| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Summer by Edith Wharton: "Charity--was you looking for me?"
She freed herself abruptly and fell back. "Me? No----"
She set down the candle on his desk. "I wanted
some letter-paper, that's all." His face contracted,
and the bushy brows jutted forward over his eyes.
Without answering he opened the drawer of the desk,
took out a sheet of paper and an envelope, and pushed
them toward her. "Do you want a stamp too?" he asked.
She nodded, and he gave her the stamp. As he did so
she felt that he was looking at her intently, and she
knew that the candle light flickering up on her white
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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 Complete Angler by Izaak Walton: the river, where you have seen them swim in skulls or shoals. in the
summer-time, in a hot afternoon, about three or four of the clock; and
watch their going forth of their deep holes, and returning, which you
may well discern, for they return about four of the clock, most of them
seeking food at the bottom, yet one or two will lie on the top of the
water, rolling and tumbling themselves, whilst the rest are under him at
the bottom; and so you shall perceive him to keep sentinel: then mark
where he plays most and stays longest, which commonly is in the
broadest and deepest place of the river; and there, or near thereabouts,
at a clear bottom and a convenient landing-place, take one of your
angles ready fitted as aforesaid, and sound the bottom, which should be
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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 Moby Dick by Herman Melville: seaman's berth.
Meantime, overseeing the other part of the ship, Captain Peleg ripped
and swore astern in the most frightful manner. I almost thought he
would sink the ship before the anchor could be got up; involuntarily
I paused on my handspike, and told Queequeg to do the same, thinking
of the perils we both ran, in starting on the voyage with such a
devil for a pilot. I was comforting myself, however, with the
thought that in pious Bildad might be found some salvation, spite of
his seven hundred and seventy-seventh lay; when I felt a sudden sharp
poke in my rear, and turning round, was horrified at the apparition
of Captain Peleg in the act of withdrawing his leg from my immediate
Moby Dick |
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 Coxon Fund by Henry James: was limited to a walk in the garden with Kent Mulville. Later in
the afternoon I also took one, and I saw nothing of Miss Anvoy till
dinner, at which we failed of the company of Saltram, who had
caused it to be reported that he was indisposed and lying down.
This made us, most of us--for there were other friends present--
convey to each other in silence some of the unutterable things that
in those years our eyes had inevitably acquired the art of
expressing. If a fine little American enquirer hadn't been there
we would have expressed them otherwise, and Adelaide would have
pretended not to hear. I had seen her, before the very fact,
abstract herself nobly; and I knew that more than once, to keep it
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