| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf: with the spirit of the sea, with the spirit of Beethoven Op.
112, even with the spirit of poor William Cowper there at Olney.
Like a ball of thistledown it kissed the sea, rose, kissed it again,
and thus rising and kissing passed finally out of sight. The rising
and falling of the ball of thistledown was represented by the sudden
droop forward of her own head, and when it passed out of sight she
was asleep.
Ten minutes later Mrs. Ambrose opened the door and looked at her.
It did not surprise her to find that this was the way in which Rachel
passed her mornings. She glanced round the room at the piano,
at the books, at the general mess. In the first place she considered
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Malbone: An Oldport Romance by Thomas Wentworth Higginson: came rolling in amidst the surf, more dead than alive, the body
of a man. He was the young foreigner, John Lambert's boatman.
He bore still around him the rope that was to save the rest.
How pale and eager their faces looked as they bent above him!
But the eagerness was all gone from his, and only the pallor
left. While the fishermen got the tackle rigged, such as it
was, to complete the communication with the vessel, the young
men worked upon the boatman, and soon had him restored to
consciousness. He was able to explain that the ship had been
severely strained, and that all on board believed she would go
to pieces before morning. No one would risk being the first to
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Light of Western Stars by Zane Grey: Madeline saw and felt a difference in Nels's presence.
"What's up, Gene?" he queried, sharply.
"I'm leaving camp," replied Stewart, thickly. His black horse
began to stamp as Stewart grasped bridle and mane and kicked the
stirrup round.
Nels's long arm shot out, and his hand fell upon Stewart, holding
him down.
"Shore I'm sorry," said Nels, slowly. "Then you was goin' to hit
the trail?"
"I am going to. Let go, Nels."
"Shore you ain't goin', Gene?"
The Light of Western Stars |
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 Manon Lescaut by Abbe Prevost: taken to a place the very name of which fills me with horror to
remember. This to be the lot of a creature the most perfect, who
must have shared the most splendid throne on earth, if other men
had only seen and felt as I did! She was not treated harshly
there, but was shut up in a narrow prison, and obliged, in
solitary confinement, to perform a certain quantity of work each
day, as a necessary condition for obtaining the most unpalatable
food. I did not learn this till a long time after, when I had
myself endured some months of rough and cruel treatment.
"My guards not having told me where it was that they had been
ordered to conduct me, it was only on my arrival at St. Lazare
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