| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from A Start in Life by Honore de Balzac: trick against us for this evening. As for me, I can't go to the
Marquise de las Florentinas' party, for my sister wants me to draw up
the terms of her new engagement; I shall have to leave after the
dessert. But, Oscar, be on your guard. They will ask you to play, and,
of course, the Desroches office mustn't draw back; but be careful. You
shall play for both of us; here's a hundred francs," said the good
fellow, knowing that Oscar's purse was dry from the demands of his
tailor and bootmaker. "Be prudent; remember not to play beyond that
sum; and don't let yourself get tipsy, either with play or libations.
Saperlotte! a second clerk is already a man of weight, and shouldn't
gamble on notes, or go beyond a certain limit in anything. His
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Margret Howth: A Story of To-day by Rebecca Harding Davis: smooth his gray hair. The old man's heart smote him for
something, for his sobs grew louder, and he left her a moment;
then she saw them all, faces very dear to her even then. She
laughed and nodded to them all in the old childish way; then her
lips moved. "It's come right!" she tried to say; but the weak
voice would never speak again on earth.
"It's the turn o' the night," said Mrs. Polston, solemnly; "lift
her head; the Old Year's 'goin' out."
Margret lifted her head, and held it on her breast. She could
hear cries and sobs; the faces, white now, and wet, pressed
nearer, yet fading slowly: it was the Old Year going out, the
Margret Howth: A Story of To-day |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals by Charles Darwin: Our early progenitors, when indignant or moderately angry,
would not have held their heads erect, opened their chests,
squared their shoulders, and clenched their fists, until they
had acquired the ordinary carriage and upright attitude
of man, and had learnt to fight with their fists or clubs.
Until this period had arrived the antithetical gesture of shrugging
the shoulders, as a sign of impotence or of patience, would not
have been developed. From the same reason astonishment would
not then have been expressed by raising the arms with open hands
and extended fingers. Nor, judging from the actions of monkeys,
would astonishment have been exhibited by a widely opened mouth;
Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals |
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 Scarecrow of Oz by L. Frank Baum: as much lost as he had been before.
Every grove of trees he saw from a distance he visited,
for he remembered that the King's castle was near a grove
of trees and Pon's hut was near the King's castle; but
always he met with disappointment. Finally, passing
through one of these groves, he came out into the open
and found himself face to face with the Ork.
"Hello!" said Button-Bright. "Where did you come from?"
"From Orkland," was the reply. "I've found my own
country, at last, and it is not far from here, either. I
would have come back to you sooner, to see how you are
The Scarecrow of Oz |
