| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Madame Firmiani by Honore de Balzac: At that particular moment Fops are pitiless.
"Magnificent collection of pictures in her house; go and see them by
all means," answers another. "Nothing finer." You have questioned one
of the species Connoisseur. He leaves you to go to Perignon's or
Tripet's. To him, Madame Firmiani is a collection of painted canvases.
A Woman: "Madame Firmiani? I don't wish you to visit her>" This remark
is rich in meanings. Madame Firmiani! dangerous woman! a siren!
dresses well, has taste; gives other women sleepless nights. Your
informant belongs to the genus Spiteful.
An Attache to an embassy: "Madame Firmiani? Isn't she from Antwerp? I
saw her ten years ago in Rome; she was very handsome then."
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Philosophy 4 by Owen Wister: ribs. Then he knocked again. Then he tried the door, and as it was
open, he walked deferentially into the sitting room. Sonorous snores
came from one of the bedrooms. Oscar peered in and saw John; but he saw
no Billy in the other bed. Then, always deferential, he sat down in the
sitting room and watched a couple of prettily striped coats hanging in a
half-open closet.
At that moment the black gelding was flirtatiously crossing the
drawbridge over the Charles on the Allston Road. The gelding knew the
clank of those suspending chains and the slight unsteadiness of the
meeting halves of the bridge as well as it knew oats. But it could not
enjoy its own entirely premeditated surprise quite so much as Bertie and
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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 Grimm's Fairy Tales by Brothers Grimm: go in, bind him, and take him on board a ship which shall carry him
into the wide world.' The woman was satisfied with this; but the
king's armour-bearer, who had heard all, was friendly with the young
lord, and informed him of the whole plot. 'I'll put a screw into that
business,' said the little tailor. At night he went to bed with his
wife at the usual time, and when she thought that he had fallen
asleep, she got up, opened the door, and then lay down again. The
little tailor, who was only pretending to be asleep, began to cry out
in a clear voice: 'Boy, make me the doublet and patch me the
pantaloons, or I will rap the yard-measure over your ears. I smote
seven at one blow. I killed two giants, I brought away one unicorn,
Grimm's Fairy Tales |
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 Dreams & Dust by Don Marquis: THE SAILOR'S WIFE SPEAKS
YE are dead, they say, but ye swore, ye swore,
Ye would come to me back from the sea!
From out of the sea and the night, ye cried,
Nor the crawling weed nor the dragging tide
Could hold ye fast from me:--
Come, ah, come to me!
Three spells I have laid on the rising sun
And three on the waning moon--
Are ye held in the bonds of the night or the day
Ye must loosen your bonds and away, away!
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