Mirrors in History,
Tradition, and Lore
When we think of a mirror, we think of the modern glass mirror with high-definition quality—thin, light, and affordable. Mirrors have been with us in one form or another for ages longer than many people might realize, but they’ve always been seen as magic. The first mirror was probably a pond or even a puddle that one of our ancient ancestors looked down into and pondered this strange, upside-down world full of trees, clouds, and a curiously familiar human peering back at them. Early village mages also used obsidian mirrors. Obsidian is smooth and reflective volcanic glass, perfect for making a scrying mirror. These mirrors have been around as early as the Neolithic period, and some people still use obsidian scrying mirrors today.
Once people began working with metals, they realized that one of its properties was its ability to reflect; for ages mirrors were actually made out of highly polished copper, brass, and even silver. Versions of metal mirrors were used from the Bronze Age right up through the Middle Ages. There are lots of Greco-Roman vases with paintings of ladies with hand mirrors, including the goddess Venus herself! Fancy metal hand mirrors from ancient Egypt with little figures for the handles have been unearthed over the years. The Romans did a bit of experimenting with glass and lead and made a few glass mirrors, but they were small and not as lovely and clear as what we see today. In Roman times metal mirrors were still much more common.
Clockwise from top:
Neolithic obsidian, Roman, and Egyptian Hathor mirrors
During the Middle Ages polished metal mirrors were still very popular, but there also were some made of polished rock crystal backed with metal foil, as well as a few very small and highly prized glass mirrors.
Just before the Renaissance, the art of glassmaking was really taking off in Europe. People started making better- quality glass mirrors by using glass-blowing techniques and backing the glass with metals like mercury and silver. These weren’t the flat mirrors of today; they were convex mirrors that looked like half of a reflective bubble in a round frame called an oeil de sorcière, or sorcerer’s eye. These were a popular luxury item; while mostly decorative, they also provided protection from incoming supernatural, menacing forces and bestowed a blessing upon the home. They also earned the name “banker’s mirror” due to the wide field of vision they provided, thus adding extra security both magically and mundanely. The most famous of these is auspiciously placed in the 1434 painting The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck.
mirror lore
Many cultures believe that a person’s reflection in a mirror is more than just a likeness: it reflects their soul.
By the 1600s craftsmen on the island of Murano in Venice had figured out how to create large, flat glass mirrors with a combination of tin and mercury on the back, and by adding gold and bronze to the mix, the reflection was even more beautiful. These new mirrors were so cool and costly that by the end of the sixteenth century, the who’s who of royalty just had to have them—lots of them. They created entire mirrored halls and rooms to impress guests and, I’m sure, also to admire their own awesome reflections. These very extravagant glass mirrors were only affordable to the upper crust.
Just like any new technology, however, if you wait long enough, the price will come down. By the Victorian era most people had glass mirrors in their home, both small hand mirrors and wall mirrors backed with silver, tin, and mercury. In fact, it was during the Victorian era that all sorts of items popped up using mirror-making techniques. Reflective vases, candlesticks, goblets, and more from that era are known as mercury glass.
Most of today’s mirrors are backed with aluminum; the process is still called “silvering” even though there’s no silver involved. Modern mirrors reflect incoming energies and repel any unwanted vibes as well as their older silver and tin predecessors. Your modern mirror is just the latest in a long line of innovation that is both magical and mundane.
reflections of
real witches:
Judika Illes
Death and the Mirror
A widespread funeral tradition demands that mirrors be covered in the room, house, or building where someone has just died. This custom is shared by numerous cultures, religions, and spiritual traditions, so variations exist. Some find it appropriate to use the first thing at hand: towels, sheets, tablecloths, or clothing. Formal Victorian mourning etiquette, on the other hand, recommended draping black velvet over mirrors. Meanwhile, others prevent mirrors from reflecting by turning them to face a wall.
