| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Tanach: 1_Kings 22: 6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them: 'Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear?' And they said: 'Go up; for the LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king.'
1_Kings 22: 7 But Jehoshaphat said: 'Is there not here besides a prophet of the LORD, that we might inquire of him?'
1_Kings 22: 8 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat: 'There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, Micaiah the son of Imlah; but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.' And Jehoshaphat said: 'Let not the king say so.'
1_Kings 22: 9 Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said: 'Fetch quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah.'
1_Kings 22: 10 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, in a threshing-floor, at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.
1_Kings 22: 11 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron, and said: 'Thus saith the LORD: With these shalt thou gore the Arameans, until they be consumed.'
1_Kings 22: 12 And all the prophets prophesied so, saying: 'Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper; for the LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king.'
1_Kings 22: 13 And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spoke unto him, saying: 'Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth, let thy word, I pray thee, be lik  The Tanach |
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 Muse of the Department by Honore de Balzac: suspicions as she betrayed drag a woman into quarrels which lead to
disrespect, because she herself comes down from the high level on
which she had at first placed herself. Next she made some concession;
Lousteau was allowed to entertain several of his friends--Nathan,
Bixiou, Blondet, Finot, whose manners, language, and intercourse were
depraving. They tried to convince Madame de la Baudraye that her
principles and aversions were a survival of provincial prudishness;
and they preached the creed of woman's superiority.
Before long, her jealousy put weapons into Lousteau's hands. During
the carnival of 1840, she disguised herself to go to the balls at the
Opera-house, and to suppers where she met courtesans, in order to keep
 The Muse of the Department |