Crafting and Enchanting
a Witch’s Mirror
By now you’ve probably figured out what kind of witch’s mirror (or mirrors) you want. We all know witches tend to be crafty people, so if you’re one of those witches who likes to make your own magical tools, I think you’ll really enjoy making your own witch’s mirror. I’ve made some myself, and it’s very rewarding. You don’t have to pick just one; mirrors are a wonderful kind of magic that you can use in many areas of your life and magical practice. Let your imagination run wild, grab your paint, glass, and glue gun, and make some magic all your own. Even if you’re lucky enough to find a witch’s mirror to purchase, you’re going to need to enchant it for your purpose; all the methods for enchanting a handcrafted mirror can be used to enchant a store-purchased mirror as well. Read on as we get our witchy craft on!
Make Your Own Black Scrying Mirror
Black mirrors are not as difficult to make as you might think. With a little care and patience, you can craft a really nice black witch’s mirror. Here are the basics.
Three black
scrying mirrors
First, you’ll need a piece of clear glass. If you want a classic concave black mirror, you can use a convex clock glass or convex glass made for antique frames, also known as bubble glass or domed glass. I’ve had great luck with Victorian Frame Company, but there are lots of good places to find curved glass, such as a clock repair supply shop. Remember, what you’re looking for is called convex glass because that’s how they sell it, but we will be flipping it around and using the other side, using the concave side for viewing. Once you’ve got your glass, be sure to clean it well using the new mirror purifier from chapter 7 on both sides of the glass.
You’ll also need some black paint. Lots of people suggest using black spray paint, and that does work fine; I’ve tried it. If you want to just pick up a can of black enamel spray paint, be sure to apply it in several thin coats on the convex (back) side of the mirror.
A new trick I discovered is using acrylic enamel paint that’s suitable for glass instead of spray paint. There are lots of affordable brands; they’re generally sold in little two-ounce bottles; the one I use is made by Folk Art. It’s easy to clean up, there are no poisonous fumes or overspray, plus working with water-based washes or fluid condensers isn’t a problem if you choose a water-based paint instead of an oil-based paint. Because you’re brushing it on the back of the glass, you’ll be using several coats applied with a soft, large brush that is at least an inch wide to minimize brush strokes. Even if you do see slight brushstrokes on the back, they won’t be seen at all on the glass side of the mirror where you’ll be doing your scrying. As a magical bonus, on your last coat of paint you could leave brushstrokes on purpose in the shapes of magical symbols; they will impart their energies to the mirror but remain invisible from the front.
Whether you choose black spray paint or water-based glass paint, you’ll need to choose your magic mirror wash or condenser, decide your preference, and mix up your choice of enchantment for your mirror and have it ready. Formulas are in chapter 7. If you’re using the solid scrying mirror condenser from chapter 7, instructions for including the solid condenser are included with the formula.
As far as timing, I like to make my scrying mirrors during a significant moon phase, either the dark moon or the full moon. I usually plan for the two days surrounding the moon phase I’m working in, as I often need time to let paint dry, make a frame, etc., and I don’t want to feel rushed on decorative details. Many people like to follow the old tradition of not allowing sunlight to fall upon a black mirror, so I make mine at night just to be on the safe side, but do use a well-lit area when you apply the black paint.
Set up your supplies in a clean area and put down newspaper on your work surface to protect it from black paint. If you’re using a mirror wash, apply it to the surface before you paint the first layer on the convex side of the glass, rubbing in a counterclockwise direction and wiping it completely dry. If you’re using the simple fluid condenser instead of mirror wash, you’ll need a jar with a little condenser in the bottom. Use your paint brush to apply a very thin layer of condenser onto the back of your mirror glass. A little bit of condenser goes a long way—this is very powerful stuff. Dry your brush well on a paper towel, then apply your first layer of paint while your condenser is still damp. If using spray paint, be sure to allow the condenser to dry completely before painting; remember, oil and water don’t mix. Spray paints are oil based.
