183. Since the atmospheres are receptacles and containants of heat and light, it follows that there are as many degrees of atmospheres as there are degrees of heat and light, and also that there are as many as there are degrees of love and wisdom. That there are several atmospheres, and that these are distinct from each other by means of degrees, has been made clear to me by much experience in the spiritual world, especially from this, that angels of the lower heavens cannot breathe in the region of the higher angels, and appear to themselves to gasp for breath as living creatures do when raised out of air into ether, or out of water into air. Besides, spirits below the heavens appear as if in a cloud. That there are several atmospheres, and that they are distinct from each other by means of degrees, may be seen above, n. 176.