Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 1623

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1623. As regards rainbows, there is a kind of rainbow heaven where the whole sky seems to be made up of a succession of tiny rainbows In that region are those who belong to the province of the inner eye They are on the right, in front, and a little way up. The entire sky or air there consists of such sparkling forms, with rays emanating so to speak from separate sources Around runs a very beautiful large-scale rainbow, composed of similar smaller rainbows, each of which is a very beautiful likeness of the larger one Each colour consists of countless rays, so that myriads make up one perceptible and general whole This is a kind of modification of the sources of light by the celestial and spiritual things which produce them, and at the same time present before the eyes an idea that is representative of themselves. The differences and the variations in rainbows are countless, some of which I have been allowed to witness. To convey some idea of the ways in which they differ, and to make it clear how one visible band consists of countless rays, let just one or two of them be described.


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