| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Dreams by Olive Schreiner: "I will pour my hot life into you," said the second; "your brain is numb,
and your limbs are dead now; but they shall live with a fierce free life.
Oh, let me pour it in!"
"Oh, follow us," they cried, "and live with us. Nobler hearts than yours
have sat here in this darkness to wait, and they have come to us and we to
them; and they have never left us, never. All else is a delusion, but we
are real, we are real, we are real. Truth is a shadow; the valleys of
superstition are a farce: the earth is of ashes, the trees all rotten; but
we--feel us--we live! You cannot doubt us. Feel us how warm we are! Oh,
come to us! Come with us!"
Nearer and nearer round his head they hovered, and the cold drops melted on
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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 Wheels of Chance by H. G. Wells: truth--Charles had fled. He, Hoopdriver, had fought and, by all
the rules of war, had won.
"That was a pretty cut under the jaw you gave him," the toothless
little man with the beard was remarking in an unexpectedly
friendly manner.
"The fact of it is," said Mr. Hoopdriver, sitting beside the road
to Salisbury, and with the sound of distant church bells in his
cars, "I had to give the fellow a lesson; simply had to."
"It seems so dreadful that you should have to knock people
about," said Jessie.
"These louts get unbearable," said Mr. Hoopdriver. "If now and
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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 Tin Woodman of Oz by L. Frank Baum: when they cut themselves. One time, long ago, I cut off
one of my fingers by accident, and I carried it to the
Witch, who took down her bottle and glued it on again
for me. See!" showing them his finger, "it is as good
as ever it was. No one else that I ever heard of had
this Magic Glue, and of course when Nick Chopper cut
himself to pieces with his enchanted axe and Captain
Fyter cut himself to pieces with his enchanted sword,
the Witch would not mend them, or allow me to glue them
together, because she had herself wickedly enchanted
the axe and sword. Nothing remained but for me to make
The Tin Woodman of Oz |
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 King Henry VI by William Shakespeare: And ne'er throughout the year to church thou go'st,
Except it be to pray against thy foes.
BEDFORD.
Cease, cease these jars and rest your minds in peace:
Let's to the altar: heralds, wait on us:
Instead of gold, we'll offer up our arms;
Since arms avail not, now that Henry's dead.
Posterity, await for wretched years,
When at their mothers' moist eyes babes shall suck,
Our isle be made a marish of salt tears,
And none but women left to wail the dead.
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