| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Love and Friendship by Jane Austen: Sir James Gower (one of my too numerous admirers) prevented the
Discovery of any such Powers, by putting an end to a Conversation
we had never commenced, and by attracting my attention to
himself. But oh! how inferior are the accomplishments of Sir
James to those of his so greatly envied Rival! Sir James is one
of the most frequent of our Visitors, and is almost always of our
Parties. We have since often met Mr and Mrs Marlowe but no
Cleveland--he is always engaged some where else. Mrs Marlowe
fatigues me to Death every time I see her by her tiresome
Conversations about you and Eloisa. She is so stupid! I live in
the hope of seeing her irrisistable Brother to night, as we are
Love and Friendship |
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 Arizona Nights by Stewart Edward White: knowledge of those who dwelt therein. They moved, mysterious as
the desert illusions that compassed them about. As you rode, the
ranges of mountains visibly changed form, the monstrous, snaky,
sea-like growths of the cactus clutched at your stirrup, mock
lakes sparkled and dissolved in the middle distance, the sun beat
hot and merciless, the powdered dry alkali beat hotly and
mercilessly back--and strange, grim men, swarthy, bearded,
heavily armed, with red-rimmed unshifting eyes, rode silently out
of the mists of illusion to look on you steadily, and then to
ride silently back into the desert haze. They might be only the
herders of the gaunt cattle, or again they might belong to the
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