| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James: Lest the oddity of these phenomena should disconcert you, I will
venture to read you a couple of similar narratives, much shorter,
merely to show that we are dealing with a well-marked natural
kind of fact. In the first case, which I <61> take from the
Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, the sense of
presence developed in a few moments into a distinctly
visualized hallucination--but I leave that part of the story out.
"I had read," the narrator says, "some twenty minutes or so, was
thoroughly absorbed in the book, my mind was perfectly quiet, and
for the time being my friends were quite forgotten, when suddenly
without a moment's warning my whole being seemed roused to the
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Thuvia, Maid of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: Helium was fortunate, and a masterly move of strategy;
but were the girl to know the truth and ever return to her
father's court, all Dusar would have to pay the penalty,
and to have her here a prisoner amongst us would be an
admission of guilt from the consequences of which naught
could save us. It would cost me my throne, Astok, and that
I have no mind to lose.
"If we had her here--" the elder man suddenly
commenced to muse, repeating the phrase again and again.
"If we had her here, Astok," he exclaimed fiercely.
"Ah, if we but had her here and none knew that she was here!
Thuvia, Maid of Mars |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Camille by Alexandre Dumas: serious terms, to keep you away on the following day, on some
excuse or other, and to see your father, who wished to speak to
me, and asked me particularly not to say anything to you about
it.
You know how I insisted on your returning to Paris next day.
You had only been gone an hour when your father presented
himself. I won't say what impression his severe face made upon
me. Your father had the old theory that a courtesan is a being
without heart or reason, a sort of machine for coining gold,
always ready, like the machine, to bruise the hand that gives her
everything, and to tear in pieces, without pity or discernment,
Camille |
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 Emma McChesney & Co. by Edna Ferber: Then, in haste: "Oh, I don't mean that Mr. Buck don't make
things go all right. They're awful fond of him. But--I don't
know--Miss Kelly said she never has got over waiting for the
sound of your step down the hall at nine--sort of light and quick
and sharp and busy, as if you couldn't wait till you waded into
the day's work. Do you know what I mean?"
"I know what you mean," said Emma.
There was a little pause. The two women so far apart, yet so
near; so different, yet so like, gazed far down into each other's
soul.
"Miss it, don't you?" said Hortense.
Emma McChesney & Co. |
