de Balzac: sober toil, and the patient labor of scientific research.
"You shall be our aristocracy," he went on, looking at Eve as he
spoke. "If you totter, you shall have my arm to steady you. If you
have reason to complain of the treachery of others, you will find a
refuge in our hearts, the love there will never change. And influence
and favor and the goodwill of others might fail us if we were two; we
should stand in each other's way; go forward, you can tow me after you
if it comes to that. So far from envying you, I will dedicate my life
to yours. The thing that you have just done for me, when you risked
the loss of your benefactress, your love it may be, rather than
forsake or disown me, that little thing, so great as it was--ah, well,
|
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 My Antonia by Willa Cather: and Christmas melons, heaped in the storeroom for winter.
As we rode away with the spade, Antonia suggested that we
stop at the prairie-dog-town and dig into one of the holes.
We could find out whether they ran straight down, or were horizontal,
like mole-holes; whether they had underground connections;
whether the owls had nests down there, lined with feathers.
We might get some puppies, or owl eggs, or snakeskins.
The dog-town was spread out over perhaps ten acres.
The grass had been nibbled short and even, so this stretch
was not shaggy and red like the surrounding country,
but grey and velvety. The holes were several yards apart,
My Antonia |
