| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from King James Bible: the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.
JDG 18:21 So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the
cattle and the carriage before them.
JDG 18:22 And when they were a good way from the house of Micah, the
men that were in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered
together, and overtook the children of Dan.
JDG 18:23 And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned
their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest
with such a company?
JDG 18:24 And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the
priest, and ye are gone away: and what have I more? and what is this
King James Bible |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte: Mr. Heathcliff almost close upon us, descending the Heights. He
didn't cast a glance towards my companions, though they were
sufficiently near for Linton's sobs to be audible; but hailing me
in the almost hearty tone he assumed to none besides, and the
sincerity of which I couldn't avoid doubting, he said -
'It is something to see you so near to my house, Nelly. How are
you at the Grange? Let us hear. The rumour goes,' he added, in a
lower tone, 'that Edgar Linton is on his death-bed: perhaps they
exaggerate his illness?'
'No; my master is dying,' I replied: 'it is true enough. A sad
thing it will be for us all, but a blessing for him!'
Wuthering Heights |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Psychology of Revolution by Gustave le Bon: The true cause of the disappearance of the ancien regime was
simply the weakening of the traditions which served as its
foundations. When after repeated criticism it could find no more
defenders, the ancien regime crumbled like a building whose
foundations have been destroyed.
2. The Inconveniences of the Ancien Regime
A long-established system of government will always finally seem
acceptable to the people governed. Habit masks its
inconveniences, which appear only when men begin to think. Then
they ask how they could ever have supported them. The truly
unhappy man is the man who believes himself miserable.
|
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 Lost Continent by Edgar Rice Burroughs: first square meal that had fallen to our lot since the
Coldwater deserted us. But scarce had we built our fire and
prepared the meat for cooking than Snider, whose eyes had
been constantly roving about the landscape from the moment
that we left the launch, touched me on the arm and pointed
to a clump of bushes which grew a couple of hundred yards
away.
Half concealed behind their screening foliage I saw the
yellow and black of a big tiger, and, as I looked, the beast
stalked majestically toward us. A moment later, he was
followed by another and another, and it is needless to state
Lost Continent |
