Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 5851

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5851. The same spirits do not remain with a person permanently but are changed according to how the person's states undergo change - the states of his affection, that is, of his love and the ends he has in view. The spirits present at one time are removed and others take their place. In general what kinds of spirits are present with a person is determined by the character of the person himself. If he is avaricious, they are avaricious spirits; if he is haughty, they are haughty spirits; if he is vengeful, they are spirits with that kind of nature; or if he is given to deceit, they are spirits given to the same thing. A person attracts to himself spirits from hell who match his way of life. The hells are marked off from one another by the most precise distinctions, determined by the different evils that are the objects of their desires and by all the variations each evil can take. As a consequence spirits of a nature similar to his own are inevitably called forth and become attached to a person subject to evil.


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