| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne: attention to the rich veins of gold that were to be seen among
the rocks, and pointed to several places where one stroke of a
pickaxe would loosen a bushel of diamonds. All along the road,
indeed, there were sparkling gems, which would have been of
inestimable value above ground, but which here were reckoned of
the meaner sort and hardly worth a beggar's stooping for.
Not far from the gateway, they came to a bridge, which seemed
to be built of iron. Pluto stopped the chariot, and bade
Proserpina look at the stream which was gliding so lazily
beneath it. Never in her life had she beheld so torpid, so
black, so muddy-looking a stream; its waters reflected no
Tanglewood Tales |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Two Poets by Honore de Balzac: divided equally; as soon as he paid off his father, he was to be made
sole proprietor of the business.
David made a mental calculation of the value of the license, the
goodwill, and the stock of paper, leaving the plant out of account. It
was just possible, he thought, to clear off the debt. He accepted the
conditions. Old Sechard, accustomed to peasants' haggling, knowing
nothing of the wider business views of Paris, was amazed at such a
prompt conclusion.
"Can he have been putting money by?" he asked himself. "Or is he
scheming out, at this moment, some way of not paying me?"
With this notion in his head, he tried to find out whether David had
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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 Montezuma's Daughter by H. Rider Haggard: servant had trusted that I would feast with him that night. Still
my command should be done. Then they left me, saying that they
would come again in an hour to lead me to the banquet. Now I threw
off the emblems of my godhead and cast myself down on cushions to
rest and think, and a certain exultation took possession of me, for
was I not a god, and had I not power almost absolute? Still being
of a cautious mind I wondered why I was a god, and how long my
power would last.
Before the hour had gone by, pages and nobles entered, bearing new
robes which were put upon my body and fresh flowers to crown my
head, and I was led away to the apartments of Guatemoc, fair women
Montezuma's Daughter |
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 Four Arthurian Romances by Chretien DeTroyes: that he staggered from his weakness and disability. Gently,
without hurting him, she sets him before her on her mule, and
then they ride off rapidly. But the damsel purposely avoids the
beaten track, that they may not be seen, and proceeds by a hidden
path; for if she had travelled openly, doubtless some one would
have recognised them and done them harm, and she would not have
wished that to happen. So she avoided the dangerous places and
came to a mansion where she often makes her sojourn because of
its beauty and charm. The entire estate and the people on it
belonged to her, and the place was well furnished, safe, and
private. There Lancelot arrived. And as soon as he had come,
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