| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen: watching, watching the figure lying on the green char beneath
the lamplight. Mary rose up, and he looked into her eyes, and
his heart grew cold within him.
"Who is this woman?" he said at last. His voice was
dry and hoarse.
"That is the woman who Herbert married."
Clarke looked again at the sketch; it was not Mary
after all. There certainly was Mary's face, but there was
something else, something he had not seen on Mary's features
when the white-clad girl entered the laboratory with the doctor,
nor at her terrible awakening, nor when she lay grinning on the
The Great God Pan |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Jungle Tales of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs: The ape-boy craved affection. From babyhood until the
time of her death, when the poisoned arrow of Kulonga
had pierced her savage heart, Kala had represented
to the English boy the sole object of love which he had known.
In her wild, fierce way Kala had loved her adopted son,
and Tarzan had returned that love, though the outward
demonstrations of it were no greater than might have
been expected from any other beast of the jungle.
It was not until he was bereft of her that the boy
realized how deep had been his attachment for his mother,
for as such he looked upon her.
The Jungle Tales of Tarzan |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen: the man. And if you know the secret, it rests with you to tell
it or not, as you please.
I am writing this letter to you immediately on my
getting back to town. I have been in the country for the last
few days; perhaps you may be able to guess in which part. While
the horror and wonder of London was at its height--for "Mrs.
Beaumont," as I have told you, was well known in society--I
wrote to my friend Dr. Phillips, giving some brief outline, or
rather hint, of what happened, and asking him to tell me the
name of the village where the events he had related to me
occurred. He gave me the name, as he said with the less
The Great God Pan |
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 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: is a very headstrong, foolish girl, and does not know her own
interest but I will MAKE her know it."
"Pardon me for interrupting you, madam," cried Mr. Collins;
"but if she is really headstrong and foolish, I know not whether
she would altogether be a very desirable wife to a man in my
situation, who naturally looks for happiness in the marriage
state. If therefore she actually persists in rejecting my suit,
perhaps it were better not to force her into accepting me,
because if liable to such defects of temper, she could not
contribute much to my felicity."
"Sir, you quite misunderstand me," said Mrs. Bennet, alarmed.
Pride and Prejudice |
