| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Talisman by Walter Scott: mood, I dare not speak to him--he will kill me!"
"Yet go, gracious madam," said the Lady Calista, who best knew
her mistress's temper; "not a lion, in his fury, could look upon
such a face and form, and retain so much as an angry thought, far
less a love-true knight like the royal Richard, to whom your
slightest word would be a command."
"Dost thou think so, Calista?" said the Queen. "Ah, thou little
knowest yet I will go. But see you here, what means this? You
have bedizened me in green, a colour he detests. Lo you! let me
have a blue robe, and--search for the ruby carcanet, which was
part of the King of Cyprus's ransom; it is either in the steel
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Shakespeare's Sonnets by William Shakespeare: Since why to love I can allege no cause.
L
How heavy do I journey on the way,
When what I seek, my weary travel's end,
Doth teach that ease and that repose to say,
'Thus far the miles are measured from thy friend!'
The beast that bears me, tired with my woe,
Plods dully on, to bear that weight in me,
As if by some instinct the wretch did know
His rider lov'd not speed, being made from thee:
The bloody spur cannot provoke him on,
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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 Marie by H. Rider Haggard: o'clock. Therefore when I left the wagon to eat, or try to eat some
breakfast, I found the whole camp in a state of bustle.
Boers were shouting to their servants, horses were being examined, women
were packing the saddle-bags of their husbands and fathers with spare
clothes, the pack-beasts were being laden with biltong and other
provisions, and so forth.
In the midst of all this tumult I began to wonder whether my private
business would not be forgotten, since it seemed unlikely that time
could be found for marriages. However, about ten o'clock when, having
done everything that I had to do, I was sitting disconsolately upon my
wagon box, being too shy to mix with that crowd of busy mockers or to go
Marie |
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 Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll: to the town. Just look along the road, and tell me if you can
see either of them.'
`I see nobody on the road,' said Alice.
`I only wish _I_ had such eyes,' the King remarked in a fretful
tone. `To be able to see Nobody! And at that distance, too!
Why, it's as much as _I_ can do to see real people, by this
light!'
All this was lost on Alice, who was still looking intently
along the road, shading her eyes with one hand. `I see somebody
now!' she exclaimed at last. `But he's coming very slowly--and
what curious attitudes he goes into!' (For the messenger kept
Through the Looking-Glass |
