| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Prince of Bohemia by Honore de Balzac: brilliant gray eyes were veiled by a mist of tears; her nose,
delicately carved as a Roman cameo, with its quivering nostrils; her
little mouth, like a child's even now; her long queenly throat, with
the veins standing out upon it; her chin, flushed for the moment by
some secret despair; the pink tips of her ears, the hands that
trembled under her gloves, everything about her told of violent
feeling. The feverish twitching of her eyebrows betrayed her pain. She
looked sublime.
"Her first words had crushed du Bruel. She looked at us both, with
that penetrating, impenetrable cat-like glance which only actresses
and great ladies can use. Then she held out her hand to her husband.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Enemies of Books by William Blades: of old books, promised to send some of the most valuable
(among which were several Caxtons) to the Exhibition at
South Kensington. Thinking their outward appearance too shabby,
and not knowing the danger of his conduct, he decided
to have them rebound in the neighbouring county town.
The volumes were soon returned in a resplendent state, and,
it is said, quite to the satisfaction of his lordship,
whose pleasure, however, was sadly damped when a friend
pointed out to him that, although the discoloured edges had
all been ploughed off, and the time-stained blanks, with their
fifteenth century autographs, had been replaced by nice clean
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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 Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte: 'No, Miss Cathy,' I would answer; 'it is hills again, just like
these.'
'And what are those golden rocks like when you stand under them?'
she once asked.
The abrupt descent of Penistone Crags particularly attracted her
notice; especially when the setting sun shone on it and the topmost
heights, and the whole extent of landscape besides lay in shadow.
I explained that they were bare masses of stone, with hardly enough
earth in their clefts to nourish a stunted tree.
'And why are they bright so long after it is evening here?' she
pursued.
Wuthering Heights |
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 Black Beauty by Anna Sewell: "How dreadful!" I exclaimed.
"Dreadful, ah! it was dreadful; but it was not only the pain,
though that was terrible and lasted a long time; it was not only
the indignity of having my best ornament taken from me, though that was bad;
but it was this, how could I ever brush the flies off
my sides and my hind legs any more? You who have tails
just whisk the flies off without thinking about it, and you can't tell
what a torment it is to have them settle upon you and sting and sting,
and have nothing in the world to lash them off with. I tell you
it is a lifelong wrong, and a lifelong loss; but thank heaven,
they don't do it now."
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