| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Tanach: Joshua 6: 17 And the city shall be devoted, even it and all that is therein, to the LORD; only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
Joshua 6: 18 And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the devoted thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed by taking of the devoted thing, so should ye make the camp of Israel accursed, and trouble it.
Joshua 6: 19 But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are holy unto the LORD; they shall come into the treasury of the LORD.'
Joshua 6: 20 So the people shouted, and the priests blew with the horns. And it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the horn, that the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.
Joshua 6: 21 And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, both young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.
Joshua 6: 22 And Joshua said unto the two men that had spied out the land: 'Go into the harlot's house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye swore unto her.'
Joshua 6: 23 And the young men the spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had, all her kindred also they brought out; and they set them without the camp of Israel.
The Tanach |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Where There's A Will by Mary Roberts Rinehart: looking puzzled and more and more unhappy. Finally he got up and
drew a long breath.
"Exactly," he agreed. "I know you are all right and I'm wrong--
according to your way of thinking. But if these people want to
be well, why should I encourage them to do the wrong thing? They
eat too much, they don't exercise"--he turned to Mr. Van Alstyne.
"Why, do you know, I asked a half dozen of the men--one after the
other--to go skeeing with me this morning and not one of them
accepted!"
"Really!" Mr. Sam exclaimed mockingly.
"What can you do with people like that?" Mr. Pierce went on.
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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 Somebody's Little Girl by Martha Young: together in front of Bessie Bell--they both had long black curls,
but Bessie Bell had short golden curls--and the smaller girl said:
``Yes, she is my sister!''
And the larger girl said: ``Yes, she is, too. She is my-own-dear-
sister!''
The smaller little girl shook her black curls and said: ``She is my
own-dear-owny-downy-dear-sister!''
In all of her life Bessie Bell had never heard anything like that.
And all the other little girls who were playing joined in and said:
``Bessie Bell doesn't know what she is talking about. Of course you
are sisters. Everybody knows you are sisters!''
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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 The Large Catechism by Dr. Martin Luther: may originate. For many a one, although he does not kill, yet curses
and utters a wish, which would stop a person from running far if it
were to strike him in the neck [makes imprecations, which if fulfilled
with respect to any one, he would not live long]. Now since this
inheres in every one by nature and it is a common practice that no one
is willing to suffer at the hands of another, God wishes to remove the
root and source by which the heart is embittered against our neighbor,
and to accustom us ever to keep in view this commandment, always to
contemplate ourselves in it as in a mirror, to regard the will of God,
and with hearty confidence and invocation of His name to commit to Him
the wrong which we suffer. Thus we shall suffer our enemies to rage and
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