| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Peter Pan by James M. Barrie: Gay windows all about,
With roses peeping in, you know,
And babies peeping out."
With a blow of their fists they made windows, and large yellow
leaves were the blinds. But roses -- ?
"Roses," cried Peter sternly.
Quickly they made-believe to grow the loveliest roses up the
walls.
Babies?
To prevent Peter ordering babies they hurried into song again:
"We've made the roses peeping out,
Peter Pan |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Black Beauty by Anna Sewell: I could never quite tell how it came about; he had only just mounted me
on the training ground, when something I did put him out of temper,
and he chucked me hard with the rein. The new bit was very painful,
and I reared up suddenly, which angered him still more, and he began
to flog me. I felt my whole spirit set against him, and I began to kick,
and plunge, and rear as I had never done before, and we had a regular fight;
for a long time he stuck to the saddle and punished me cruelly
with his whip and spurs, but my blood was thoroughly up,
and I cared for nothing he could do if only I could get him off.
At last after a terrible struggle I threw him off backward.
I heard him fall heavily on the turf, and without looking behind me,
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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 The Aspern Papers by Henry James: be proud of and hang up in a prominent place on the parlor wall.
Therefore of course she had not any portrait.
Miss Tita made no direct answer to this and, candle in hand,
with her back to me, ascended two or three stairs.
Then she stopped short and turned round, looking at me across
the dusky space.
"Do you write--do you write?" There was a shake in her voice--
she could scarcely bring out what she wanted to ask.
"Do I write? Oh, don't speak of my writing on the same day with Aspern's!"
"Do you write about HIM--do you pry into his life?"
"Ah, that's your aunt's question; it can't be yours!"
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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 The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf: had never tried to make the service fit any feeling or idea of his,
he was able to enjoy the beauty of the language without hindrance.
His mind was occupied first with accidental things, such as the
women's hair in front of him, the light on the faces, then with
the words which seemed to him magnificent, and then more vaguely
with the characters of the other worshippers. But when he suddenly
perceived Rachel, all these thoughts were driven out of his head,
and he thought only of her. The psalms, the prayers, the Litany,
and the sermon were all reduced to one chanting sound which paused,
and then renewed itself, a little higher or a little lower.
He stared alternately at Rachel and at the ceiling, but his expression
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