The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from King James Bible: again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination
before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the
LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
DEU 24:5 When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war,
neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at
home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken.
DEU 24:6 No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge:
for he taketh a man's life to pledge.
DEU 24:7 If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children
of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him, or selleth him; then that
thief shall die; and thou shalt put evil away from among you.
King James Bible |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Alkahest by Honore de Balzac: her intimate friends. Balthazar went nowhere, shut himself up in his
laboratory all day, sometimes stayed there all night, and only
appeared in the bosom of his family at dinner-time.
After the second year he no longer passed the summer at his country-
house, and his wife was unwilling to live there alone. Sometimes he
went to walk and did not return till the following day, leaving Madame
Claes a prey to mortal anxiety during the night. After causing a
fruitless search for him through the town, whose gates, like those of
other fortified places, were closed at night, it was impossible to
send into the country, and the unhappy woman could only wait and
suffer till morning. Balthazar, who had forgotten the hour at which
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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 Out of Time's Abyss by Edgar Rice Burroughs: I have never seen such a one."
As they talked in low tones they had moved from the room of the
death shaft into an all blue room adjoining, where they sat down
together in a corner with their backs against a wall and drew a
pile of hides over themselves. A moment later they heard a
number of Wieroos enter the chamber. They were talking together
as they crossed the floor, or the two could not have heard them.
Halfway across the chamber they halted as the door toward which
they were advancing opened and a dozen others of their kind
entered the apartment.
Bradley could guess all this by the increased volume of sound and
Out of Time's Abyss |
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 Recruit by Honore de Balzac: still in prison, or out in the free country. Oh! I wish I could stop
thinking--"
She again examined the room to see if all were in order. A good fire
burned on the hearth, the shutters were carefully closed, the
furniture shone with rubbing; even the manner in which the bed was
made showed that the countess had assisted Brigitte in every detail;
her hopes were uttered in the delicate care given to that room where
she expected to fold her son in her arms. A mother alone could have
thought of all his wants; a choice repast, rare wine, fresh linen,
slippers, in short, everything the tired man would need,--all were
there that nothing might be lacking; the comforts of his home should
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