| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Moon-Face and Other Stories by Jack London: becomes visible. For instance, here is a blue tobacco-box. The white light
strikes against it, and, with one exception, all its component colors--violet,
indigo, green, yellow, orange, and red--are absorbed. The one exception is
BLUE. It is not absorbed, but reflected.Therefore the tobacco-box gives us a
sensation of blueness. We do not see the other colors because they are
absorbed. We see only the blue. For the same reason grass is GREEN. The green
waves of white light are thrown upon our eyes."
"When we paint our houses, we do not apply color to them," he said at another
time. "What we do is to apply certain substances that have the property of
absorbing from white light all the colors except those that we would have our
houses appear. When a substance reflects all the colors to the eye, it seems
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum: just cowardly, that's all."
Gugu looked at her. All the other beasts were looking at her, too.
"Who are you?" asked the King.
"Me? Oh, I'm just Dorothy," she answered.
"How dare you come here?" demanded the King.
"Why, I'm not afraid to go anywhere, if the Cowardly Lion is with
me," she said. "I know him pretty well, and so I can trust him. He's
always afraid, when we get into trouble, and that's why he's cowardly;
but he's a terrible fighter, and that's why he isn't a coward. He
doesn't like to fight, you know, but when he HAS to, there isn't any
beast living that can conquer him."
The Magic of Oz |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy: "How much do you ask?"
Jopp named his price, which was very moderate.
"When can you come?"
"At this hour and moment, sir," said Jopp, who, standing
hands-pocketed at the street corner till the sun had faded
the shoulders of his coat to scarecrow green, had regularly
watched Henchard in the market-place, measured him, and
learnt him, by virtue of the power which the still man has
in his stillness of knowing the busy one better than he
knows himself. Jopp too, had had a convenient experience;
he was the only one in Casterbridge besides Henchard and the
The Mayor of Casterbridge |
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 Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens: 'I'm a devil, I'm a devil, I'm a devil,' and flapped his wings
against his sides as if he were bursting with laughter. Barnaby
clapped his hands, and fairly rolled upon the ground in an ecstasy
of delight.
'Strange companions, sir,' said the locksmith, shaking his head,
and looking from one to the other. 'The bird has all the wit.'
'Strange indeed!' said Edward, holding out his forefinger to the
raven, who, in acknowledgment of the attention, made a dive at it
immediately with his iron bill. 'Is he old?'
'A mere boy, sir,' replied the locksmith. 'A hundred and twenty,
or thereabouts. Call him down, Barnaby, my man.'
Barnaby Rudge |
