| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey: again and rest upon the girl. She had changed. To the dark
trousers and blouse she had added moccasins of her own make, but
she no longer resembled a boy. No eye could have failed to mark
the rounded contours of a woman. The change had been to grace and
beauty. A glint of warm gold gleamed from her hair, and a tint of
red shone in the clear dark brown of cheeks. The haunting
sweetness of her lips and eyes, that earlier had been illusive, a
promise, had become a living fact. She fitted harmoniously into
that wonderful setting; she was like Surprise Valley--wild and
beautiful.
Venters leaped out of his cave to begin the day.
Riders of the Purple Sage |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin: borders of the salinas, when the water begins to evaporate.
The mud is black, and has a fetid odour. I could not at first
imagine the cause of this, but I afterwards perceived that the
froth which the wind drifted on shore was coloured green,
as if by confervae; I attempted to carry home some of this
green matter, but from an accident failed. Parts of the lake
seen from a short distance appeared of a reddish colour, and
this perhaps was owing to some infusorial animalcula. The
mud in many places was thrown up by numbers of some kind
of worm, or annelidous animal. How surprising it is that
any creatures should be able to exist in brine, and that they
The Voyage of the Beagle |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from American Notes by Rudyard Kipling: match the landscape, which was chiefly hoarding. Some day,
perhaps, whatever sort of government may obtain in this country
will make a restoration of the place and keep it clean and neat.
At present the sovereign people, of whom I have heard so much
already, are vending cherries and painting the virtues of "Little
Bile Beans" all over it.
Night fell over the Pacific, and the white sea-fog whipped
through the streets, dimming the splendors of the electric
lights. It is the use of this city, her men and women folk, to
parade between the hours of eight and ten a certain street called
Cairn Street, where the finest shops are situated. Here the
|
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 Scarecrow of Oz by L. Frank Baum: it's time for us to start."
The old man cast a shrewd glance at the sky, the
sea and the motionless boat. Then he shook his head.
"Mebbe it's time, Trot," he answered, "but I don't
jes' like the looks o' things this afternoon."
"What's wrong?" she asked wonderingly.
"Can't say as to that. Things is too quiet to suit
me, that's all. No breeze, not a ripple a-top the water,
nary a gull a-flyin' anywhere, an' the end o' the hottest
day o' the year. I ain't no weather-prophet, Trot, but
any sailor would know the signs is ominous."
The Scarecrow of Oz |
