| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake: And gives His light, and gives His heat away,
And flowers and trees and beasts and men receive
Comfort in morning, joy in the noonday.
'And we are put on earth a little space,
That we may learn to bear the beams of love;
And these black bodies and this sunburnt face
Are but a cloud, and like a shady grove.
'For, when our souls have learned the heat to bear,
The cloud will vanish, we shall hear His voice,
Saying, "Come out from the grove, my love and care,
And round my golden tent like lambs rejoice."'
Songs of Innocence and Experience |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from In a German Pension by Katherine Mansfield: and continuous parties of "cure guests", who were giving their digestions a
quiet airing in pension gardens, called after us, asked if we were going
for a walk, and cried "Herr Gott--happy journey" with immense ill-concealed
relish when we mentioned Schlingen.
"But that is eight kilometres," shouted one old man with a white beard, who
leaned against a fence, fanning himself with a yellow handkerchief.
"Seven and a half," answered Herr Erchardt shortly.
"Eight," bellowed the sage.
"Seven and a half!"
"Eight!"
"The man is mad," said Herr Erchardt.
|
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Mrs. Warren's Profession by George Bernard Shaw: Your mother does not know yet that we have visitors.
PRAED. I'm afraid we're giving trouble.
FRANK [rising] Not the least in the world: my mother will be
delighted to see you. She's a genuinely intellectual artistic
woman; and she sees nobody here from one year's end to another
except the gov'nor; so you can imagine how jolly dull it pans out
for her. [To his father] Y o u r e not intellectual or artistic:
are you pater? So take Praed home at once; and I'll stay here
and entertain Mrs Warren. Youll pick up Crofts in the garden.
He'll be excellent company for the bull-pup.
PRAED [taking his hat from the dresser, and coming close to
|
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 Heroes by Charles Kingsley: heavily, as swine sleep, with their mighty wings outspread;
but Medusa tossed to and fro restlessly, and as she tossed
Perseus pitied her, she looked so fair and sad. Her plumage
was like the rainbow, and her face was like the face of a
nymph, only her eyebrows were knit, and her lips clenched,
with everlasting care and pain; and her long neck gleamed so
white in the mirror that Perseus had not the heart to strike,
and said, 'Ah, that it had been either of her sisters!'
But as he looked, from among her tresses the vipers' heads
awoke, and peeped up with their bright dry eyes, and showed
their fangs, and hissed; and Medusa, as she tossed, threw
|
