| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum: parents wanted larger supplies for their children they could easily
get them; and if any children were, by chance, missed by Santa Claus
on his yearly rounds, they could go to the toy-shops and get enough to
make them happy and contented. For the loving friend of the little
ones decided that no child, if he could help it, should long for toys
in vain. And the toy-shops also proved convenient whenever a child
fell ill, and needed a new toy to amuse it; and sometimes, on
birthdays, the fathers and mothers go to the toy-shops and get pretty
gifts for their children in honor of the happy event.
Perhaps you will now understand how, in spite of the bigness of the
world, Santa Claus is able to supply all the children with beautiful
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath by H. P. Lovecraft: of march. It was fortunate that the moon was not up, so that all
the cats were on earth. Swiftly and silently leaping, they sprang
from every hearth and housetop and poured in a great furry sea
across the plains to the edge of the wood. Carter was there to
greet them, and the sight of shapely, wholesome cats was indeed
good for his eyes after the things he had seen and walked with
in the abyss. He was glad to see his venerable friend and one-time
rescuer at the head of Ulthar's detachment, a collar of rank around
his sleek neck, and whiskers bristling at a martial angle. Better
still, as a sub-lieutenant in that army was a brisk young fellow
who proved to be none other than the very little kitten at the
The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Seraphita by Honore de Balzac: Well, come and take tea with me the day after to-morrow evening; good
Monsieur Becker will be here, and Minna, the purest and most artless
creature I have known on earth. Leave me now, my friend; I need to
make long prayers and expiate my sins."
"You, can you commit sin?"
"Poor friend! if we abuse our power, is not that the sin of pride? I
have been very proud to-day. Now leave me, till to-morrow."
"Till to-morrow," said Wilfrid faintly, casting a long glance at the
being of whom he desired to carry with him an ineffaceable memory.
Though he wished to go far away, he was held, as it were, outside the
house for some moments, watching the light which shone from all the
Seraphita |
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 A Personal Record by Joseph Conrad: present itself, and when that, too, was met he stuck another ship
before me, creating a very dangerous situation. I felt slightly
outraged by this ingenuity in piling trouble upon a man.
"I wouldn't have got into that mess," I suggested, mildly. "I
could have seen that ship before."
He never stirred the least bit.
"No, you couldn't. The weather's thick."
"Oh! I didn't know," I apologized blankly.
I suppose that after all I managed to stave off the smash with
sufficient approach to verisimilitude, and the ghastly business
went on. You must understand that the scheme of the test he was
A Personal Record |
