| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Europeans by Henry James: he would willingly spend his life in the bosom of the Wentworth family;
that they were the kindest, simplest, most amiable people in
the world, and that he had taken a prodigious fancy to them all.
The Baroness quite agreed with him that they were simple and kind;
they were thoroughly nice people, and she liked them extremely.
The girls were perfect ladies; it was impossible to be more of a lady
than Charlotte Wentworth, in spite of her little village air.
"But as for thinking them the best company in the world,"
said the Baroness, "that is another thing; and as for wishing to live
porte ; aga porte with them, I should as soon think of wishing myself
back in the convent again, to wear a bombazine apron and sleep
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Odyssey by Homer: lo, thy words are fulfilled; I wonder as I look on them.'
So spake he, and the mighty king Alcinous rejoiced and
spake at once among the Phaeacians, masters of the oar:
'Hearken ye, captains and counsellors of the Phaeacians,
this stranger seems to me a wise man enough. Come then, let
us give him a stranger's gift, as is meet. Behold, there
are twelve glorious princes who rule among this people and
bear sway, and I myself am the thirteenth. Now each man
among you bring a fresh robe and a doublet, and a talent of
fine gold, and let us speedily carry all these gifts
together, that the stranger may take them in his hands, and
The Odyssey |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Dreams by Olive Schreiner: sat with their elbows on the board and hands shading their eyes; they
looked into the wine-cup beneath them, and did not drink. And when one
touched them lightly on the shoulder, bidding them to rise and dance and
sing, they started, and then looked down, and sat there watching the wine
in the cup, but they did not move.
And here and there I saw a woman sit apart. The others danced and sang and
fed their children, but she sat silent with her head aside as though she
listened. Her little children plucked her gown; she did not see them; she
was listening to some sound, but she did not stir.
The revels grew higher. Men drank till they could drink no longer, and lay
their heads upon the table sleeping heavily. Women who could dance no more
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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 Foolish Virgin by Thomas Dixon: He grinned sheepishly.
"You couldn't guess now, could you?"
"You haven't been drinking!" she gasped.
"No," he drawled lazily, "I wouldn't say drinking--
I just took one big swallow last night--makes you sleep
good when you're tired. Good medicine! I always carry
a little with me."
A sickening wave went over her. Not that she felt
that he was going to be a drunkard. But the utter
indifference with which he made the announcement was a
painful revelation of the fact that her opinion on such
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