All sorts of modern rationales explain this practice, but the tradition of covering mirrors in the presence of death is ancient and deeply rooted in magic and mysticism. It is a response to the mirror’s traditional roles as a soul catcher and as a portal to other realms. Covering a mirror serves two essential goals: to protect the living and to protect the dead.
When a crystal ball is not in active use, it’s customary to cover it, typically with velvet, silk, or other fine fabric. Covering a crystal ball allows it to rest, but it also temporarily closes the portal it provides. Veiling a mirror is akin to covering a crystal ball. When Death is in the house, it’s considered unwise to leave those portals open.
The threshold that exists from the moment of death until the soul’s arrival at its next destination (Summerlands, Avalon, Heaven, Valhalla, and so forth) is considered especially treacherous. Vigilant rituals, such as covering mirrors, attempt to ensure that the dead rest in peace. It is feared that a soul, potentially disoriented immediately after dying, might somehow become trapped within a mirror. Alternatively, some fear that the spirits who dwell within mirrors may use these portals to lure newly dead souls into their realm. Either way, the uncovered mirror potentially disrupts the desired journey to the next realm. Once trapped in the mirror, the frustrated soul may wreak havoc upon the living. Extraction may be challenging and dangerous. Covering the mirror protects the newly dead as well as prevents residual hauntings.
Judika Illes
author of The Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells,
Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, and other books
of magic • judikailles.com
Mirror Lore and Superstitions
From the first time Greek hottie Narcissus fell in love with his reflection in a pool, mirrors have been equally treasured and feared for their strange reflective properties. Many superstitions seem to stem from the perception of a mirror as a passageway between worlds.
Let’s look at some of the classic and sometimes contradictory superstitions regarding mirrors. Watch for more throughout this book.
- • If you break a mirror, you will have seven years of bad luck. One cure for this is to bury the pieces of the mirror.
- • Many cultures believe that covering mirrors in the house where someone has died prevented the capture of the soul of the departed within the mirror or preventing the dead from returning through the mirror, depending on the culture.
- • It’s bad luck to receive a mirror as a gift from the home of someone who is deceased.
- • A mirror falling from a wall is said to predict an impending death in the family.
- • If a couple looks at their reflections together in a mirror on their wedding day, they will have a happy marriage.
- • Some cultures believed that allowing a baby to see their own reflection before their first birthday would cause death.
- • Eating an apple while brushing your hair at midnight and looking into a mirror, you will see either your future spouse or the Grim Reaper.
- • It’s bad luck to see your reflection in a mirror by candlelight. (It does make you look kind of creepy, so maybe that’s why.)
- • A vampire will have no reflection in a mirror.
- • In the Middle Ages women were warned that primping too long before a mirror would cause them to see the devil himself there and go mad.
Yes, the mirror does hold its mysteries and has kept people on their toes for centuries. I’m sure the adolescent daughters of medieval lords responded with huge eye rolls when warned of the evils of mirrors.
Legends and Lore of the
Witch’s Magical Mirror
Witches’ association with mirrors makes sense: witches walk between the worlds, and the mirror has long been regarded as a passageway to other worlds. Gazing into a mirror in order to see secrets of the past, present, or future is known as the art of catoptromancy, one of the first uses of the magic mirror. There were priests in ancient Rome, Greece, and Egypt who included the art of gazing into mirrors of obsidian or polished metal among the magical arsenal they used to learn secrets beyond normal perception. Modern witches call this form of divination seeing or scrying. The term scrying comes from the Middle English word descry, meaning “to catch sight of something difficult to see.” Both scrying mirrors and other forms of magic mirrors permeate history.
The Chinese developed a special kind of armor known as mirror armor, which is made of large convex metal mirrors that would fit over a soldier’s regular armor. The metal disks not only deflected the physical threat of sword blades and arrows, but they also repelled psychic attack and demons. These mirrors were usually worn over the chest, back, and upper arms. Another Eastern magic mirror is the melong, a large metal convex mirror that is worn over the chest by the Tibetan Nechung oracle as part of his regalia. The Nechung that wears it is a simple Tibetan monk who specializes in channeling visions for the Dalai Lama. (Yep, even the Dalai Lama uses a magic mirror!)
