| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Ursula by Honore de Balzac: diabolical expression of the Mephistopheles of Joseph Brideau.
"I should think so!" returned Goupil. "If she doesn't marry me I'll
make her die of grief."
"Do it, my boy, and I'll GIVE you the money to buy a practice in
Paris. You can then marry a rich woman--"
"Poor Ursula! what makes you so bitter against her? what has she done
to you?" asked the clerk in surprise.
"She annoys me," said Minoret, gruffly.
"Well, wait till Monday and you shall see how I'll rasp her," said
Goupil, studying the expression of the late post master's face.
The next day La Bougival carried the following letter to Savinien.
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum: "Glinda might," he suggested.
"Who is Glinda?" inquired the Scarecrow.
"The Witch of the South. She is the most powerful of all the
Witches, and rules over the Quadlings. Besides, her castle stands
on the edge of the desert, so she may know a way to cross it."
"Glinda is a Good Witch, isn't she?" asked the child.
"The Quadlings think she is good," said the soldier, "and she
is kind to everyone. I have heard that Glinda is a beautiful woman,
who knows how to keep young in spite of the many years she has lived."
"How can I get to her castle?" asked Dorothy.
"The road is straight to the South," he answered, "but it is
 The Wizard of Oz |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Turn of the Screw by Henry James: to me as a revelation that the inconceivable communion I
then surprised was a matter, for either party, of habit.
It was a pity that I should have had to quaver out again
the reasons for my not having, in my delusion, so much
as questioned that the little girl saw our visitant even
as I actually saw Mrs. Grose herself, and that she wanted,
by just so much as she did thus see, to make me suppose she
didn't, and at the same time, without showing anything,
arrive at a guess as to whether I myself did! It was a pity
that I needed once more to describe the portentous little activity
by which she sought to divert my attention--the perceptible
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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 Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence: in love with another man, and do hope you will divorce me. I am staying
at present with Duncan its his flat. I told you he was at Venice with
us. I'm awfully unhappy for your sake: but do try to take it quietly.
You don't really need me any more, and I can't bear to come back to
Wragby. I'm awfully sorry. But do try to forgive me, and divorce me and
find someone better. I'm not really the right person for you, I am too
impatient and selfish, I suppose. But I can't ever come back to live
with you again. And I feel so frightfully sorry about it all, for your
sake. But if you don't let yourself get worked up, you'll see you won't
mind so frightfully. You didn't really care about me personally. So do
forgive me and get rid of me.
 Lady Chatterley's Lover |