THE HEAD >> Whole Human >> Inmost Heavens,
FACE >> Interior Affections, FOREHEAD >> Good of Love,
BRAIN >> Ends, Purposes, Uses, HAIR >> Natural Truth,
CEREBELLUM >> Will, CEREBRUM >> Understanding,
EYES >> Affection of Understanding, EARS >> Obedience,         
NOSE >> Perception, MOUTH >> Speech, Understanding,
TONGUE >> Affection of Truth, TEETH >> Sensual Truth

 The influx of the Lord Himself into man is into his forehead, and from that into the whole face, because the forehead of man corresponds to love, and the face corresponds to  all  his interiors.{1} The influx of spiritual angels into man is into his head every where, from the forehead and temples to the whole part that contains the cerebrum, because that region of the head corresponds to intelligence; but the influx of celestial angels is into that part of the head that contains the cerebellum, and is called the occiput, from the ears all around even to the neck, for that region corresponds to wisdom. All the speech of angels with man enters by these ways into his thought; and by this means I have perceived what angels they were that spoke with me. [HH251]

And shalt pour it upon his head, and anoint him. That this signifies a representative of the Divine good in the Lord as to the whole Human, is evident from the signification of "pouring oil upon Aaron's head," as being the Divine good upon the whole Human of the Lord; for by "oil" is signified the Divine good (see n. 4582, 9474), by "Aaron" the Lord as to Divine good (n. 9806), and by the "head" the whole Human; and from the signification of "to anoint," as being a representative of this thing (n. 9474, 9954). That the "head" denotes the whole Human, or the whole man, is because everything of man descends from the head, for the body is a derivation thence, and therefore that which man thinks and wills, which is done in the head, is presented in effect in the body. The head is like the supreme or inmost in the heavens, which descends and flows into the heavens that are beneath, and produces and derives them. Therefore also the head with man corresponds to the inmost heaven, the body as far as the loins to the middle heaven, and the feet to the ultimate heaven. In a word, that which is inmost is the only thing in the derivatives that essentially lives. From this it is evident that as the Divine is the inmost of all things, or what is the same, the supreme of all things, it is the one only thing from which is the life of all things, and therefore insofar as a man receives of the Divine, so far he lives.

[2] Moreover, the oil with which the priest was anointed flowed down from the crown of the head into the body, as can be seen in these passages:

Like the good oil upon the head, coming down into Aaron's beard, that cometh down upon the mouth of his garments (Ps. 133:2).

A woman poured an alabaster box of balm upon the head of Jesus as He lay, and Jesus said, She hath poured this balm upon My body for the burying (Matt. 26:7, 12).
There came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious, and breaking the alabaster box, she poured it upon the head of Jesus; and Jesus said, She hath come beforehand to anoint My body for the burying (Mark 14:3, 8).

From all this also it is evident that "to anoint the head" denotes to anoint the whole body.
[3] That by the "head" is meant the whole man, is also evident from many passages in the Word, as the following:

The redeemed of Jehovah shall return, and shall come unto Zion with singing; and everlasting joy upon their heads (Isa. 35:10)

The precious things of the products of the sun, the chief things of the mountains of the east, and the precious things of the earth, for the head of Joseph, and for the crown of the head of the Nazirite of his brethren (Deut. 33:14-16).
The storm of Jehovah shall rush upon the head of the wicked (Jer. 30:23).
I will put their way on their head (Ezek. 11:21; 16:43; 22:31; Joel 3:4, 7; Obad. 15).
Woe to those who made kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls (Ezek. 13:18).
God shall bruise the head, the hairy crown (Ps. 68:21).


From all this it is now evident that by the "head" is signified the whole man, and thus that by "pouring oil upon Aaron's head" is signified the Divine good in the Lord upon the whole Human. (That when the Lord was in the world He made Himself Divine truth, and when He departed out of the world He made Himself Divine good, see the places cited in n. 9315 end, 9199 end.)[AC10011]

They shall be on the head of Joseph. That this signifies these things as to the interiors, is evident from the signification of "head," as being the interiors, because all things of man are there in their first principles, and it is also from correspondence that the interior things are signified by the head. Hence the "neck" signifies what is intermediate; the "body," exterior things; and the "feet" with the "soles," outermost ones. This correspondence is from the fact that heaven bears relation to a Great Man; the inmost heaven, where is the Lord's celestial kingdom, relates to the head of that man; the middle or second heaven, where is the spiritual kingdom, to the body; and the ultimate or first heaven, to the feet (n. 4938, 4939, 5328, 6292).[AC6436]