In India and Pakistan mirrors have been used as magical embellishments for ages. Shisha embroidery is the art of attaching tiny mirrors to clothing and dowry textiles, decorative objects, and walls to bring blessings of good fortune. The fancy Indian decorative door hanging known as the toran is covered with tiny mirrors. Torans have a glittering row of embroidered and mirror-decorated pointed leaflike shapes that hang down. These hangings are meant to fill the home with blessings of protection and fertility; additionally, they reflect sunlight, which repels the evil eye. These mirrored toran decorations were used as magical protection for a married couple and were a valued part of a bride’s dowry.
How about a “death ray” using mirrors? Ancient Greek mathematician and technologist Archimedes thought it would be a great idea. Although the accounts vary on exactly how he did it, legend says the Roman fleet that was sailing in to conquer Syracuse was foiled by the seventy-year-old Archimedes, who would protect his hometown with his greatest resource: his mighty brain. His plan involved giant mirrors that were set up along the shore. He reportedly reflected the sun’s rays at the Roman galleys, setting them ablaze. Many since have tested this legend and failed, including the Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters, who tried it in both seasons one and three but never managed to confirm the myth. Apparently a team of researchers at MIT worked on the problem and did manage to burst a ship into flames; however, it was a completely motionless ship, not one rocking in the ocean. The legend of Archimedes’ burning mirrors still captures the imagination. Did he manage to do it or did he simply blind them with science?
Italian-born queen and regent of France Catherine de’ Medici was said to own more than one magic mirror, and it’s speculated that she used mirrors for both scrying and magic spells. Famous contemporary (and sometimes cohort of de’ Medici) was the seer Nostradamus. He used a bowl of water or dark ink as a scrying mirror to reveal his insights into future events, which he wrote down as poetic prose. Nostradamus’s predictions still shake people up from time to time. When Nostradamus died, Catherine de’ Medici reportedly continued working with magic mirrors on her own, thus earning her the unofficial title of “queen witch.”
De’ Medici was not the only queen of the time to consult a magic mirror. Queen Elizabeth I consulted with Dr. John Dee, her own court magician and astrologer. Dee and his colleague Edward Kelley utilized a concave onyx mirror described in a satirical poem by Samuel Butler as “the devil’s looking-glass.” It’s said that the mirror was used both for scrying and to summon spirits. Queen Elizabeth consulted Dee in many matters of state and considered him a trusted and respected servant of the throne. The onyx mirror Dee used to serve queen and country can be seen today in the British Museum.
John Dee’s work with his onyx speculum is his most famous association with mirror magic, but, in fact, Dee also studied the reflections within silvered mirrors of his time as part of his metaphysical study of optics (or, as he referred to it, “perspective”). Dee believed that mirrors were the perfect way to contemplate spiritual reality. He asserted that by learning how mirrors worked, we could learn to see through deceptions that are placed before our eyes. Upon receiving a mirror as a gift from Sir William Pickering, Dee marveled at how his reflection appeared as he lunged at himself, dagger in hand, as the mirror battle appeared real to his view. Dee’s exploration into the magic mirror sent up a buzz of constant rumors about him partnering with the devil, and it’s rumored that Dee was at least partial inspiration for such literary characters of the time as Doctor Faustus (as imagined by Marlowe) and Prospero (from Shakespeare’s The Tempest).
Paschal Beverly Randolph was a spiritualist during the 1800s who published many books, several regarding the use of magic mirrors. He studied many forms of magic and divination under several esoteric orders. Mirror work was included in his studies, and he expanded upon that work by making mirrors of his own and importing magic mirrors from India. Some of his published works explain use of fluid condensers for scrying mirrors. Randolph’s practice was guided by his perception of a connection between science and the occult. His books on magic mirrors are still highly regarded by modern witches.
