6928. Spirits belonging to the planet Mercury are altogether different from spirits belonging to our planet, for spirits belonging to ours, especially those who are recent arrivals in the next life, love bodily and worldly, that is, material things, and desire to know such things in the next life. Therefore in order that they may mix with good spirits who have no interest in such things, they are kept in places which are beneath the soles of the feet and in the Word are called 'the lower earth'. They are kept there until they become averse to bodily and earthly interests and so divest themselves of them. When they have done this they are raised to heaven, introduced into more internal things, and become angels.