| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Enchanted Island of Yew by L. Frank Baum: "Ah, that will content you for a time, I trust," said Marvel. "Now
follow me, and we will ride along beside the hedge until we find an
opening. For either it will come to an end or there will prove to be
a way through it to the other side."
So they rode alongside the hedge for hour after hour; yet it did not
end, nor could they espy any way to get through the thickly matted
briers. By and by night fell, and they tethered their horses to some
shrubs, where there were a few scanty blades of grass for them to
crop, and then laid themselves down upon the ground, with bare rocks
for pillows, where they managed to sleep soundly until morning.
They had brought a supply of food in their pouches, and on this they
The Enchanted Island of Yew |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Droll Stories, V. 1 by Honore de Balzac: aspirants having resigned their hoods for the benefit of Christianity.
The cardinal, who was a cunning Italian, long bearded, a great
sophist, and the life and soul of the Council, guessed, by the
feeblest exercise of the faculties of his understanding, the alpha and
omega of the adventure. He only had to weigh in his mind one little
thought before he knew how to proceed in order to be able to
hypothecate his manly vigour. He arrived with the appetite of a hungry
monk, and to obtain its satisfaction he was just the man to stab two
monks and sell his bit of the true cross, which were wrong.
"Hulloa! friend," said he to Philippe, calling him towards him. The
poor Tourainian, more dead than alive, and expecting the devil was
Droll Stories, V. 1 |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Betty Zane by Zane Grey: clasp of his arms.
Several times from her window she had seen him coming across the square
between the fort and her brother's house, and womanlike, unseen herself, she
had watched him. How erect was his carriage. How pleasant his deep voice
sounded as she heard him talking to her brother. Day by day, as her ankle grew
stronger and she knew she could not remain much longer in her room, she
dreaded more and more the thought of meeting him. She could not understand
herself; she had strange dreams; she cried seemingly without the slightest
cause and she was restless and unhappy. Finally she grew angry and scolded
herself. She said she was silly and sentimental. This had the effect of making
her bolder, but it did not quiet her unrest. Betty did not know that the
Betty Zane |
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 Catherine de Medici by Honore de Balzac: these mortal enemies, endeavored to make herself the friend of both
Diane de Poitiers and Madame d'Etampes. She, who was destined to
become so great a queen, played the part of a servant. Thus she served
her apprenticeship in that double-faced policy which was ever the
secret motor of her life. Later, the /queen/ was to stand between
Catholics and Calvinists, just as the /woman/ had stood for ten years
between Madame d'Etampes and Madame de Poitiers. She studied the
contradictions of French politics; she saw Francois I. sustaining
Calvin and the Lutherans in order to embarrass Charles V., and then,
after secretly and patiently protecting the Reformation in Germany,
and tolerating the residence of Calvin at the court of Navarre, he
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