222. The 3 solar atmospheres operate in the earthly mind, not in the very inward mind; but God the Messiah in the very inward and the innermost mind is the Sun There are four earthly fields emanating from the sun. The [aerial] atmosphere that makes hearing possible is well known. A purer atmosphere separate from the aerial one is what produces seeing, or sights, by wonderful reflections of all objects. How far this atmosphere penetrates into the earthly mind, or whether it presents material ideas, as they are called, or fantasies and mental images, is not yet so clear - but it seems probable from many considerations. This, then, must be the first atmosphere that governs in the earthly mind.* A second atmosphere, still purer than the ether,** is the one that produces the powers of magnets, which govern not only in relation to the magnet in particular, but also to the earth as a whole. But how far-reaching these forces are, it is not our job to describe. This atmosphere produces the structure of the whole terraqueous globe according to the poles of the world, and many more phenomena concerned with magnetic elevations and inclinations known to the world. In the earthly mind, it seems to produce reasonings, which must also contain what is spiritual in order to be alive, just as the sight and any other sense must, in order to perceive. The purest ethereal atmosphere is that universal one in the whole world, which manifests itself in the reasonings of the same mind, whence that mind is said to be earthly. Its inward workings when corrupt are called reasonings, and when in accordance with order, simply reason, which is the outward aspect of thinking, accountable to the spiritual influence. These atmospheres pertain to the sun, and can be called solar atmospheres, and thus pertaining to nature. As regards the very inward mind, however, in it there is no such thing, that is, what is of nature, but what is spiritual, and in the innermost mind, what is heavenly, both of which are produced by God the Messiah Alone, and are alive; and if realms are to be given names, these should be called spiritual and heavenly ones. This morning an angel and I speaking together discussed this subject, and so I became convinced. 1747, the 27th day of October (old calendar). * I.e. what is elsewhere called "ether." See True Christian Religion 32, Last Judgment (Posthumous) 31, Coronis 17. ** I.e. what is elsewhere called "aura." See the references in the preceding footnote.