It’s best to apply the paint in several thin layers, allowing it to dry in between layers; usually three layers is good. Rinse and dry your paintbrush in between layers. If in doubt, after three layers hold it up to a light. If you can see light through it, apply one more coat. Allow the paint to dry completely; this may not be completely dry until the next night. Check the paint label for details on drying times and curing if necessary, and follow them exactly before proceeding to the next step.
If you’re using spray paint, you may wish to apply a thin layer of varnish for extra protection from getting scratched. If you use acrylic enamel, try the oven-curing method; according to the directions on the paint, this protects it wonderfully. Some people might prefer to adhere a round piece of felt on the back for extra protection. A very tacky craft glue such as Aleen’s works great for gluing felt to glass. Felt is a tricky fabric to glue, so a thick, tacky craft glue works great. Cut the felt slightly smaller than the size of the mirror. Apply the glue with a brush evenly over the already painted surface of your black mirror. You may want to include a sprinkling of herbs or a tad more condenser to the glue.
Instead of felt, here’s my favorite way to protect the back of a scrying mirror and make an elegant and personal frame. I have had great success by crafting a sculpted custom frame made of oven-bake polymer clay such as Fimo or Sculpy. You can actually work some of the dry powdered herbs you used in the wash or condenser into the clay itself. Do not try to mix mirror wash or fluid condenser into polymer clay—it will go horribly wrong—but a pinch of dried herbs or solid condenser (the powdered one) is fine. Then use a rolling pin to roll the clay to about a quarter-inch thickness and slightly larger than the scrying mirror on a sheet of wax paper so it doesn’t stick to your workspace. Press it over the painted surface of the mirror and carefully work it around to the front edge, forming about a half-inch-thick frame. Now you can decorate the front part of the frame by pressing patterns into the clay, adding small tumbled stones such as moonstones, obsidian, or quartz, or even seashells. Bake the entire mirror according to the instructions on the polymer clay package.
Once it’s completely cooled, you can brush it with acrylic paint a small section at a time and rub it off while the paint is still wet, leaving paint in all the crevices and creating an antiqued look. If you get any paint on the front of the mirror (which you will, trust me), just add a little water to the paint with a clean brush and wipe it off with a paper towel or a cotton swab to get in close to the edges. Once you’re finished, coat the clay with some clear water-based varnish. I like a satin finish, but this is, of course, your choice.
You can pick up an inexpensive wooden easel to place it in while scrying. You might be inspired to decorate it with a wood burner. A wire easel can be equally nice and is easily decorated by wrapping it with silver wire and magical beads and charms of your choice.
If you don’t have the resources to make a convex mirror or you just prefer a flat one, you can use the steps above and simply substitute a piece of flat glass. Find a beautiful picture frame that includes a piece of glass. Use the mirror wash or condenser of your choice and apply at least three coats of glass paint to one side of the glass in the same way that’s described in the instructions for the concave mirror. Once it’s completely dry, insert the glass back into its frame, painted side to the back. It’s a really easy and beautiful way to create an amazing witch’s tool that you’ll use and treasure for years.
If you mail-ordered curved glass and the packaging it came in was nice, that packaging might be great for storing your finished mirror. You could cover the box with elegant paper and wrap your mirror in silk, linen, or some nice fabric before placing it in the protective box with the padding. You can also design your own packaging, being careful to protect it from direct sunlight.
Do not allow others to handle or use your scrying mirror; this will keep its energies aligned closely with your own. The best time to scry is during a full or a dark moon. You can use mirror wash to clean the front of the mirror or any time you feel the need to boost the magic power of your scrying mirror.
Open the Black Mirror Portal—
What Do You See?
