| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The United States Bill of Rights: the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
III
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house,
without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war,
but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,
and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated,
and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath
or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched,
and the persons or things to be seized.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde: she looks like a woman with a past, doesn't she?
LORD GORING. Most pretty women do. But there is a fashion in pasts
just as there is a fashion in frocks. Perhaps Mrs. Cheveley's past
is merely a slightly DECOLLETE one, and they are excessively popular
nowadays. Besides, my dear Robert, I should not build too high hopes
on frightening Mrs. Cheveley. I should not fancy Mrs. Cheveley is a
woman who would be easily frightened. She has survived all her
creditors, and she shows wonderful presence of mind.
SIR ROBERT CHILTERN. Oh! I live on hopes now. I clutch at every
chance. I feel like a man on a ship that is sinking. The water is
round my feet, and the very air is bitter with storm. Hush! I hear
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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 Options by O. Henry: a hundred pounds of veal in his summer suitings, and he had a 'where-
is-Mary?' expression on his features so plain that you could almost
see the wool growing on him.
"And yet you couldn't fence him away from the girls with barbed wire.
You know that kind of young fellows-a kind of a mixture of fools and
angels-they rush in and fear to tread at the same time; but they never
fail to tread when they get the chance. He was always on hand when 'a
joyful occasion was had,' as the morning paper would say, looking as
happy as a king full, and at the same time as uncomfortable as a raw
oyster served with sweet pickles. He danced like he had hind hobbles
on; and he had a vocabulary of about three hundred and fifty words
Options |
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 The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen: I knew Miss Raymond to be Mrs. Herbert; as for Mrs. Beaumont
she had quite gone out of my head. She went into the house,
and I watched it till four o'clock, when she came out, and then
I followed her. It was a long chase, and I had to be very
careful to keep a long way in the background, and yet not lose
sight of the woman. She took me down to the Strand, and then
to Westminster, and then up St. James's Street, and along
Piccadilly. I felt queerish when I saw her turn up Ashley
Street; the thought that Mrs. Herbert was Mrs. Beaumont came
into my mind, but it seemed too impossible to be true. I
waited at the corner, keeping my eye on her all the time, and I
The Great God Pan |
