| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Simple Soul by Gustave Flaubert: along the wall, pushed his hat over his eyes to hide his profile, and
entered by the garden door, and the looks he gave the bird lacked
affection. Loulou, having thrust his head into the butcher-boy's
basket, received a slap, and from that time he always tried to nip his
enemy. Fabu threatened to ring his neck, although he was not cruelly
inclined, notwithstanding his big whiskers and tattooings. On the
contrary, he rather liked the bird, and, out of devilry, tried to
teach him oaths. Felicite, whom his manner alarmed, put Loulou in the
kitchen, took off his chain and let him walk all over the house.
When he went downstairs, he rested his beak on the steps, lifted his
right foot and then his left one; but his mistress feared that such
A Simple Soul |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Concerning Christian Liberty by Martin Luther: >From all this every man will be able to attain a sure judgment
and faithful discrimination between all works and laws, and to
know who are blind and foolish pastors, and who are true and good
ones. For whatsoever work is not directed to the sole end either
of keeping under the body, or of doing service to our
neighbour--provided he require nothing contrary to the will of
God--is no good or Christian work. Hence I greatly fear that at
this day few or no colleges, monasteries, altars, or
ecclesiastical functions are Christian ones; and the same may be
said of fasts and special prayers to certain saints. I fear that
in all these nothing is being sought but what is already ours;
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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 The Hunting of the Snark by Lewis Carroll: And the evening got darker and colder,
Till (merely from nervousness, not from goodwill)
They marched along shoulder to shoulder.
Then a scream, shrill and high, rent the shuddering sky,
And they knew that some danger was near:
The Beaver turned pale to the tip of its tail,
And even the Butcher felt queer.
He thought of his childhood, left far far behind--
That blissful and innocent state--
The sound so exactly recalled to his mind
A pencil that squeaks on a slate!
The Hunting of the Snark |
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 Extracts From Adam's Diary by Mark Twain: pity the poor noisy little animal, but there is nothing I can do
to make it happy. If I could tame it--but that is out of the
question; the more I try, the worse I seem to make it. It grieves
me to the heart to see it in its little storms of sorrow and
passion. I wanted to let it go, but she wouldn't hear of it. That
seemed cruel and not like her; and yet she may be right. It might
be lonelier than ever; for since I cannot find another one, how
could it?
Five Months Later
It is not a kangaroo. No, for it supports itself by holding to
her finger, and thus goes a few steps on its hind legs, and then
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