| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Moon-Face and Other Stories by Jack London: "It is absurd!" he cried. "These are cobwebs of fancy. When one dies, he is
dead. He is dust. He goes to the worms, as Martin says. The dead? I laugh at
the dead. They do not exist. They are not. I defy the powers of the grave, the
men dead and dust and gone!
"And what have you to say to that?" he challenged, placing his hand on
Planchette.
On the instant his hand began to write. Both were startled by the suddenness
of it. The message was brief:
BEWARE! BEWARE! BEWARE!
He was distinctly sobered, but he laughed. "It is like a miracle play. Death
we have, speaking to us from the grave. But Good Deeds, where art thou? And
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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 Witch, et. al by Anton Chekhov: did not go to Tsybukin's to work, and they had to hire strangers,
and now in the darkness it seemed as though there were men
sitting there with long black beards. The shop was open, and
through the doorway they could see the deaf man playing draughts
with a boy. The mowers were singing softly, scarcely audibly, or
loudly demanding their wages for the previous day, but they were
not paid for fear they should go away before to-morrow. Old
Tsybukin, with his coat off, was sitting in his waistcoat with
Aksinya under the birch-tree, drinking tea; a lamp was burning on
the table.
"I say, grandfather," a mower called from outside the gates, as
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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 Damnation of Theron Ware by Harold Frederic: of the low, big easy-chair had the air of presiding
over a meeting.
"My idea is," she began, with an easy implication that no
one else's idea was needed, "that your Quarterly Conference,
when it meets on Monday, must be adjourned to Tuesday.
We will have the people all out tomorrow morning
to love-feast, and announcement can be made there,
and at the morning service afterward, that a series
of revival meetings are to be begun that same evening.
Mr. Soulsby and I can take charge in the evening, and we'll
see to it that THAT packs the house--fills the church
The Damnation of Theron Ware |
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 Thus Spake Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche: "Amen! So shall it be!" said Zarathustra, with great astonishment; "up
thither leadeth the way, there lieth the cave of Zarathustra.
Gladly, forsooth, would I conduct thee thither myself, thou venerable one;
for I love all pious men. But now a cry of distress calleth me hastily
away from thee.
In my domain shall no one come to grief; my cave is a good haven. And best
of all would I like to put every sorrowful one again on firm land and firm
legs.
Who, however, could take THY melancholy off thy shoulders? For that I am
too weak. Long, verily, should we have to wait until some one re-awoke thy
God for thee.
Thus Spake Zarathustra |
