| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Four Arthurian Romances by Chretien DeTroyes: newcomers had all dismounted they were led into the King's
presence. As soon as Yder saw the Queen, he bowed low and first
saluted her, then the King and his knights, and said: "Lady, I am
sent here as your prisoner by a gentleman, a valiant and noble
knight, whose face yesterday my dwarf made smart with his knotted
scourge. He has overcome me at arms and defeated me. Lady, the
dwarf I bring you here: he has come to surrender to you at
discretion. I bring you myself, my damsel, and my dwarf to do
with us as you please." The Queen keeps her peace no longer, but
asks him for news of Erec: "Tell me," she says, "if you please,
do you know when Erec will arrive?" "To-morrow, lady, and with
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Summer by Edith Wharton: loitering, and presently the strollers disappeared.
Lamps were beginning to show here and there in the
windows. A bar of light brought out the whiteness of a
clump of lilies in the Hawes's yard: and farther down
the street Carrick Fry's Rochester lamp cast its bold
illumination on the rustic flower-tub in the middle of
his grass-plot.
For a long time she continued to lean in the window.
But a fever of unrest consumed her, and finally she
went downstairs, took her hat from its hook, and swung
out of the house. Mr. Royall sat in the porch, Verena
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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 Almayer's Folly by Joseph Conrad: but all he could hear was his deep breathing. Through a break in
the flying clouds a sudden and fleeting brightness descended upon
the clearing. Before the darkness closed in again, Dain saw a
hand holding some glittering object extended towards him, heard
Nina's cry of "Father!" and in an instant the girl was between
him and Almayer's revolver. Nina's loud cry woke up the echoes
of the sleeping woods, and the three stood still as if waiting
for the return of silence before they would give expression to
their various feelings. At the appearance of Nina, Almayer's arm
fell by his side, and he made a step forward. Dain pushed the
girl gently aside.
Almayer's Folly |
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 Gobseck by Honore de Balzac: feather, and opened the door.
"What a scene it was that met our eyes! The room was in frightful
disorder; clothes and papers and rags lay tossed about in a confusion
horrible to see in the presence of Death; and there, in the midst,
stood the Countess in disheveled despair, unable to utter a word, her
eyes glittering. The Count had scarcely breathed his last before his
wife came in and forced open the drawers and the desk; the carpet was
strewn with litter, some of the furniture and boxes were broken, the
signs of violence could be seen everywhere. But if her search had at
first proved fruitless, there was that in her excitement and attitude
which led me to believe that she had found the mysterious documents at
Gobseck |
