| 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: Miss Tita looked as if she failed to grasp this rather
complicated proposition; so I continued, "If you have not told
her what I said to you the other night may she not at least
have guessed it?"
"I don't know; she is very suspicious."
"But she has not been made so by indiscreet curiosity, by persecution?"
"No, no; it isn't that," said Miss Tita, turning on me
a somewhat troubled face. "I don't know how to say it:
it's on account of something--ages ago, before I was born--
in her life."
"Something? What sort of thing?" I asked as if I myself could
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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 Alkahest by Honore de Balzac: should be out of the way. For a while she studied the goings and
comings of the man with angry impatience; did he not know that which
was denied to her--all that her husband hid from her, all that she
dared not inquire into? Even a servant was preferred to a wife!
The day came; she approached the place, trembling, yet almost happy.
For the first time in her life she encountered Balthazar's anger. She
had hardly opened the door before he sprang upon her, seized her,
threw her roughly on the staircase, so that she narrowly escaped
rolling to the bottom.
"God be praised! you are still alive!" he cried, raising her.
A glass vessel had broken into fragments over Madame Claes, who saw
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