Before using your mirror for the first time, whether you crafted it yourself or purchased it, make sure it’s clean. Try working with it on the night of a full or dark moon, which tends to bring powerful visions. Place the mirror on the stand facing you. Place the open palm of your receptive hand before the mirror and move your hand in a clockwise circle. Put the open palm of your other hand behind the mirror and “mirror” the action of your receptive hand so that you have one hand in front and one hand behind the mirror, both palms facing each other and moving in a clockwise pattern. As you do this, visualize the mirror becoming a portal for visions to be drawn to you. Thus, your mirror is aligned with your energies and spiritually magnetized for the purpose of scrying. When you are finished using your mirror, repeat the hand motions above in reverse to close the portal and give thanks for your visions.
After preparing the mirror as described above, place your scrying mirror on a clean cloth on a table or altar at eye level in a dark room or under the stars. You may burn incense aligned with lunar energies or specially formulated for scrying; a few recommendations are sandalwood, frankincense, jasmine, or nag champa. Place two candles, one on either side of the mirror, arranging them so that they do not reflect in the surface of the mirror. The surface of the mirror should be completely black in order to see visions when scrying. Have a sheet of paper or a journal and a pen handy to record any of your impressions in order to contemplate them later. Much like a dream, details of visions can be forgotten quickly if they are not recorded immediately.
Cast a circle of protection around your work space, visualizing a protective circle of blue flames or a clear bubble surrounding you. (If you are not familiar with casting a circle, please refer to a book on basic magic before proceeding.) You may invite your spirit guides to join you, specifically asking only spirits in line with your own intentions to enter your circle. Ground and center yourself, and relax into a meditative state. Gaze into the glass surface, relaxing your eyes and looking deeply into and through the surface. Use the mirror as a focal point—a portal to a place where all that is or will be known can be seen by you. Most people “see” without their physical eyes when scrying; you may only receive impressions, shadows, and visions in the mist, and may need much practice as well as reflection to interpret these visions. You may wish to consult a dream dictionary to look into symbolism that you may see while scrying. I have included a small reference guide at the back of this book to get you started; see Appendix 2. Relax, don’t force it, and remember: the more often you practice, the easier visions will come to you.
When you are finished, thank your spirit guides and respectfully ask them to return to their realms, harming none along the way. Place your right palm in front of the mirror and your left hand behind it, moving them as you did before but this time counterclockwise three times, declaring the portal closed. Visualize the protective circle dissipating. Put out the candles and carefully return the mirror to its protective packaging of your choice. Store your mirror out of reach of others until your next use.
mirror lore
During the Salem Witch Trials, accusers claimed that a slave named Tituba had taught them how to make a magic mirror to see their future spouses by covering a mirror with the white of an egg.
Crafting Hexenspiegel
Jewelry and Suncatchers
A mirrored necklace, bracelet, or a mirrored ornament can be made into a Hexenspiegel with a simple bit of magic that I’ll share with you here. The Hexenspiegel can be worn, carried in your purse or wallet, or displayed in your home to ward off curses, hexes, or psychic attacks. The beautiful part of the Hexenspiegel is that the thing just works all the time, meaning that if someone decides to pull some shady stuff on you, the minute they tap into your energy they’re going to know right away that you’re protected and more than likely decide to stop their shenanigans before they begin. And if a magical bully decides to cause you harm and then chooses not to recoil from the attack once they feel the protection in place, that’s their free will to do so; the Hexenspiegel will just do its thing.
Hexenspiegel jewelry
To make a simple Hexenspiegel necklace, you’ll need a small square or round glass tile from your local craft store. You can get these in little bags that often can be found near the stained glass or mosaic supplies. You’ll also need a small bit of polymer oven bake clay; I use Sculpy, but Fimo or another brand will work just fine. You’ll need a short piece of wire to make a loop (or bail) to hang it from. You can also work a pinch of a protection herb of your choice right into the clay. A few suggestions include powdered vervain, dill, rosemary, marjoram, holly leaves or berries, rowan, mullein, or nettle; use only dried herbs and don’t try to add oils or mirror wash to the clay. For this purpose a very small pinch of herbs goes a long way, so don’t use too much. You can also draw a protection symbol such as a pentagram or triquetra onto the back of the mirror using a fine-pointed permanent marker before adding the clay.
