| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott: mistress.
"You don't mean to live there?"
"Yes, I do."
"But, my dear girl, it's an immense house, and will take a
power of money to keep it in order. The garden and orchard alone
need two or three men, and farming isn't in Bhaer's line, I take
it."
"He'll try his hand at it there, if I propose it."
"And you expect to live on the produce of the place? Well,
that sounds paradisiacal, but you'll find it desperate hard work."
"The crop we are going to raise is a profitable one," And
Little Women |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The White Moll by Frank L. Packard: arm!
Rough Rorke opened the door, and pulled her out to the street. She
shrank back instinctively. It was quite light here from a nearby
street lamp, and the owner of the whistle, a young man, fashionably
dressed, decidedly unsteady on his legs, and just opposite the door
as they came out, had stopped both his whistle and his progress
along the street to stare at them owlishly.
"'Ullo!" said the young man thickly. "What'sh all this about - eh?
What'sh you two doing in that place this time of night - eh?"
"Beat it!" ordered Rough Rorke curtly.
"That'sh all right." The young man came nearer. He balanced himself
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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 Walking by Henry David Thoreau: abroad into the Great Fields of thought, he, as it were, goes to
grass like a horse and leaves all his harness behind in the
stable. I would say to the Society for the Diffusion of Useful
Knowledge, sometimes,--Go to grass. You have eaten hay long
enough. The spring has come with its green crop. The very cows
are driven to their country pastures before the end of May;
though I have heard of one unnatural farmer who kept his cow in
the barn and fed her on hay all the year round. So, frequently,
the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge treats its
cattle.
A man's ignorance sometimes is not only useful, but
Walking |
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 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: tried, however, to compose herself to answer him with patience,
when he should have done. He concluded with representing to
her the strength of that attachment which, in spite of all his
endeavours, he had found impossible to conquer; and with
expressing his hope that it would now be rewarded by her
acceptance of his hand. As he said this, she could easily see that
he had no doubt of a favourable answer. He SPOKE of
apprehension and anxiety, but his countenance expressed real
security. Such a circumstance could only exasperate farther,
and, when he ceased, the colour rose into her cheeks, and she
said:
Pride and Prejudice |
