| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Princess by Alfred Tennyson: While the great organ almost burst his pipes,
Groaning for power, and rolling through the court
A long melodious thunder to the sound
Of solemn psalms, and silver litanies,
The work of Ida, to call down from Heaven
A blessing on her labours for the world.
Sweet and low, sweet and low,
Wind of the western sea,
Low, low, breathe and blow,
Wind of the western sea!
Over the rolling waters go,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Elizabeth and her German Garden by Marie Annette Beauchamp: a moment to look round and listen. The little girl opened her
mouth to speak. With great presence of mind I instantly put my
muff in front of it and held it there tight, while I listened.
Dead silence, except for the laboured breathing and struggles
of the little girl.
"I don't hear a sound," I whispered, letting her go again.
"Now what did you want to say?" I added, eyeing her severely.
"I wanted to say," she panted, "that it's no <103> good pretending you
wash with a nose like that."
"A nose like that! A nose like what?" I exclaimed,
greatly offended; and though I put up my hand and very tenderly
Elizabeth and her German Garden |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum: placed a stool on the little platform, to serve as a seat, and filled
a sack with his prettiest toys.
"How do you intend to guide us?" asked Glossie. "We have never been
out of the Forest before, except to visit your house, so we shall not
know the way."
Claus thought about that for a moment. Then he brought more cords and
fastened two of them to the spreading antlers of each deer, one on the
right and the other on the left.
"Those will be my reins," said Claus, "and when I pull them to the
right or to the left you must go in that direction. If I do not pull
the reins at all you may go straight ahead."
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus |
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 An Old Maid by Honore de Balzac: ridicule forbade her to marry a very young one.
In the provinces, families marry their sons early to escape the
conscription. In addition to all this, she was obstinately determined
not to marry a soldier: she did not intend to take a man and then give
him up to the Emperor; she wanted him for herself alone. With these
views, she found it therefore impossible, from 1804 to 1815, to enter
the lists with young girls who were rivalling each other for suitable
matches.
Besides her predilection for the nobility, Mademoiselle Cormon had
another and very excusable mania: that of being loved for herself. You
could hardly believe the lengths to which this desire led her. She
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