| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter by Beatrix Potter: pie-dish! and so is mine; just like
Ribby's dishes; they were both bought
at Tabitha Twitchit's."
Duchess went into her larder and took
the pie off a shelf and looked at it.
"Oh what a good idea! Why
shouldn't I rush along and put my pie
into Ribby's oven when Ribby isn't
there?"
Ribby in the meantime had received
Duchess's answer, and as soon as she
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Seraphita by Honore de Balzac: the lamb, Prayer! Prayer will give you the key of heaven! Bold and
pure as innocence, strong, like all that is single and simple, this
glorious, invincible Queen rests, nevertheless, on the material world;
she takes possession of it; like the sun, she clasps it in a circle of
light. The universe belongs to him who wills, who knows, who prays;
but he must will, he must know, he must pray; in a word, he must
possess force, wisdom, and faith.
"Therefore Prayer, issuing from so many trials, is the consummation of
all truths, all powers, all feelings. Fruit of the laborious,
progressive, continued development of natural properties and faculties
vitalized anew by the divine breath of the Word, Prayer has occult
Seraphita |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Red Inn by Honore de Balzac: were present a judge, a lawyer, and a notary,--in short, all social
opinions, and all practical virtues.
We began by dining well, talking well, and making some noise; then, at
dessert, I related my history candidly, and asked for advice,
concealing, of course, the Taillefer name.
A profound silence suddenly fell upon the company. Then the notary
took leave. He had, he said, a deed to draw.
The wine and the good dinner had reduced my former guardian to
silence; in fact I was obliged later in the evening to put him under
guardianship, to make sure of no mishap to him on his way home.
"I understand!" I cried. "By not giving an opinion you tell me
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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 A Footnote to History by Robert Louis Stevenson: leaping and cheering, his gun in one hand, a basket of three heads
in the other. A fellow came shot through the forearm. "It doesn't
hurt now," he said, as he bought his cartridges; "but it will hurt
to-morrow, and I want to fight while I can." A third followed, a
mere boy, with the end of his nose shot off: "Have you any
painkiller? give it me quick, so that I can get back to fight." On
either side, there was the same delight in sound and smoke and
schoolboy cheering, the same unsophisticated ardour of battle; and
the misdirected skirmish proceeded with a din, and was illustrated
with traits of bravery that would have fitted a Waterloo or a
Sedan.
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