| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Idylls of the King by Alfred Tennyson: Woke the sick knight, and while he rolled his eyes
Yet blank from sleep, she started to him, saying,
'Your prize the diamond sent you by the King:'
His eyes glistened: she fancied 'Is it for me?'
And when the maid had told him all the tale
Of King and Prince, the diamond sent, the quest
Assigned to her not worthy of it, she knelt
Full lowly by the corners of his bed,
And laid the diamond in his open hand.
Her face was near, and as we kiss the child
That does the task assigned, he kissed her face.
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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 Rig Veda:
1. ADHVARYU, on the filter pour the Soma juice expressed with
stones,
And make it pure for Indra's drink.
2 Pour out for Indra, Thunder-armed, the milk of heaven,, the
Soma's
juice,
Most excellent, most rich in sweets.
3 These Gods and all the Marut host, Indu enjoy this juice
of thine,
This Pavamana's flowing meath.
The Rig Veda |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne: The engineer obeyed. The manometer showed ten degrees.
But the cetacean grew warm itself, no doubt; for without
straining itself, it made 19 3/10 miles.
What a pursuit! No, I cannot describe the emotion that vibrated through me.
Ned Land kept his post, harpoon in hand. Several times the animal let us
gain upon it.--"We shall catch it! we shall catch it!" cried the Canadian.
But just as he was going to strike, the cetacean stole away with a rapidity
that could not be estimated at less than thirty miles an hour, and even during
our maximum of speed, it bullied the frigate, going round and round it.
A cry of fury broke from everyone!
At noon we were no further advanced than at eight o'clock in the morning.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea |
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 Hidden Masterpiece by Honore de Balzac: finger on the exact spot where the parts join the groundwork of the
picture. If seen near by this sort of work has a woolly effect, and is
wanting in nicety and precision; but go a few steps off and the parts
fall into place; they take their proper form and detach themselves,--
the body turns, the limbs stand out, we feel the air circulating
around them.
"Nevertheless," he continued, sadly, "I am not satisfied; there are
moments when I have my doubts. Perhaps it would be better not to
sketch a single line. I ask myself if I ought not to grasp the figure
first by its highest lights, and then work down to the darker
portions. Is not that the method of the sun, divine painter of the
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