Victorian Spiritualists in England had a technique using a large magic mirror in the confines of a very small darkened room or booth draped in black fabric and very low light for contacting spirits of the deceased through a séance of sorts. This small room with a mirror in it was known as a psychomanteum. It’s believed that the Victorians were reviving the technique based on an old Greek method in which oracles would stare into a pool of water in a dark room. The psychomanteum method has been carried over into recent times by the works of Dr. Raymond Moody.
Franz Bardon was a Czechoslovakian Spiritualist who worked extensively with magic mirrors and other esoteric studies. Bardon wrote several books in the 1950s about mysticism and Hermetics, and included were his formulas for creating fluid condensers and working with scrying mirrors, which I’ll explain later on. Bardon held his spirituality sacred and survived being imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp for refusing to use his knowledge of mysticism to help the Nazi cause. His knowledge of fluid condensers used for mirrors and other magical purposes is highly regarded by practitioners to this day.
There are a few sought-after wooden-framed witch mirrors floating around out there from the mid-nineteenth century that were made in Belfast. Famous witch Doreen Valiente herself owned one of these charming mirrors. There’s also one in the Museum of Witchcraft in Boscastle, Cornwall. The frame is a woodcarving of an impish-looking witch, legs crossed at her ankles, elbows on her knees, and a curvy hat above her mischievous face. The silvered mirror looks as though the witch has wrapped her body around the mirror itself. It is said that a familiar spirit has made its home within the mirror and may be seen standing behind you and communicating with you if you gaze into the mirror. There is a warning that if it creeps you out too much, just close your eyes, but do not turn around! Why not? I’m not sure I want to know. That being said, I would try it if I ever had the opportunity.
Occasionally you’ll find magic workers even today who harbor suspicions of mirror magic for various reasons, probably stemming from a belief that mirror magic is only good for negative magic, but as we will explore in this book, nothing could be further from the truth. Taboos and superstitions against mirrors go back as far as the mirror itself, but at the end of the day, as far as mirror magic goes, it’s just a tool like any other tool. If a clever witch uses mirrors with respect, understanding, and care, the magic mirror can become a valued part of any magical tool bag.
mirror lore
In Persian lore, sitting very still and combing your hair in front of a mirror without speaking will allow you to see ghosts in the reflection.
Mirror Deities
Did you know there are lots of deities associated with mirrors? Here are just a few selected mirror deities and their fascinating stories.
Venus and Aphrodite
The beautiful goddess of love, beauty, and sexuality is known as Venus by the Romans and associated with the Greek goddess Aphrodite. And yes, she’s the only goddess to have a planet named after her. The same symbol representing the goddess Venus, her planet, and the feminine gender is a representation of an old Roman bronze hand mirror: ;.
There are many ancient Greek depictions on pottery of Aphrodite holding a hand mirror. Myriad classical paintings of her during the Renaissance period portray Venus gazing into a mirror. In many of these pieces, upon first inspection it may seem that she is admiring her own beauty, but where are her eyes actually looking? You realize that the mirror is, in fact, angled so the goddess is looking at you, the viewer. This is known as the “Venus effect.”
Paulo Coelho reminds us of this: “The eyes are the mirror of the soul and reflect everything that seems to be hidden; and like a mirror, they also reflect the person looking into them.”
Hathor
Another goddess of beauty, Hathor is a pre-dynastic Egyptian goddess with mirror associations. Granted, Hathor is a complex goddess—she has been associated with dancing, drinking, music, and even providing hospitality for the dead—but before such activities, you’ve got to get ready. Hathor’s association with mirrors includes her role as a patroness of cosmetics and perfume. The Egyptians were known for being well appointed, and their use of cosmetics was renowned in the ancient world. You can’t apply cosmetics without a mirror (well, you can, but it’s ill advised).
