| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas: supporting his head with his two hands, whilst his eyes
wandered over the distant hazy horizon where the windmills
of Dort were turning their sails, was breathing the fresh
air, in order to be able to keep down his tears and to
fortify himself in his philosophy.
The pigeons were still there, but hope was not there; there
was no future to look forward to.
Alas! Rosa, being watched, was no longer able to come. Could
she not write? and if so, could she convey her letters to
him?
No, no. He had seen during the two preceding days too much
The Black Tulip |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving: Ichabod Crane. Thus, by divers little makeshifts, in that
ingenious way which is commonly denominated "by hook and by
crook," the worthy pedagogue got on tolerably enough, and was
thought, by all who understood nothing of the labor of headwork,
to have a wonderfully easy life of it.
The schoolmaster is generally a man of some importance in
the female circle of a rural neighborhood; being considered a
kind of idle, gentlemanlike personage, of vastly superior taste
and accomplishments to the rough country swains, and, indeed,
inferior in learning only to the parson. His appearance,
therefore, is apt to occasion some little stir at the tea-table
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Deserted Woman by Honore de Balzac: Switzerland were lived over again. For nine whole years they knew
happiness which it serves no purpose to describe; happiness which may
be divined from the outcome of the story by those whose souls can
comprehend poetry and prayer in their infinite manifestations.
All this time Mme. de Beauseant's husband, the present Marquis (his
father and elder brother having died), enjoyed the soundest health.
There is no better aid to life than a certain knowledge that our
demise would confer a benefit on some fellow-creature. M. de Beauseant
was one of those ironical and wayward beings who, like holders of
life-annuities, wake with an additional sense of relish every morning
to a consciousness of good health. For the rest, he was a man of the
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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 Salome by Oscar Wilde: SALOME. Donnez-moi la tete d'Iokanaan.
HERODE. Vous voyez, vous ne m'ecoutez pas. Mais soyez calme. Moi,
je suis tres calme. Je suis tout e fait calme. Ecoutez. J'ai des
bijoux caches ici que meme votre mere n'a jamais vus, des bijoux
tout e fait extraordinaires. J'ai un collier de perles e quatre
rangs. On dirait des lunes enchainees de rayons d'argent. On
dirait cinquante lunes captives dans un filet d'or. Une reine l'a
porte sur l'ivoire de ses seins. Toi, quand tu le porteras, tu
seras aussi belle qu'une reine. J'ai des amethystes de deux
especes. Une qui est noire comme le vin. L'autre qui est rouge
comme du vin qu'on a colore avec de l'eau. J'ai des topazes jaunes
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