| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Poems of Goethe, Bowring, Tr. by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Lightest thou him
Through the fords when 'tis night,
Over bottomless places
On desert-like plains;
With the thousand colours of morning
Gladd'nest his bosom;
With the fierce-biting storm
Bearest him proudly on high;
Winter torrents rush from the cliffs,--
Blend with his psalms;
An altar of grateful delight
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Glinda of Oz by L. Frank Baum: angry, for they declared the fish in their lake
belonged to them and were under their protection and
they forbade us to catch them. That was very mean and
unfriendly in the Skeezers, you must admit, and when we
paid no attention to their orders they set a guard on
the shore of the lake to prevent our fishing.
"Now, my wife, Rora Flathead, having four cans of
brains, had become a wonderful witch, and fish being
brain food, she loved to eat fish better than any one
of us. So she vowed she would destroy every fish in the
lake, unless the Skeezers let us catch what we wanted.
Glinda of Oz |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, etc. by Oscar Wilde: fearful fortune in the scales? The marriage must be postponed, at
all costs. Of this he was quite resolved. Ardently though he
loved the girl, and the mere touch of her fingers, when they sat
together, made each nerve of his body thrill with exquisite joy, he
recognised none the less clearly where his duty lay, and was fully
conscious of the fact that he had no right to marry until he had
committed the murder. This done, he could stand before the altar
with Sybil Merton, and give his life into her hands without terror
of wrongdoing. This done, he could take her to his arms, knowing
that she would never have to blush for him, never have to hang her
head in shame. But done it must be first; and the sooner 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 The Deputy of Arcis by Honore de Balzac: On the stranger's return the mistress of the house carried up to him
the book in which, according to police regulations, he was required to
inscribe his name, rank, the object of his journey, and the place from
which he came.
"I shall write nothing," he said to the mistress of the inn. "If any
one questions you, you can say I refused; and you may send the sub-
prefect to see me, for I have no passport. I dare say that many
persons will make inquiries about me, madame, and you can tell them
just what you like. I wish you to know nothing about me. If you worry
me on this point, I shall go to the Hotel de la Poste on the Place du
Pont and remain there for the fortnight I propose to spend here. I
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