| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Tao Teh King by Lao-tze: of the written characters).
4. They should think their (coarse) food sweet; their (plain) clothes
beautiful; their (poor) dwellings places of rest; and their common
(simple) ways sources of enjoyment.
5. There should be a neighbouring state within sight, and the voices
of the fowls and dogs should be heard all the way from it to us, but I
would make the people to old age, even to death, not have any
intercourse with it.
81. 1. Sincere words are not fine; fine words are not sincere. Those
who are skilled (in the Tao) do not dispute (about it); the
disputatious are not skilled in it. Those who know (the Tao) are not
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Polity of Athenians and Lacedaemonians by Xenophon: which are not islanders, but situated on the continent, the larger are
held in check by need[3] and the small ones absolutely by fear, since
there is no state in existence which does not depend upon imports and
exports, and these she will forfeit if she does not lend a willing ear
to those who are masters by sea. In the next place, a power dominant
by sea can do certain things which a land power is debarred from
doing; as for instance, ravage the territory of a superior, since it
is always possible to coast along to some point, where either there is
no hostile force to deal with or merely a small body; and in case of
an advance in force on the part of the enemy they can take to their
ships and sail away. Such a performance is attended with less
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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 Life in the Iron-Mills by Rebecca Davis: moments when a passing cloud, the sun glinting on the purple
thistles, a kindly smile, a child's face, will rouse him to a
passion of pain,--when his nature starts up with a mad cry of
rage against God, man, whoever it is that has forced this vile,
slimy life upon him. With all this groping, this mad desire, a
great blind intellect stumbling through wrong, a loving poet's
heart, the man was by habit only a coarse, vulgar laborer,
familiar with sights and words you would blush to name. Be
just: when I tell you about this night, see him as he is. Be
just,--not like man's law, which seizes on one isolated fact,
but like God's judging angel, whose clear, sad eye saw all the
Life in the Iron-Mills |
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 Pathology of Lying, Etc. by William and Mary Healy: Our investigation of the causation showed perhaps self-
protection from punishment for her own behavior, but there was
apparently much mental conflict about sex affairs and she had a
very unfortunate acquaintance with such details, resulting
partly, as she acknowledged, from her peeping through keyholes
and so on. On account of her peculiar unreliability of statement
and many quiet and staring periods, seen while she was under
observation, we questioned whether she was not verging on
psychotic conditions. However, all this tendency seems to have
passed away.
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