| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Polly of the Circus by Margaret Mayo: Douglas was not a brilliant divinity student, and he was relieved
when at last he received his degree in theology and found himself
appointed to a small church in the Middle West.
His step was very bright the morning he first went up the path
that led to his new home. His artistic sense was charmed by the
picturesque approach to the church and parsonage. The view
toward the tree-encircled spire was unobstructed, for the church
had been built on the outskirts of the town to allow for a growth
that had not materialised. He threw up his head and gazed at the
blue hills, with their background of soft, slow-moving clouds.
The smell of the fresh earth, the bursting of the buds, the
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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 Dunwich Horror by H. P. Lovecraft: That night
everyone went home, and every house and barn was barricaded as
stoutly as possible. Needless to say, no cattle were allowed to
remain in open pasturage. About two in the morning a frightful
stench and the savage barking of the dogs awakened the household
at Elmer Frye's, on the eastern edge of Cold Spring Glen, and
all agreed that they could hear a sort of muffled swishing or
lapping sound from somewhere outside. Mrs Frye proposed telephoning
the neighbours, and Elmer was about to agree when the noise of
splintering wood burst in upon their deliberations. It came, apparently,
from the barn; and was quickly followed by a hideous screaming
The Dunwich Horror |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen: procession, through the streets of his capital; and all the people standing
by, and those at the windows, cried out, "Oh! How beautiful are our Emperor's
new clothes! What a magnificent train there is to the mantle; and how
gracefully the scarf hangs!" in short, no one would allow that he could not
see these much-admired clothes; because, in doing so, he would have declared
himself either a simpleton or unfit for his office. Certainly, none of the
Emperor's various suits, had ever made so great an impression, as these
invisible ones.
"But the Emperor has nothing at all on!" said a little child.
"Listen to the voice of innocence!" exclaimed his father; and what the child
had said was whispered from one to another.
Fairy Tales |
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 Melmoth Reconciled by Honore de Balzac: on easy terms that Madame refused, I do no know why. My word! if I
might drive about in a carriage, have jewels and pretty things, a box
at the theatre, and put something by! with me he should lead a life of
pleasure fit to kill him if he were not as strong as a Turk! I never
saw such a man!'--Was not that just what you were thinking," he went
on, and something in his voice made Jenny turn pale. "Well, yes,
child; you could not stand it, and I am sending you away for your own
good; you would perish in the attempt. Come, let us part good
friends," and he coolly dismissed her with a very small sum of money.
The first use that Castanier had promised himself that he would make
of the terrible power brought at the price of his eternal happiness,
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