Take a piece of clay and work a pinch of your protection herbs into it by kneading it with your fingers. Pinch off a bit of clay that’s big enough to cover one side of the tile and roll the clay out flat to about a quarter of an inch thick. Lay the tile on top of the clay and trim the clay so that it’s the same size as the tile. Form the wire into a loop and slide it in between the clay and the back of the mirror; this is how you will hang it from a necklace. Now roll out a long coil of clay about as thick as a spaghetti noodle. Starting at the top, where the wire is, roll the coil around the outside edge of the mirror tile. When you reach the wire loop again, wrap the coil around the tile one more time, but this time it should be around the front side of the mirror, creating a tiny frame. To end the coil back up at the top of the pendant, break off the clay and leave a pretty little spiral at the end.
If you wish, you can use clay stamps or a piece of jewelry to stamp designs or texture into the clay. Bake your Hexenspiegel pendant according to the directions for your clay. Once it’s cool you may paint it or leave it natural. If you decide to paint your pieces and you get paint on the mirror while you work, which is pretty much unavoidable, just drop a little water on the mirror while the paint is still wet and clean it off with a couple clean cotton swabs. Also, I like to carefully apply a coat of water-based varnish to my polymer projects to give the paint some extra protection. Now decide if you want to hang it from a simple chain or cord, or create a beaded necklace with the Hexenspiegel as the centerpiece. Get as creative as you want—you could even make two small ones into earrings!
Another easy-to-make Hexenspiegel is a suncatcher Hexenspiegel. This is a Hexenspiegel you can hang in your window to deflect negativity and ward your whole home. To make this especially enchanted ornamental protection mirror, you’ll need six or eight craft tile mirrors, ¾-inch size or so, and some strong craft glue such as E6000 adhesive or a two-part epoxy. Really, any adhesive that’s pretty strong and preferably waterproof and appropriate for glass will work. You’ll also need 40-pound fishing line and a metal or crystal charm of about 1 inch to hang at the bottom. You’ll also need a handful of beads; good choices would include (but are not limited to) blue or green glass evil eye beads, jasper, quartz, black tourmaline, turquoise, or amethyst.
Cut about a foot and a half or so of fishing line and tie your charm to one end using a fishing knot; you can find some examples of these on the Internet. Here’s a beading trick: open a large hardbound book that lays flat on its own and use the fold in the middle (the gutter) where the pages meet to lay your beads out in the order you want to bead them; you can lay your mirror tiles out in the arrangement too. I make them about 9–12 inches long, including beads and mirrors, but we have a foot and a half of fishing line, right? Yep, that’s so you have plenty of extra for easily knotting both ends.
Begin stringing beads in order from the bottom where the charm is to the top, and attach a clothespin or office clip about four inches from the other end to keep the beads from accidentally sliding off. Laying the beaded line flat on a table, choose several areas to add your mirrors, spacing the beads out just enough to accommodate them. Starting at the bottom, lay one mirror, shiny side down, under the empty space in the fishing line between the beads, then add a dot of adhesive in the center of the mirror and make sure the fishing line is stuck in the center of the adhesive. Sprinkle the adhesive with your Hexenspiegel protective herbs. Now lay another mirror on top of it so that the two tiles are back to back, with the fishing line and magic herbs sandwiched in between. Proceed in the same way, spacing mirrors all along the line between sections of beads. When you’re done, walk away and leave it alone. I know it’s pretty but just leave it there and forget about it for at least two hours. Is this the voice of experience? Yes, it is; trust me, and leave it undisturbed while the mirrors dry. Once you’re sure they are completely dry (check the manufacturer’s directions on your adhesive), wrap the other end around a cork and use that fishing knot again. Slide out the cork and you’ve got a nice loop for hanging.
