183. Since atmospheres are the vehicles and conveyers of heat and light, it follows that there are as many degrees of atmospheres as there are degrees of heat and light, and as many also as there are degrees of love and wisdom. The existence of a number of atmospheres, distinct from each other by degrees, has become apparent to me from a great deal of experience in the spiritual world. It has become apparent especially from the fact that angels of the lower heavens cannot breathe in the region inhabited by higher angels, and that they appear to themselves to gasp for breath, as commonly happens with creatures that are raised from the air into the ether, or with creatures that are raised from bodies of water into the air. Moreover, spirits beneath the heavens appear as if in a mist. That there exist a number of atmospheres, distinct from each other by degrees, may be seen above in no. 176.