The hand mirrors and makeup palettes used by the Egyptians often depicted the lovely cow-eared face of this goddess. Her sacred stones, malachite and turquoise, were favorites used in Egypt to make cosmetics. Hathor was not a shallow goddess, though; she also saw the beauty inside. According to Judika Illes, Hathor’s “traditional votive offering was two mirrors, the better with which to see both her beauty and your own.”
Ishikore-dome
In the Shinto religion of Japan, Ishikore-dome is an androgynous or transgender deity of the arts and quality craftsmanship who is credited with the invention of the mirror. This fabulous deity had the creative skills to cheer up the sun goddess Amaterasu herself.
According to legend, Amaterasu had become sullen after a horrible battle with her brother, the storm god, and retreated to a cave, keeping her light from the world. Ishikore-dome found a solution by crafting a beautiful mirror made of stone and copper. The goddess of dance came out to the cave entrance and put on a bawdy show that was so entertaining that the cheering and laughter of the other gods and goddesses lured the sun goddess Amaterasu out of her cave to see what all the fuss was about. The sun then became captivated by her shining reflection in Ishikore-dome’s magical mirror, and the other deities were able to seal the cave. The sun returned to the world and cast her warming light upon the land, bringing joy and spring.
Tezcatlipoca
The Aztecs who made gleaming obsidian mirrors had Tezcatlipoca, also known as the Lord of the Smoking Mirror, to guide them in their gazing. He might have a dark-sounding name, and for good reason: he ruled over the first four worlds that came before this one (this guy’s seen a lot of destruction). Tezcatlipoca is one of about 130 different aspects of this complex deity. In his “smoking mirror” form, he’s often represented with a black stripe across his face, as seen on the famous mask that had been worn by his priests, now housed in the British Museum along with an Aztec obsidian mirror.
A black mirror or “smoking mirror” is usually part of his likenesses, either as part of his headdress, worn on his chest, or in place of a torn-off foot. The word for mirror was the same as the word for ruler, which is telling in the relationship the people had with these obsidian mirrors. The smoking mirror had a dualistic nature, both a receiver of divine communication and a transmitter, much the way that the human eye sees and judges its surroundings but is also considered a window to the soul. To gaze within the all-seeing eye of Tezcatlipoca’s smoking mirror was to communicate back and forth with the deity himself. He saw everything in that smoking mirror and knew everything that was done or thought by his people—everything seen and unseen. He was a protector of slaves and punished wrongdoers. (While that may sound nice, he also enjoyed a yearly human sacrifice.)
mirror lore
According to an old wives’ tale, mirrors should be covered during a thunderstorm to keep them from attracting lightning.
reflections of
real witches:
Blake Octavian Blair
Shamanic Magic Mirrors
Shamanism holds some lore of its own to add to the milieu of the magic mirror. Shamanic traditions from Mongolia and the Buryat region use a highly polished metal disc called a toli as a mirror. Tolis serve many functions, including warding off malevolent entities, scrying and divination, and healing through various ceremonial procedures. The toli is occasionally used by some practitioners as a portal for the shaman’s compassionate helping spirits to enter and exit a ceremonial space. The empowered toli is placed upon the shaman’s altar, and as they are called or needed, the spirits enter and exit the ceremony and healing session through the toli, which serves as focal point of power. As is common with tools in many branches of mystical spirituality, not only will different shamanic cultures use the mirror in different ways, but even within a culture the way a toli is used may vary from practitioner to practitioner.
Another form of magic mirror almost all of us have readily available access to is water. An old standby form of magic mirror is simply a large bowl of clear water. Create a dimly lit sacred space, fill a large basin with water, focus on your question at hand, and note the images that appear to you in the water’s silvery surface. It’s trusted, tried, true, and at your fingertips.
Blessed be!
Blake Octavian Blair
Pagan, author, ordained minister, shamanic practitioner, Usui Reiki Master-Teacher, tarot reader, and musician • www.blakeoctavianblair.com