| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Enchanted Island of Yew by L. Frank Baum: arrive with their axes."
"Then how will they cut off my head with two axes? For I suppose they
will both chop at the same time, and I have but one neck."
"Wait and see," answered the two Ki, sighing deeply and rubbing their
red noses thoughtfully.
"Oh, I'll wait," answered the boy; "but as for seeing them cut off my
head, I refuse; for I intend to shut my eyes."
So they sat in their rooms or walked in the gardens, yawning and
waiting, until one day, just as the two clocks on the wall were
striking twenty-four o'clock, the door opened and to their surprise
one of the High Ki twins walked in upon them.
The Enchanted Island of Yew |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from In a German Pension by Katherine Mansfield: his teeth--just like a dog, thought Viola. He made a rush at her, and held
her against the wall--pressed upon her with all the weight of his body.
This time she could not get free.
"I won't kiss you. I won't. Stop doing that Ugh! you're like a dog--you
ought to find lovers round lamp-posts--you beast--you fiend!"
He did not answer. With an expression of the most absurd determination he
pressed ever more heavily upon her. He did not even look at her--but
rapped out in a sharp voice: "Keep quiet--keep quiet."
"Gar--r! Why are men so strong?" She began to cry. "Go away--I don't
want you, you dirty creature. I want to murder you. Oh, my God! if I had
a knife."
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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 The Witch, et. al by Anton Chekhov: old man was the first to come out; he understood all that had
happened from the first glance at her, and for a long time he
could not articulate a word, but only moved his lips without a
sound.
"Ech, Lipa," he said, "you did not take care of my grandchild. .
. ."
Varvara was awakened. She clasped her hands and broke into sobs,
and immediately began laying out the baby.
"And he was a pretty child . . ." she said. "Oh, dear, dear. . .
. You only had the one child, and you did not take care enough of
him, you silly girl. . . ."
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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 Bunner Sisters by Edith Wharton: The younger Bunner sister, who was a little taller than her
elder, had a more pronounced nose, but a weaker slope of mouth and
chin. She still permitted herself the frivolity of waving her pale
hair, and its tight little ridges, stiff as the tresses of an
Assyrian statue, were flattened under a dotted veil which ended at
the tip of her cold-reddened nose. In her scant jacket and skirt
of black cashmere she looked singularly nipped and faded; but it
seemed possible that under happier conditions she might still warm
into relative youth.
"Why, Ann Eliza," she exclaimed, in a thin voice pitched to
chronic fretfulness, "what in the world you got your best silk on
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