| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen: golden stool close by.
Hereupon the King said, "There is nothing above my daughter; therefore to
bound up to her is the highest jump that can be made; but for this, one must
possess understanding, and the Leap-frog has shown that he has understanding.
He is brave and intellectual."
And so he won the Princess.
"It's all the same to me," said the Flea. "She may have the old Leap-frog, for
all I care. I jumped the highest; but in this world merit seldom meets its
reward. A fine exterior is what people look at now-a-days."
The Flea then went into foreign service, where, it is said, he was killed.
The Grasshopper sat without on a green bank, and reflected on worldly things;
Fairy Tales |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from King James Bible: in their cities, to wit, Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the
Nethinims, and the children of Solomon's servants.
NEH 11:4 And at Jerusalem dwelt certain of the children of Judah, and
of the children of Benjamin. Of the children of Judah; Athaiah the son
of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of
Shephatiah, the son of Mahalaleel, of the children of Perez;
NEH 11:5 And Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Colhozeh, the son
of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah,
the son of Shiloni.
NEH 11:6 All the sons of Perez that dwelt at Jerusalem were four
hundred threescore and eight valiant men.
King James Bible |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from De Profundis by Oscar Wilde: whose desire is to be something separate from himself, to be a
member of Parliament, or a successful grocer, or a prominent
solicitor, or a judge, or something equally tedious, invariably
succeeds in being what he wants to be. That is his punishment.
Those who want a mask have to wear it.
But with the dynamic forces of life, and those in whom those
dynamic forces become incarnate, it is different. People whose
desire is solely for self-realisation never know where they are
going. They can't know. In one sense of the word it is of course
necessary, as the Greek oracle said, to know oneself: that is the
first achievement of knowledge. But to recognise that the soul of
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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 Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death by Patrick Henry: Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves
to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our
petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and
darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and
reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that
force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves,
sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to
which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if
its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other
possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of
the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir,
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