| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Reign of King Edward the Third by William Shakespeare: Who since, intreated by her Majesty,
Denies to make surrender of his prize
To any but unto your grace alone;
Whereat the Queen is grievously displeased.
KING EDWARD.
Well, then we'll have a Pursiuvant despatched,
To summon Copland hither out of hand,
And with him he shall bring his prisoner king.
PERCY.
The Queen's, my Lord, her self by this at Sea,
And purposeth, as soon as wind will serve,
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Eugenie Grandet by Honore de Balzac: "Nanon, bring the butter," cried Eugenie.
The young girl watched her cousin as he cut his sippets, with as much
pleasure as a grisette takes in a melodrama where innocence and virtue
triumph. Charles, brought up by a charming mother, improved, and
trained by a woman of fashion, had the elegant, dainty, foppish
movements of a coxcomb. The compassionate sympathy and tenderness of a
young girl possess a power that is actually magnetic; so that Charles,
finding himself the object of the attentions of his aunt and cousin,
could not escape the influence of feelings which flowed towards him,
as it were, and inundated him. He gave Eugenie a bright, caressing
look full of kindness,--a look which seemed itself a smile. He
Eugenie Grandet |
| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Mistress Wilding by Rafael Sabatini: into venom. She would not have him now if he did penitence for his
disaffection by going in sackcloth and crawling after her on his knees
for a full twelvemonth. But neither should he have Ruth if she could
thwart his purpose. On that she was resolved.
Had she but guessed that he watched them from the windows, waiting for
her to take her departure, she had lingered all the morning, and all
the afternoon if need be, at Ruth's side. But being ignorant of the
circumstance - believing that he had already left the house - she
presently quitted Ruth to go indoors, and no sooner was she gone than
there was Blake replacing her at Ruth's elbow. Mistress Wilding met
him with unsmiling, but not ungentle face.
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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 The Mountains by Stewart Edward White: necessity of a lead-rope, nor must he stray far when
turned loose at night.
Fortunately, when removed from the reassuring
environment of civilization, horses are gregarious.
They hate to be separated from the bunch to which
they are accustomed. Occasionally one of us would
stop on the trail, for some reason or another, thus
dropping behind the pack-train. Instantly the saddle-
horse so detained would begin to grow uneasy. Bullet
used by all means in his power to try to induce me
to proceed. He would nibble me with his lips, paw
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