| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Bride of Lammermoor by Walter Scott: whom he considered, not unjustly, as author of his
father's ruin and death, he might at first have repelled the
charge as a foul calumny; yet, upon serious self-examination, he
would have been compelled to admit that it had, at one period,
some foundation in truth, though, according to the present tone
of his sentiments, it was difficult to believe that this had
really been the case.
There already existed in his bosom two contradictory
passions--a desire to revenge the death of his father, strangely
qualified by admiration of his enemy's daughter. Against the
former feeling he had struggled, until it seemed to him upon the
The Bride of Lammermoor |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift: entertainment for friends, and when the family dines alone, the
fore or hind quarter will make a reasonable dish, and seasoned
with a little pepper or salt, will be very good boiled on the
fourth day, especially in winter.
I have reckoned upon a medium, that a child just born will weigh
12 pounds, and in a solar year, if tolerably nursed, encreaseth
to 28 pounds.
I grant this food will be somewhat dear, and therefore very
proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of
the parents, seem to have the best title to the children.
Infant's flesh will be in season throughout the year, but more
A Modest Proposal |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau by Honore de Balzac: nothing. By two o'clock in the morning the removal was effected. Cesar
and his wife slept on the second floor. Popinot's bedroom became that
of Celestin and the second clerk. On the third floor the furniture was
stored provisionally.
In the grasp of that magnetic ardor, produced by an influx of the
nervous fluid, which lights a brazier in the midriff of ambitious men
and lovers intent on high emprise, Popinot, so gentle and tranquil
usually, pawed the earth like a thoroughbred before the race, when he
came down into the shop after dinner.
"What's the matter with you?" asked Celestin.
"Oh, what a day! my dear fellow, what a day! I am set up in business,
Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau |
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 Finished by H. Rider Haggard: quite ungovernable. Round she wheeled and galloped at headlong
speed back towards the peak, leaping over dead and dying and
breaking through the living as she went. In two minutes we were
rushing up its northern flank, which seemed to be quite
untenanted, towards the sheer brown cliff which rose above it,
for the fighting was in progress on the other side. Suddenly at
the foot of this cliff the mare stopped, shivered and sank down
dead, probably from internal bleeding.
I looked about me desperately. To attempt the plain on foot
meant death. What then was I to do? Glancing at the cliff I saw
that there was a gully in it worn by thousands of years of
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