I looked around and I saw birds of gorgeous colors. Some were flying,
some were sitting on trees, and some were down in the meadow plucking
the petals off roses. Among the birds there were also doves and swans.
These things vanished from my sight and then I saw not far from me
flocks of sheep and lambs and of kids and nanny goats. Around the flocks
I saw herds of cattle and calves, as well as camels and mules. In a grove I
saw deer with tall antlers and also unicorns.
After I had seen that, the angel said, “Turn your face to the east.”
I saw a garden with fruit trees—orange trees, lemon trees, olive trees,
grapevines, fig trees, pomegranate trees—and also shrubs with berries.
Then the angel said, “Now look to the south.”
I saw crops of various kinds—wheat, millet, barley, and beans.
Around them I saw flowerbeds of roses with beautifully varied colors. To
the north, however, I saw woods full of chestnut trees, palms, linden
trees, sycamores, and other leafy trees.
[ 2 ] When I had seen that, the angel said, “All the things you saw cor-
respond to different feelings of love felt by the angels who are nearby.”
He listed the feeling each thing corresponded to.
“In fact,” he went on, “those things are not the only correspon-
dences. Everything else that takes a visible form before our eyes is also a
correspondence: our homes, the useful things in them, the tables and
food, the clothing, and even the gold and silver coins. Likewise the dia-
monds and other jewels that adorn married and unmarried women in the
heavens. From all the above we become aware of the quality of love and
wisdom in each person. The things that are in our homes and support
our usefulness there stay the same; but for people who wander from com-
munity to community, things like this change as the people’s relation-
ships change.
[ 3 ] “The purpose of showing you these things was for you to be able
to see the whole of creation from a particular instance. God is absolute
love and absolute wisdom. His love includes an infinite number of feel-
ings. His wisdom includes an infinite number of perceptions. The corre-
spondences of those feelings and perceptions are all the things that
appear on earth. This is where the birds and animals come from. This is
where the trees and shrubs come from. This is where the grains and crops
come from. This is where the plants and grasses come from.
“God is not extended but he is everywhere in what is extended. He is
in the universe from beginning to end. Because he is omnipresent, corre-
§78 god the creator & creation 107