Arcana Coelestia volume 7 - Swedenborg Foundation

ARCANA COELESTIA 3686is budding its life flows in through the heat from the sun. He whois born a man is in the Word occasionally compared to the subjectsof the vegetable kingdom, especially to trees; and this because thewhole vegetable kingdom, as well as the animal kingdom,represents such things as are in man, and consequently such as arein the Lord’s kingdom; for man is a heaven in the least form, as isevident from what has been shown at the end of the chaptersconcerning the correspondence of man with the grand man, orheaven. Hence also the ancients called man a microcosm; and theymight also have called him a little heaven had they known moreabout the state of heaven. (That universal nature is a theaterrepresentative of the Lord’s kingdom may be seen above, n. 2758,3483, 4939.)[2] But it is especially the man who is being born anew, that is,who is being regenerated by the Lord, who is called a heaven; for heis then implanted in the Divine good and truth which are from theLord, and consequently in heaven. For the man who is beingreborn begins like a tree from seed (and therefore the truth which isfrom good is signified by “seed” in the Word); and also like a treehe produces leaves, then blossoms, and finally fruit; for he producessuch things as are of intelligence, which in the Word are signifiedby “leaves,” then such things as are of wisdom, which are signifiedby “blossoms” and finally such things as are of life, that is, thegoods of love and charity in act, which in the Word are signified by“fruits.” Such is the representative likeness between the fruitbearingtree and the man who is being regenerated, insomuch thatif anything is known about spiritual good and truth, the nature ofregeneration may be learned from a tree. From this it is evident thatby the “vine” in this dream is representatively described the fullprocess of the rebirth of man as to the sensuous subject to theintellectual part; first by the three shoots, then by the budding, nextby the blossoms, afterward by the ripening of the clusters intograpes, and finally by their being pressed into Pharaoh’s cup andgiven to him.[3] Moreover the dreams which flow in through heaven from theLord, never appear otherwise than according to representatives. He