| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Cousin Betty by Honore de Balzac: Lebrun, in Monsieur Coquet's room," said she with a smile.
"I am quite disposed, Madame--Madame----?"
"Madame Marneffe."
"Dear little Madame Marneffe, to do injustice for your sake.--I have a
cousin living in your house; I will go to see her one day soon--as
soon as possible; bring your petition to me in her rooms."
"Pardon my boldness, Monsieur le Baron; you must understand that if I
dare to address you thus, it is because I have no friend to protect
me----"
"Ah, ha!"
"Monsieur, you misunderstand me," said she, lowering her eyelids.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Life of the Spider by J. Henri Fabre: as the rope-maker steps backwards when working his hemp. The
activity now displayed on the drill-ground is a preparation for the
approaching dispersal. The travellers are packing up.
Soon we see a few Spiders trotting briskly between the table and
the open window. They are running in mid-air. But on what? If
the light fall favourably, I manage to see, at moments, behind the
tiny animal, a thread resembling a ray of light, which appears for
an instant, gleams and disappears. Behind, therefore, there is a
mooring, only just perceptible, if you look very carefully; but, in
front, towards the window, there is nothing to be seen at all.
In vain I examine above, below, at the side; in vain I vary the
The Life of the Spider |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Profits of Religion by Upton Sinclair: his ideas of celestial Cosmogony, but the order and significance
of names and titles commonly applied to the Transcendental
Brethren. The great provinces of Etheria are presided over by
chiefs, chosen for their superior development in wisdom and love.
For our solar system to cross one of these provinces requires
about 3,000 years, and between them are belts of high Etherian
light which take several years to pass over. The passage of each
province is a cycle of earthly history, and the crossings are
called Dawns of Dan.
And here is Koreshanity, a revelation vouchsafed by the Lord to
Dr. C. R. Teed of Chicago in the year 1889. This new seer took
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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 A Treatise on Parents and Children by George Bernard Shaw: compulsory anything except restraint from crime, though, as they can
be supplied only by social organization, the child must be conscious
of and subject to the conditions of that organization, which may
involve such portions of adult responsibility and duty as a child may
be able to bear according to its age, and which will in any case
prevent it from forming the vagabond and anarchist habit of mind.
One more exception might be necessary: compulsory freedom. I am sure
that a child should not be imprisoned in a school. I am not so sure
that it should not sometimes be driven out into the open--imprisoned
in the woods and on the mountains, as it were. For there are frowsty
children, just as there are frowsty adults, who dont want freedom.
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