Now you’ll want to enchant your Hexenspiegel to become a magical shield for your home. Here’s a charm that you can use to turn any mirror, mirrored jewelry, or mirrored item like an ornament into a working Hexenspiegel. It’s a simple enchantment, and once you’ve used it you don’t have to do anything else; your Hexenspiegel will continue to do its job. It’s a vigilant little mirror with a powerful intention—to warn your enemies not to attack—and if they do, it packs up that energy and hands it right back where it came from, leaving you in a constant state of magical protection.
Apply Hexenspiegel mirror wash (the recipe is in chapter 7) on your new piece and wipe it clean with a paper towel or cotton cloth. Light a white candle and set your new Hexenspiegel next to it. Say:
Hexenspiegel, my witch’s charm
Become my shield from any harm
Warn my attackers to retreat
Should they persist, I do entreat
Reflect their evil away from me
To which I add no energy
And what they send returned shall be
As by my will so shall it be
Now your Hexenspiegel is ready to go. Wear your jewelry anytime or keep it by your bed when you’re not wearing it. Hang your suncatcher in a window using a suction cup or a hook above the window. Under normal circumstances you shouldn’t need to do a thing—it will just continue to work; however, if you feel the need you can always repeat the enchanting charm, adding a spritz of Hexenspiegel mirror wash to boost its effectiveness.
Make Mirrored Boxes: Magic Inside and Out
A mirrored box can be as aesthetically pleasing or as utilitarian as you want it to be. If you plan to leave it out on a shelf, you’ll probably want to make it look nice. If you’re going to keep it in a drawer or cabinet, you could literally just glue some mirrors to the outside of a box and it will be equally magical, even if it’s not very pretty.
Mirrored boxes
Box Mirrored on the Outside
A box with mirrors on the outside is a great tool for spellwork to keep something hidden from view or notice. It can also shield objects from soaking up negative energy from outside sources. This works great for things like magical jewelry, keys to your magical cabinet, or your oils for spellwork.
You can also use representations of things you want to keep safe, such as a photo of something you want to hide or shield. If you’re worried about others messing with your phone, use a photo of your phone—your actual phone—not just a picture of a model phone. When you get a new credit or debit card and peel the sticker off to activate it, stick the sticker onto a piece of paper and put it in the box to protect your account from being compromised. Of course, you still need to use common sense to protect your stuff in the mundane world, but the mirrored box will certainly help. Basically, if it’s yours and you want others to leave it alone, put it or a photo of it into a box with mirrors on the outside.
Now, keep in mind that it won’t render something literally invisible, but this kind of mirrored box can make an object unnoticeable. If you know it’s there you’ll see it, but otherwise it will just escape someone’s notice, like a science fiction perception filter. Such a concealment spell can be very useful in many situations.
To make a simple box that’s mirrored on the outside, you’ll need a wooden or papier-mâché box from your local craft shop and enough small mirrored tiles to decorate it. You’ll also need a bottle of regular acrylic craft paint and a tube of dimensional fabric paint in the same color. Using the flat and dimensional paint in the same color is much more forgiving when it’s time to decorate with the dimensional paint; little errors look artistic instead of messy. For the dimensional paint I found a bottle of Tulip fabric paint that worked well for me, but any brand is fine as long as it’s in a bottle that looks like a glue bottle with a nice pointy tip; I would avoid the kind that puffs up. Choose whatever color you like; I love the look of metallics—gold or silver look really cool—or black, or you might like to match it to your decor or choose a color that speaks to you. Matching your decor is actually a great idea—after all, this kind of mirrored spell box is all about camouflage.
Paint the outside of the box with the acrylic paint and let it dry. You might need two coats, and be sure you don’t paint the box shut. Be careful to paint around hinges or any other hardware if your box has them; if you paint over those, they won’t work. On the top of the box, lay out your mirror tiles in a nice pattern, making sure you leave at least a half inch between them. Lightly trace around the outside of each tile with a pencil for placement reference. One by one, affix the mirrors to the box using some premium tacky craft glue; my go-to is Aleene’s but there are others out there too (watch for the term “tacky,” that’s what you want). You can also use industrial adhesive or hot glue if you prefer. Once all the tiles are attached to the lid, let them dry so they don’t move around for the next step.
