9162. 'When a man delivers to his companion an ass, or an ox, or a member of the flock, or any beast for safe keeping' means truth and good, exterior and interior, in the memory, and anything there belonging to an affection for them. This is clear from the meaning of 'ass', 'ox', and 'member of the flock' as truth, exterior and interior, dealt with above in 9135; from the meaning of 'beast' as an affection for good and truth, dealt with in 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714-716, 719, 1823, 2179, 2180, 2781, 3218, 3519, 5198, 7424, 7523, 9090; and from the meaning of 'being delivered for safe keeping' as being stored and held in the memory, dealt with above in 9149, 'man' [and] 'companion' being not two different persons but two [forms of truth] within a single person, 9149.

3218. When angels are stirred by affections and at the same time are discussing these, such things manifest themselves among spirits in the lower sphere as representative types of animals. When the discussion concerns good affections, beautiful, gentle, and useful animals emerge such as those used in sacrifices in the Divine representative worship within the Jewish Church - such as lambs, sheep, kids, she-goats, rams, he-goats, calves, young bulls, and oxen. And whatever is seen at any time on the animal represents some mental image in the angels' thought, which upright spirits are also allowed to perceive. From this one may see what was meant by the animals in the religious observances of the Jewish Church, and what by the same animals when mentioned in the Word, namely affections, 1823, 2179, 2180. But when angels' discussion is about evil affections it is represented by offensive, vicious creatures serving no use, such as tigers, bears, wolves, scorpions, serpents, rats, and so on, even as such affections are also meant by these in the Word.