Since all things of the mind have relation to the will and understanding, and all things of the body to the heart and lungs, there are in the head two brains, distinct from each other as will and understanding are distinct. The cerebellum is especially the organ of the will, and the cerebrum of the understanding. Likewise the heart and lungs in the body are distinct from the remaining parts there. They are separated by the diaphragm, and are enveloped by their own covering, called the pleura, and form that part of the body called the chest. In the other parts of the body, called members, organs, and viscera, there is a joining together of the two, and thus there are pairs; for instance, the arms, hands, loins, feet, eyes, and nostrils; and within the body the kidneys, ureters, and testicles; and the viscera which are not in pairs are divided into right and left. Moreover, the brain itself is divided into two hemispheres, the heart into two ventricles, and the lungs into two lobes; the right of all these having relation to the good of truth, and the left to the truth of good, or, what is the same, the right having relation to the good of love from which is the truth of wisdom, and the left having relation to the truth of wisdom which is from the good of love. And because the conjunction of good and truth is reciprocal, and by means of that conjunction the two become as it were one, therefore the pairs in man act together and conjointly in functions, motions, and senses. [DLW384]

There are societies which relate to that region in the brain which is called the isthmus, and there are also spirits who relate to the little knots of fibers in the brain, of a glandular appearance, from which there flow forth fibers for various functions; which fibers act as a one in those beginnings or glandules, but diversely in their extremities. One society of spirits to whom such things correspond was brought before me, concerning which I may state that the spirits came in front, and addressed me, saying that they were men. But I was permitted to reply that they were not men endowed with bodies, but were spirits, and thus also men; because everything of the spirit conspires to that which is of man, even to a form like a man endowed with a body, for the spirit is the internal man; and also because men are men from intelligence and wisdom, and not from form; and therefore good spirits, and still more angels, are men more than those who are in the body, because they are more in the light of wisdom. After this reply they said that there were many in their society, and yet not one in it like another. But as it seemed to me impossible that in the other life there could be a society of those who were unlike, I conversed with them about it, and was at last instructed that, though they were unlike, they were nevertheless consociated in respect to their end, which to them was one. They said further that their nature was such that each one acted and spoke in a manner unlike that of any other, and yet they were alike in will and thought. This they also illustrated by an example: when anyone in the society says of an angel that he is the least in heaven, and another says that he is greatest, and a third that he is neither least nor greatest, and this with great variety, their thoughts nevertheless act as a one, because the one who desires to be least is the greatest, and is relatively the greatest for this reason; and yet there is neither least nor greatest, because they do not think of pre-eminence; and it is the same with everything else. Thus are they consociated in first principles, but act diversely in the extreme or outermost things. They applied themselves to my ear and said that they were good spirits, and that such was their manner of speaking. It was said of them that it is not known whence they come, and that they are of the wandering societies. [AC4051]

Moreover, such is the correspondence of the brain with the Grand Man, that they who are in the first principles or beginnings of good have relation to those things in the brain which are the beginnings, and are called the glands or cortical substances; whereas they who are in the first principles of truth relate to those things in the brains that flow out from these beginnings, and are called fibers; and yet with this difference-that those who correspond to the right side of the brain are those who are in the will of good and thereby in the will of truth; whereas those who correspond to the left side of the brain are those who are in the understanding of good and truth and thereby in the affection of them. This is because those in heaven who are at the Lord's right hand are those who are in good from the will; whereas those who are at His left hand are those who are in good from the understanding. The former are those who are called the celestial; and the latter those who are called the spiritual. [AC4052]

Hitherto no one has known that there are such correspondences, and I am well aware that men will marvel when they hear of them; and this because they do not know what the internal man is, and what the external, and that the internal man is in the spiritual world, and the external in the natural; and that it is the internal man that lives within the external, and that flows into it and directs it. And yet from this fact, as well as from what has been adduced above in n. 4044, it is possible to know that there is an influx, and that there is a correspondence. That such is the case is most fully known in the other life, and also that what is natural is nothing else than a representation of the spiritual things from which it comes forth and subsists; and that the representation by the natural is precisely in accordance with its correspondence. [AC4053]

The brain, like heaven, is in the sphere of ends which are uses; for whatever flows in from the Lord is an end looking to the salvation of the human race. This end is that which reigns in heaven, and thereby reigns likewise in the brain; for the brain, which is where the mind is, looks to ends in the body, in order that the body may subserve the soul, so that the soul may be happy to eternity. But there are societies that have no end or purpose of use, except to be among friends, male and female, and to have pleasures there, thus seeking their own gratification only, and making much of themselves exclusively, whether at home or publicly, it being all for the same end. Of such spirits there are at this day more societies than anyone could believe. As soon as they approach, their sphere begins to work, and extinguishes in others the affections of truth and good; and when these have been extinguished, then these spirits are in the pleasures of their friendship.

