| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from On Horsemanship by Xenophon: excitement. If the horse is inclined to droop his head, the reins
should be held pretty high; or somewhat low, if he is disposed to
carry his head high. This will set off the horse's bearing to the best
advantage. Presently, as he falls into a natural trot,[13] he will
gradually relax his limbs without the slightest suffering, and so come
more agreeably to the gallop.[14] Since, too, the preference is given
to starting on the left foot, it will best conduce to that lead if,
while the horse is still trotting, the signal to gallop should be
given at the instant of making a step with his right foot.[15] As he
is on the point of lifting his left foot he will start upon it, and
while turning left will simultaneously make the first bound of the
On Horsemanship |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Out of Time's Abyss by Edgar Rice Burroughs: stepped to the edge of the platform and dumped the rubbish into
the stream. If it turned away from him as it started to retrace
its steps to the doorway, there was a small chance that it might
not see him; but if it turned toward him there was none at all.
Bradley held his breath.
The Wieroo paused a moment, gazing down into the water, then it
straightened up and turned toward the Englishman. Bradley did
not move. The Wieroo stopped and stared intently at him.
It approached him questioningly. Still Bradley remained as
though carved of stone. The creature was directly in front
of him. It stopped. There was no chance on earth that it would
Out of Time's Abyss |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Don Quixote by Miquel de Cervantes: Sancho strove to comfort him, and among other things he said to him,
"Hold up your head, senor, and be of good cheer if you can, and give
thanks to heaven that if you have had a tumble to the ground you
have not come off with a broken rib; and, as you know that 'where they
give they take,' and that 'there are not always fletches where there
are pegs,' a fig for the doctor, for there's no need of him to cure
this ailment. Let us go home, and give over going about in search of
adventures in strange lands and places; rightly looked at, it is I
that am the greater loser, though it is your worship that has had
the worse usage. With the government I gave up all wish to be a
governor again, but I did not give up all longing to be a count; and
Don Quixote |
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 Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave by Frederick Douglass: without a moment's warning, he was snatched away,
and forever sundered, from his family and friends,
by a hand more unrelenting than death. This is the
penalty of telling the truth, of telling the simple
truth, in answer to a series of plain questions.
It is partly in consequence of such facts, that
slaves, when inquired of as to their condition and
the character of their masters, almost universally say
they are contented, and that their masters are kind.
The slaveholders have been known to send in spies
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave |
