| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Iliad by Homer: upon the mountain slopes of Ida. He was not alone, for with him
were the two sons of Antenor, Archilochus and Acamas, both
skilled in all the arts of war.
They that dwelt in Telea under the lowest spurs of Mt. Ida, men
of substance, who drink the limpid waters of the Aesepus, and are
of Trojan blood--these were led by Pandarus son of Lycaon, whom
Apollo had taught to use the bow.
They that held Adresteia and the land of Apaesus, with Pityeia,
and the high mountain of Tereia--these were led by Adrestus and
Amphius, whose breastplate was of linen. These were the sons of
Merops of Percote, who excelled in all kinds of divination. He
The Iliad |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: though, at the same time, for the consolation of yourself and
Mrs. Bennet, I am inclined to think that her own disposition
must be naturally bad, or she could not be guilty of such an
enormity, at so early an age. Howsoever that may be, you are
grievously to be pitied; in which opinion I am not only joined by
Mrs. Collins, but likewise by Lady Catherine and her daughter,
to whom I have related the affair. They agree with me in
apprehending that this false step in one daughter will be
injurious to the fortunes of all the others; for who, as Lady
Catherine herself condescendingly says, will connect themselves
with such a family? And this consideration leads me moreover
Pride and Prejudice |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Figure in the Carpet by Henry James: be mistaken as to Mrs. Drayton Deane's having had any unmentioned,
and still less any unmentionable, knowledge of Hugh Vereker. She'd
certainly have wished it - should it have borne on his literary
character - to he used."
"It was used. She used it herself. She told me with her own lips
that she 'lived' on it."
I had no sooner spoken than I repented of my words; he grew so pale
that I felt as if I had struck him. "Ah, 'lived' - !" he
murmured, turning short away from me.
My compunction was real; I laid my hand on his shoulder. "I beg
you to forgive me - I've made a mistake. You don't know what I
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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 Polly of the Circus by Margaret Mayo: amusement had changed to one of pity.
"You see, Miss Polly, you have had a very bad fall, and you can't
get away just yet, nor see your friends until you are better."
"It's only a scratch," Polly whimpered. "I can do my work; I got
to." One more feeble effort and she succumbed, with a faint
"Jimminy Crickets!"
"Uncle Toby told me that you were a very good little girl,"
Douglas said, as he drew up a chair and sat down by her side,
confident by the expression on her face that at last he was
master of the situation. "Do you think he would like you to
behave like this?"
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