| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Dunwich Horror by H. P. Lovecraft: the text, printed in Springfield, is still extant. Noises in the
hills continued to be reported from year to year, and still form
a puzzle to geologists and physiographers.
Other traditions
tell of foul odours near the hill-crowning circles of stone pillars,
and of rushing airy presences to be heard faintly at certain hours
from stated points at the bottom of the great ravines; while still
others try to explain the Devil's Hop Yard - a bleak, blasted
hillside where no tree, shrub, or grass-blade will grow. Then,
too, the natives are mortally afraid of the numerous whippoorwills
which grow vocal on warm nights. It is vowed that the birds are
The Dunwich Horror |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Intentions by Oscar Wilde: ours. With us, Thought is degraded by its constant association
with practice. Who that moves in the stress and turmoil of actual
existence, noisy politician, or brawling social reformer, or poor
narrow-minded priest blinded by the sufferings of that unimportant
section of the community among whom he has cast his lot, can
seriously claim to be able to form a disinterested intellectual
judgment about any one thing? Each of the professions means a
prejudice. The necessity for a career forces every one to take
sides. We live in the age of the overworked, and the under-
educated; the age in which people are so industrious that they
become absolutely stupid. And, harsh though it may sound, I cannot
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: soon work us all up into right principles; and as he thought that
the like charity would make us all Catholics, so I told him I
believed, had all the members of his Church the like moderation,
they would soon all be Protestants. And there we left that part;
for we never disputed at all. However, I talked to him another
way, and taking him by the hand, "My friend," says I, "I wish all
the clergy of the Romish Church were blessed with such moderation,
and had an equal share of your charity. I am entirely of your
opinion; but I must tell you that if you should preach such
doctrine in Spain or Italy, they would put you into the
Inquisition." - "It may be so," said he; "I know not what they
Robinson Crusoe |
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 Bucky O'Connor by William MacLeod Raine: "That's right. I reckon I am getting off left foot first. It's
your powwow now," he conceded.
"So long as I can remember exactly I have always lived with the
man Hardman and his wife. But before that I can vaguely recall
something different. It has always seemed like a kind of
fairyland, for I was a very little tot then. But one of the
things I seem to remember was a sweet, kind-eyed mother and a
big, laughing father. Then, too, there were horses and lots of
cows. That is about all, except that the chain around my neck
seemed to have some connection with my early life. That's why I
always kept it very carefully, and, after one of the lockets
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