143. Nowadays it may seem strange that 'beasts' and 'animals' in ancient times meant affections and similar things residing with man. But because people had heavenly ideas then, and because such things are also represented in the world of spirits by animals - by such animals in fact as resemble those affections - this alone is what they therefore understood when they spoke in this fashion. And this alone is what is meant in the Word whenever beasts are mentioned in general or in particular. The whole prophetical section of the Word is full of things such as these, and therefore anyone who does not know the particular meaning of any beast cannot possibly understand what the Word contains in the internal sense. But as slated already, there are two kinds of beasts - evil ones, because they are harmful, and good ones, because they are harmless. Good beasts, such as sheep, lambs, and doves, mean good affections. Here, because the subject is the celestial man, or the celestial-spiritual man, the same applies. The fact that 'beasts' in general means affections has been confirmed from several places in the Word quoted already in 45, 46. So there is no need of further confirmation.

2998. The existence of such correspondences has for many years been made something so familiar to me that scarcely anything could be more so. This has happened to me even though man's condition is such that he does not know of the existence of that correspondence and does not believe that he has any connection with the spiritual world. Yet all his connection is from that world and without it neither he nor any part of him could continue to exist for a single moment. On that connection depends the whole continuance of his existence. I have also been given to know which angelic communities belong to which particular part of the body, and also to know what they are like. I have been given to know, for example, which communities belong to the region of the heart, and what these are like; which ones belong to the lungs, and what these are like; which communities belong to the liver, and what they are like; and which ones belong to the sensory organs, such as the eye, the ears, the tongue, and the rest, and what those communities are like. In the Lord's Divine mercy these will be dealt with as a separate subject.