Now trace around each tile with a bead of the dimensional fabric paint right along the edge of each mirror. This covers the sharp edges of the mirrors, and each tile looks like it’s set on the box with the paint, like a jewel. If there’s a lot of space between some of the mirrors, you can decorate it with patterns of swirls, leaves, or mehndi designs (used in henna tattoos); you could even attach a few pretty glass beads, protective stones, or evil eye beads—get creative and add your own personal style. The dimensional paint will have a whitish cast to the color but will become a more vivid color when it’s dry.
Do one side of the box at a time, allowing the dimensional paint to dry for at least four hours before you move to the next side, being careful not to glue the lid closed with the paint. When you’re finished with the outside, you can put symbols inside the box for magical protection, such as an equal-armed cross, pentagram, or triquetra, or include symbols for invisibility, such as Hulinhjálmur or Solomon’s Sixth Seal of the Sun. Be sure to check out the backing images and magical seals at the end of chapter 8.
Once your box is completely dry—give that dimensional paint seventy-two hours to be sure—then you can lightly spray some protection mirror wash onto a soft cloth, making it just slightly damp, and wipe it all over the outside of the box. Now your witch’s mirror box is ready to use.
Box Mirrored on the Inside
Boxes mirrored on the inside are great for destroying negativity or trapping something. If you’re making a mirrored box for these purposes, you’ll need all six sides of the inside of the box to be mirrored. While the entire surface of the inside of the box doesn’t have to be mirrored, there should be at least one mirror on every side, and the rest of the inside should be painted black or silver.
Another type of box mirrored on the inside is meant for the purpose of multiplying something. If you’re making a box for multiplying something—for instance, money—it should only have two mirrors on the inside, across from each other, each reflecting the other so that they create an infinity mirror.
Mirrors can be attached to the inside of a box using a good strong adhesive; I like to use a tube of industrial-strength adhesive, something flexible, paintable, and waterproof. Apply masking tape to hold the mirror in place while the glue dries. Decorate the outside of the box any way you wish. You might want to decorate it according to the purpose of the box. If you’re making it to trap negativity inside, you might like to paint it black, glue on metal keys, and paint vertical lines suggesting bars or use other symbols such as equal-armed crosses or pentagrams as seals. For an infinity mirror box, you could use colors of what you plan to multiply; for money, use shades of green, silver, and gold or fancy scrapbook paper featuring coins from around the world. If you want to multiply personal power, paint it your favorite color, decoupage your spirit animal, and attach your birthstone and other emblems that represent you.
Create Your Own Faux Mercury
Glass and Oeil de Sorcière
You are seriously going to love the process of making faux mercury glass. The method is as magical as the results you get creating beautiful sparkling candleholders, vases, etc., to magically fill your home with good vibes and blessings! You can also use the same technique to make a really cool antique- looking oeil de sorcière.
Oeil de sorcie`re mirrors & faux mercury glass jar candles
If you want to use magical timing, you can make your mercury glass on a Wednesday to channel Mercury’s energy, including good luck, fertility (literal or figurative), abundance, and success. You can also make it on Monday for associations with silver and the moon, since silver was actually an ingredient in most antique mercury glass. Most items actually didn’t contain mercury at all and were simply called mercury glass as a holdover from when mercury was actually used in mirror making and the mercury-like look of the pieces. Creating mercury glass on a Monday would add energies of the moon goddess, protection, healing, psychic powers, and love. Either way you choose, a faux mercury glass item made magically will be a blessing to your home, radiating positive energy.
