I was not conveyed to this planet, dealt with in what now follows, as I was to others; instead the spirits themselves who were from that planet were brought to me. When they were a long way off they looked like a very long roll, which was not continuous but consisted of separate parts; for they were very many, divided into groups. At first they bore towards the lower parts, from where, as I perceived, they then tried to climb and so come towards me; but they were unable to. Consequently they carried on forwards, veering slightly to the left, straight on to the planet Mars; and from there they strove to come up, which they also succeeded in doing, though with difficulty. The reason why it all had to be done in this way was that they were of a completely different genius or disposition from spirits belonging to our planet; and those of a different genius are led by many different routes in order that spirits through whom links may be established can affiliate with them. For affections and thoughts are what link spirits and angels together or set them apart; and to the extent that their affections and thoughts are different, to the same extent they appear set apart from one another. But even so, they can still be linked together by means of intermediaries, when it so pleases the Lord. This was why those spirits were led straight on to the planet Mars.