Earths In Our Solar System Which Are Called Planets, and Earths In The Starry Heaven Their Inhabitants, And The Spirits And Angels There

In Short

This work presents a series of spiritual travels through the solar system and distant starry heavens, detailing the lives, customs, and moral states of extraterrestrial inhabitants. Through direct conversations with spirits from various planets, the narrative presents a vast, unified cosmos where physical space is replaced by internal states of the mind and heart. The book has endured as a unique combination of early modern theological philosophy and imaginative cosmic exploration, offering a striking alternative vision of the universe where every world contributes to a single, interconnected spiritual humanity.

The Story

The narrative opens with an extraordinary premise: through divine mercy, the author’s spiritual sight is opened, allowing him to communicate directly with spirits and angels from other worlds. The journey begins within our own solar system, systematically visiting the spiritual spheres associated with each planet.

On Mercury, the traveler encounters spirits obsessed with acquiring bare facts and knowledges, wandering throughout the universe to collect information while lacking deep emotional understanding or moral utility. Moving to Jupiter, he discovers a far more virtuous society where inhabitants live in gentle family households, speaking through silent facial expressions and subtle lip movements rather than artificial verbal words. These people are guided by protective angelic spirits who gently instruct and chastise them to maintain harmony.

The voyage continues to Mars, where the inhabitants possess a soft, internal form of speech that flows directly into the brain, reflecting a life of pure affection and truth. However, a division appears among them: some have devised a deceitful way of speaking by altering their faces while withholding their true feelings, represented visually as a stone bird. On Venus, the author learns of two sharply contrasting populations—one mild and humane, acknowledging the Lord in human form, and the other a savage, giant race that delights in plunder and brutal living.

Crossing beyond the solar system into the starry heaven, the traveler explains that distance in the spiritual realm is not physical space, but rather a change in the internal state of the mind. He visits five distinct distant earths. On the second of these outer worlds, the inhabitants live in modest cottages warmed by glowing, luminous wood rather than fire. They maintain order through punishing spirits who reprimand evil thoughts before they can spread. On another distant planet, a spirit who had been a famous preacher on Earth attempts to address the locals with elaborate, theatrical sermons. The inhabitants reject him immediately, sensing that his eloquent words spring from self-interest and a desire for personal glory rather than genuine love. Across all these worlds, the narrative culminates in a singular central truth: human existence across the universe is designed to acknowledge the Divine in Human Form, forming a vast collective entity known as the Grand Man.

How It Unfolds

The spiritual senses open The author describes how his internal sight is opened by the Lord, allowing him to converse with spirits from other planets as man to man over a period of twelve years.

The wandering gatherers of Mercury Exploring the sphere of Mercury, the traveler meets spirits who eagerly collect bare facts across the cosmos, excusing their own conceit while remaining indifferent to deeper moral truths.

The facial speech of Jupiter The inhabitants of Jupiter are observed living in peaceful family groups, communicating through the expressive fibers of their faces and guided by guardian angels who sitting at the head.

The silent breath of Mars On Mars, speech is a soft, silent breeze that flows directly into the internal ear and brain, though some spirits attempt to conceal their true affections through artificial gestures.

The two faces of Venus The narrative presents Venus as a world divided between gentle, pious inhabitants who worship the Lord and a savage race of giants consumed by physical greed and violence.

Translating through the starry heavens Leaving the solar system behind, the author travels to distant earths by undergoing internal changes of state, discovering humble societies lit by luminous logs and governed by immediate spiritual instruction.

The vain preacher rejected A spirit who was once an admired earthly preacher attempts to move a distant planetary population with theatrical rhetoric, but the locals reject him for his underlying desire for self-honor.

The People

The Author-Observer Driven by an ardent desire to learn about the wider universe, he acts as an active reporter and conversationalist. He seeks to demonstrate the reality of an afterlife and the vastness of creation to a skeptical world, while learning to see how different planetary spirits correspond to specific faculties of the human mind.

The Spirits of Mercury These intellectual travelers care only for acquiring bare information and filling their memories. They despise material descriptions, avoid judgment or moral utility, and wander the cosmos in search of knowledge while defending their own intellectual pride.

The Inhabitants and Spirits of Jupiter Devout and gentle, these people prioritize family life and internal integrity. They communicate visually through their faces, allowing their thoughts to shine freely without deceit, and willingly submit to spiritual chastisement to preserve their innocence.

The earthly Preacher A former religious leader from Earth who relies on artful, emotional rhetoric to move audiences. In the spiritual world, his desire for personal fame and status stands in his way, leading to his silent rejection by wiser planetary spirits who perceive his lack of heart-centered truth.

In Its Own Voice

"The spirits of Mercury, more than other spirits, possess the knowledges of things, both of those which are within this solar system, and those which are beyond it in the starry heaven..."

The author establishes the distinct intellectual character of Mercury's inhabitants, who serve as the energetic memory-gatherers of the spiritual cosmos.

"As remoteness in the spiritual world does not, as already observed, arise from distance of place, but from difference of state, the long-continuance of my progression thither... enabled me to conclude that the state of the interiors... differed proportionately..."

While traveling to a second earth in the starry heaven, the narrative explains the fundamental law of cosmic navigation in the spirit realm.

"...they could hear from the tone of voice whether what was said came from the heart or not; and that, as he was of such a character, he was unable to teach them..."

The wise inhabitants of a distant earth evaluate an earthly preacher, looking past his polished, pathetic performance to perceive his underlying vanity.

What It's Really About

At its core, the work argues against the isolated centrality of Earth, presenting a vast, inhabited universe bound together by a single spiritual order. Physical space, time, and astronomical distance are reframed as mere reflections of human interior states, affections, and thoughts. The book explores the tension between bare intellectual accumulation and genuine moral living, using the contrasting nature of different planetary spirits to show that knowledge without love or practical use is hollow. Ultimately, it asserts that all celestial human life, regardless of its origin across the stars, is designed to exist in harmony under the divine human form.

Why Read It Today

Readers drawn to early modern mysticism, historical cosmology, or the philosophical roots of science fiction will find this a fascinating document. It offers a rare window into an 18th-century attempt to synthesize astronomical curiosity with deeply personal theological visions.

The reading experience is quiet, orderly, and strangely methodical, lacking dramatic conflict but rich in surreal imagery—such as glowing logs, facial speech, and stone birds. It presents certain difficulties for the modern reader, particularly its repetitive structure, its rigid moral categories, and its dry, clinical tone when reporting on miraculous sights. Yet, what stays with the reader is its grand, expansive empathy: a cosmic perspective that strips away human provincialism and imagines an infinite universe populated entirely by kindred souls seeking light.