These are the obstructions of the brain, and induce on it stupidity. Many societies of such spirits have been with me, and their presence was perceived by a dullness, sluggishness, and loss of affection; and I have sometimes spoken with them. They are pests and banes, although in the civic life of this world they had appeared good, delightful, witty, and also talented; for they know the proprieties of society, and how to insinuate themselves thereby, especially into friendships. What it is to be a friend to good, or what the friendship of good is, they neither know, nor desire to know. A sad lot awaits them; for at last they live in squalor, and in such stupidity that scarcely any human apprehension remains. For it is the end that makes the man, and such as is the end, such is the man; consequently such is his human after death. [AC4054]

Sense in general, or general sense, is distinguished into voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary sense is proper to the cerebrum, but involuntary sense is proper to the cerebellum. In men these two kinds of general sense are conjoined, but yet are distinct. The fibers which flow forth from the cerebrum present the voluntary sense in general, and the fibers which flow from the cerebellum present the involuntary sense in general. The fibers of this double origin conjoin themselves together in the two appendices which are called the medulla oblongata and the medulla spinalis, and through these pass into the body, and shape its members, viscera, and organs. The parts which encompass the body, as the muscles and skin, and also the organs of the senses, for the most part receive fibers from the cerebrum; and hence man has sense and motion in accordance with his will. But the parts within this compass or enclosure, which are called the viscera of the body, receive fibers from the cerebellum; and consequently man has no sense of these parts, nor are they under the control of his will. From this it may in some measure appear what sense is in general, or the general voluntary sense, and the general involuntary sense. Be it known further that there must be a general in order that there may be any particular, and that the particular can in no wise come into existence and subsist without the general, and in fact that it subsists in the general; and that every particular is circumstanced according to the quality and according to the state of the general; and this is the case with sense in man, and also with motion. [AC4325]

And fell upon his necks. That this signifies conjunction, is evident from the signification of "falling upon the necks," as being conjunction close and intimate (see n. 5926). That "to fall upon the necks" signifies conjunction is because the neck joins together the head and the body, and by the "head" are signified the interiors, and by the "body" the exteriors. Hence the "neck" denotes the conjunction of the interiors with the exteriors, and thus the communication of the interiors with the exteriors, and also of celestial things with spiritual (see n. 3542, 5320, 5328), which communication is by virtue of conjunction also signified by these same words, for "Joseph" is the internal, and "Israel" is relatively the external. [AC 6033]

The power of the Word in its outmosts was represented by the Nazarites. In the book of Judges we read that Samson was a Nazarite from his mother’s womb; and that his strength lay in his hair; moreover, “Nazarite” and “Nazariteship” mean the hair. That his strength lay in his hair, he himself showed, when he said:

There hath not come a razor upon mine head for I have been a Nazarite from my mother‘s womb if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and I shall be like any other man (Judges 16:17).

No one can know why the Nazariteship, which means the hair, was instituted, and why Samson’s strength lay in his hair, unless he knows what is signified in the Word by the “head.” The “head” signifies the intelligence that men and angels have from the Lord through Divine truth; and therefore the “hair” signifies intelligence from Divine truth in things outmost or last. Because of this signification of the “hair” there was a law for the Nazarites:

That they should not shave the hair of their head, because that was the Nazariteship of God upon their head (Num. 6:1-21).

therefore it was also a law,

That the high priest and his sons should not shave their heads, lest they die, and lest wrath come upon the whole house of Israel (Lev. 10:6).

Because the hair, on account of that signification, which is from correspondence, was so holy, the Son of Man, who is the Lord in respect to the Word, is described even as to the hair:

That it was white as white wool, as snow (Apoc. 1:14).

Likewise as the Ancient of Days (Dan. 7:9). Because the hair signifies truth in outmosts, thus the sense of the letter of the Word, those in the spiritual world who despise the Word become bald; and on the other hand, those who have held the Word in high esteem and have regarded it as holy appear with comely hair. It was because of this correspondence,

That forty-two youths were torn to pieces by two she-bears, because they called Elisha bald-head (2 Kings 2:23, 24);

for “Elisha” represented the church in regard to doctrine from the Word, and “she-bears” signify the power of truth in outmosts. The power of Divine truth or of the Word is in the sense of its letter, because there the Word is in its fulness, and because the angels of both of the Lord‘s kingdoms and men are together in that sense. [TCR 223]

Author: EMANUEL SWEDENBORG  (1688-1772)