Let’s start with a mercury glass candleholder. The first one I made was a jelly jar, and it turned out looking really cool and rustic. I made it especially for a family I was doing a house blessing and cleansing for as an extra enchantment they could use anytime they needed to raise the vibes of the home once we kicked out the astral nasties. They use it all the time and have not had any of the entities we sent packing return, and the energy of the home has remained very uplifting. You can use a jar too, if you like, or find a beautiful clear vase, drinking glass, or glass hurricane lamp shade. If you have one special piece, I suggest you practice on another piece first, like a simple jar, to get the knack of it.
Clean your glass jar with mirror purifier, then dry it. You’ll need a can of mirror finish spray paint, mercury glass wash (see chapter 7) in a spray bottle, masking tape, newspaper, paper towels, and a clean ventilated area with a table top protected with newspaper where you can work. You might be tempted to grab a can of silver chrome paint, but it will not have the shine of the spray paint designed to create a mirror-like finish on glass; I used one called Looking Glass by Krylon that worked really well. At the time there were no other brands but that one, but I just saw another one pop up this month and more are likely to follow. Read the cans carefully and be sure it says specifically that it’s mirror paint so you get the right stuff.
Tape a piece of newspaper around the outside of your jar, using the masking tape right up to the lip of the jar, protecting the outside of the jar completely from any overspray. Before you begin, shake the spray paint for about two minutes. I can’t stress this enough: if you want it to be as bright as possible, you really need to shake the heck out of that can! The metallic substance settles quickly, so you’ll want to shake it vigorously between sprays as well.
Spritz the inside of your jar with mercury glass wash—just a bit; less is more. Now shake the can well and give the inside of the jar a light coating of mirror finish spray paint. Allow it to dry about four to five minutes, then blot it with a crumpled-up paper towel. This will remove the paint from the spots where the water droplets are, leaving the signature spots that we see on antique mercury glass. If you like a more aged look, you can apply a bit more pressure and give the paper towel little twists to remove a bit more paint. Now repeat the steps of spritzing with mercury glass wash, spraying the mirror paint, and blotting three or four more times until it looks exactly how you want. If you accidentally remove too much silver, you can just respray it a bit. If you didn’t leave as many spots as you wanted, spray with water one last time and use a crumpled paper towel in small twisting patterns to remove more paint.
Once you’re happy with it, allow it to dry for at least twenty-four hours. When you burn a candle inside your new mercury glass, you boost its powers, allowing light to shine through the silver finish as it emanates good vibes and reflects them at the same time, becoming a beacon of positive energy. Now you just have to resist the urge to turn everything in your house into faux mercury glass! Keep your mercury glass wash and use it whenever you clean your faux mercury glass or anytime you feel it needs a magical boost.
To make an oeil de sorcière, you will use the same technique described above; the only differences are the glass you start with and you will use the witch’s eye mirror wash (see chapter 7) instead of the mercury glass wash. If you’re a lucky shopper, you might find a good bubble glass frame at a secondhand store or online; if you can’t find an inexpensive used one, Victorian Frame Company has a nice variety of sizes and frames as well, or just do an Internet search for “vintage bubble glass frame” and you’ll find lots of resources.
Follow the same steps in the instructions for making the mercury glass jar, spraying the concave (bowl side) of the glass. When it’s dry and you’re ready to mount it in the frame, you may wish to boost the oeil de sorcière’s properties by adding a backing image of a magical symbol in the frame behind the glass (there are a few at the end of chapter 8). You can also add a sprinkling of protective and blessing herbs like angelica, sage, rowan, or rue inside the actual frame.
Place the oeil de sorcière in a prominent location in your home and it will do its job bringing down blessings from Spirit, watching over your household, and deflecting any harmful energy from you and your home to become neutral and harmless energy free from ill intent.
Use the witch’s eye mirror wash anytime you clean it or feel the need to boost its enchantment. The mirror also acts as a warning bell in your psychic mind and will let you know through your own intuition if it needs a boost to keep doing its job well. The oeil de sorcière is a powerful witch’s tool indeed!
mirror lore
In Croatia mirrors were sometimes buried with the dead to prevent their souls from escaping the grave.
