| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Light of Western Stars by Zane Grey: red leaving his face, then the real pride and fire of the man
showed. Deliberately he stepped off ten paces and turned toward
the little mound upon which rested the ball. His arm shot down,
elbow crooked, hand like a claw.
"Aw, Nels, this is fun!" yelled Stillwell.
But swift as a gleam of light Nels flashed his gun, and the
report came with the action. Chips flew from the golf-ball as it
tumbled from the mound. Nels had hit it without raising tile
dust. Then he dropped the gun back in its sheath and faced the
cowboys.
"Mebbe my eyes ain't so orful bad," he said, coolly, and started
The Light of Western Stars |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from When the World Shook by H. Rider Haggard: We watched a while. A crowd gathered. Policemen ran up,
ambulances came. The place was cleared, and all that was left
they carried away. A few minutes later another man passed by with
his arm round the waist of another girl. Another motor-bus
rumbled up, and, avoiding the hole in the roadway, travelled on,
its conductor keeping a keen look-out for fares.
The street was cleared by the police; the airship continued its
course, spawning bombs in the distance, and vanished. The
incident was closed.
"Let us go home," said Oro. "I have seen enough of your great
and wonderful city. I would rest in the quiet of Nyo and think."
When the World Shook |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis: of crabs--and I said to him, 'Oh, just drive me over to the Rippleton.'
"Well, we got there, and I breezed up to the desk and said to the clerk,
'Well, brother, got a nice room with bath for Cousin Bill?' Saaaay! You'd
'a' thought I'd sold him a second, or asked him to work on Yom Kippur! He
hands me the cold-boiled stare and yaps, 'I dunno, friend, I'll see,' and he
ducks behind the rigamajig they keep track of the rooms on. Well, I guess he
called up the Credit Association and the American Security League to see if I
was all right--he certainly took long enough--or maybe he just went to sleep;
but finally he comes out and looks at me like it hurts him, and croaks, 'I
think I can let you have a room with bath.' 'Well, that's awful nice of
you--sorry to trouble you--how much 'll it set me back?' I says, real sweet.
|
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 King James Bible: judges over Israel.
SA1 8:2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his
second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba.
SA1 8:3 And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after
lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.
SA1 8:4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and
came to Samuel unto Ramah,
SA1 8:5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not
in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
SA1 8:6 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king
to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.
King James Bible |
