| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Flame and Shadow by Sara Teasdale: And heedless, heedless
If anyone pass and see
On the white page of the sky
Its thin black tracery.
At Midnight
Now at last I have come to see what life is,
Nothing is ever ended, everything only begun,
And the brave victories that seem so splendid
Are never really won.
Even love that I built my spirit's house for,
Comes like a brooding and a baffled guest,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Allan Quatermain by H. Rider Haggard: we know that she was pleading for our lives. Finally, she turned
and addressed a tall, soldierlike man of middle age with a black
beard and a long plain sword, whose name, as we afterwards learnt,
was Nasta, and who was the greatest lord in the country; apparently
appealing to him for support. Now when Sir Henry had caught
her eye and she had blushed so rosy red, I had seen that the
incident had not escaped this man's notice, and, what is more,
that it was eminently disagreeable to him, for he bit his lip
and his hand tightened on his sword-hilt. Afterwards we learnt
that he was an aspirant for the hand of this Queen in marriage,
which accounted for it. This being so, Nyleptha could not have
Allan Quatermain |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom by William and Ellen Craft: ties, that the inhabitants of the FREE States should
not only refuse food and shelter to a starving,
hunted human being, but also should assist, if
called upon by the authorities, to seize the unhappy
fugitive and send him back to slavery.
In no case is a person's evidence admitted in
Court, in defence of his liberty, when arrested
under this law.
If the judge decides that the prisoner is a slave,
he gets ten dollars; but if he sets him at liberty, he
only receives five.
Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom |
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 Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain: and roar and general distraction; drays and baggage-vans were
clattering hither and thither in a wild hurry, every now and
then getting blocked and jammed together, and then during ten
seconds one could not see them for the profanity, except vaguely
and dimly; every windlass connected with every forehatch,
from one end of that long array of steamboats to the other,
was keeping up a deafening whiz and whir, lowering freight
into the hold, and the half-naked crews of perspiring negroes
that worked them were roaring such songs as 'De Las' Sack!
De Las' Sack!'--inspired to unimaginable exaltation by the chaos
of turmoil and racket that was driving everybody else mad.
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