| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Dream Life and Real Life by Olive Schreiner: made a lattice-work of light on her face. She was dreaming a beautiful
dream. The loveliest dreams of all are dreamed when you are hungry. She
thought she was walking in a beautiful place, holding her father's hand,
and they both had crowns on their heads, crowns of wild asparagus. The
people whom they passed smiled and kissed her; some gave her flowers, and
some gave her food, and the sunlight was everywhere. She dreamed the same
dream over and over, and it grew more and more beautiful; till, suddenly,
it seemed as though she were standing quite alone. She looked up: on one
side of her was the high precipice, on the other was the river, with the
willow trees, drooping their branches into the water; and the moonlight was
over all. Up, against the night sky the pointed leaves of the kippersol
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Seraphita by Honore de Balzac: 'Incantations' of Jean Wier, will surely understand the explanation of
my sensations if I try to give it to you," replied Wilfrid. "If we
study Nature attentively in its great evolutions as in its minutest
works, we cannot fail to recognize the possibility of enchantment--
giving to that word its exact significance. Man does not create
forces; he employs the only force that exists and which includes all
others namely Motion, the breath incomprehensible of the sovereign
Maker of the universe. Species are too distinctly separated for the
human hand to mingle them. The only miracle of which man is capable is
done through the conjunction of two antagonistic substances. Gunpowder
for instance is germane to a thunderbolt. As to calling forth a
Seraphita |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: was still by nature solicitous to be neat. It was not my habit to
be disregardful of appearance or careless of the impression I made:
on the contrary, I ever wished to look as well as I could, and to
please as much as my want of beauty would permit. I sometimes
regretted that I was not handsomer; I sometimes wished to have rosy
cheeks, a straight nose, and small cherry mouth; I desired to be
tall, stately, and finely developed in figure; I felt it a
misfortune that I was so little, so pale, and had features so
irregular and so marked. And why had I these aspirations and these
regrets? It would be difficult to say: I could not then distinctly
say it to myself; yet I had a reason, and a logical, natural reason
Jane Eyre |
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 Court Life in China by Isaac Taylor Headland: removed to make the Lotus Lakes. It is said that in this hill
there is buried coal enough to last the city in time of siege.
This, however, was not the primary design of the hill. It has a
more mysterious meaning. There have always been spirits in the
earth, in the air, in every tree and well and stream. And in
China it has ever been found necessary to locate a house, a city
or even a cemetery in such surroundings as to protect them from
the entrance of evil spirits. "Coal Hill," therefore, was placed
to the north of these imperial palace buildings to protect them
from the evil spirits of the cold, bleak north.
Just inside of that north gate there is a beautiful garden, with
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