| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Off on a Comet by Jules Verne: It was not, however, a bottle; it proved to be a round leather
telescope-case, about a foot long, and the first thing
to do before investigating its contents was to make a careful
examination of its exterior. The lid was fastened on by wax,
and so securely that it would take a long immersion before any
water could penetrate; there was no maker's name to be deciphered;
but impressed very plainly with a seal on the wax were the two
initials "P. R."
When the scrutiny of the outside was finished, the wax was removed
and the cover opened, and the lieutenant drew out a slip of ruled paper,
evidently torn from a common note-book. The paper had an inscription
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: the centre of the gaping void, then slowly she began to settle
into the black chasm. Lower and lower she sank until as
darkness enveloped us her lights were thrown on and in the
dim halo of her own radiance the monster battleship dropped
on and on down into what seemed to me must be the very
bowels of Barsoom.
For quite half an hour we descended and then the shaft
terminated abruptly in the dome of a mighty subterranean
world. Below us rose and fell the billows of a buried sea. A
phosphorescent radiance illuminated the scene. Thousands of
ships dotted the bosom of the ocean. Little islands rose here
The Gods of Mars |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Odyssey by Homer: laughing and enjoying myself as though there were nothing
happening. But, suitors, as the contest has been agreed upon,
let it go forward. It is for a woman whose peer is not to be
found in Pylos, Argos, or Mycene, nor yet in Ithaca nor on the
mainland. You know this as well as I do; what need have I to
speak in praise of my mother? Come on, then, make no excuses for
delay, but let us see whether you can string the bow or no. I
too will make trial of it, for if I can string it and shoot
through the iron, I shall not suffer my mother to quit this
house with a stranger, not if I can win the prizes which my
father won before me."
The Odyssey |
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 Montezuma's Daughter by H. Rider Haggard: road to Mexico. It was then that I chanced one morning to be
sitting in the gardens, my lute in hand, and having my attendant
nobles and tutors gathered at a respectful distance behind me.
From where I sat I could see the entrance to the court in which the
emperor met his council daily, and I noted that when the princes
had gone the priests began to come, and after them a number of very
lovely girls attended by women of middle age. Presently Guatemoc
the prince, who now smiled but rarely, came up to me smiling, and
asked me if I knew what was doing yonder. I replied that I knew
nothing and cared less, but I supposed that Montezuma was gathering
a peculiar treasure to send to his masters the Spaniards.
Montezuma's Daughter |