Psychomanteum:
A Spirit Communication Mirror
Communication with spirits through mirrors is an age-old practice. During the Victorian era they called a darkened chamber with a spirit communication mirror a “psychomanteum.” I’ve come up with a way to enchant a mirror for use in a similar technique, thus adding power and intention to the mirror itself.
Enchanting a mirror just for this purpose can be handy if it’s something you plan to do often. A black mirror can be used to communicate across the veil, but you can also use a silver mirror. Here, I will describe how to enchant an everyday silver mirror for spirit communication. If you only plan to use a mirror for this purpose occasionally, you can temporarily use an altar mirror for this purpose and then close the portal by removing those elements after you’re done.
If you want to add power through magical timing, work at the dark of the moon or on a Wednesday. Samhain or Beltane would be good sabbats to work on when making a spirit communication mirror, since the veil between the worlds is thinnest during these times.
You’ll need a mirror at least twelve by twelve inches, although it doesn’t have to be a square mirror and it should be in a removable frame. Take the mirror out of the frame and cleanse both front and back with mirror purifier wash. Now use the spirit communication wash in chapter 7 on the back of the mirror only. Make a copy of the spirit gate seal found at the end of chapter 8 or trace it using black ink onto white paper. Using masking tape to cover all the edges, tape the backing seal facedown in the center of the mirror’s back. Put the open palm of your right hand over the back of the mirror and the top of the backing sigil about an inch away from the glass, and move your hand in a counterclockwise motion. As you do this, visualize the mirror opening from the back across the veil. It remains sealed in the front until you activate it. Now cover the entire back of the mirror with a piece of black paper. You can use black poster board or construction paper cut to the size and shape of the mirror. Now place the mirror back into the frame with the original board on the back covering the black paper and backing seal.
This mirror should be stored wrapped in black cloth when not in use. It will remain inactive until you use the spirit communication wash on the front of the mirror and activate it by placing your left palm about an inch over the surface and moving it in a clockwise motion over the mirror while evoking the mirror to open. You can use this mirror for communication with loved ones who have crossed over, familiar spirits, spirit guides, or even your patron deity.
Now you have a spirit communication mirror. This is the mirror used in the psychomanteum spirit contact spell in chapter 8. If you only want to temporarily use a mirror for spirit communication (this is probably how most people would do it), after you’re done with your psychomanteum, close the front of the mirror with mirror purifier, take the backing off the frame, remove the spirit gate seal, and burn it, scattering the ashes in the wind. Use mirror purifier again all over the entire mirror.
Mirror of the Moon
A mirror charged with the energy of the full moon can be used specifically for moon magic. A moon mirror doubles the power of the rest of your spell elements, adding extra lunar energy to spells for love, healing, increasing magical power, intuition, and more. This moon mirror is usually placed flat on the altar while you’re celebrating a full moon esbat or performing spells in which lunar energy is appropriate.
A moon mirror should be round and be between two to four inches in diameter. Try mirrors in the candle section of your favorite home decor or big box store; the round mirrors they have for candle bases are perfect. You can also find good- sized mirrors with finished edges in many craft stores. You’ll also need a silver-colored paint pen and the lunar mirror wash in chapter 7. Use the silver paint pen to draw the mirror of the moon seal in chapter 8 on the back of the mirror. Take your mirror outside during a full moon. Use the lunar mirror wash on the front of the mirror and wipe it clean in a clockwise circle. Position the mirror on the ground so that you can see the reflection of the moon in the mirror. Surround the mirror with silver; the easiest way to do this is by using one or more silver chains and link them together to form a circle.
Stand over the mirror so that the moon is reflected in the mirror’s surface. Now make a triangle of manifestation gesture. To make this gesture hold your fingers together and thumb apart like you’re wearing mittens. Touch the tips of your index fingers and thumbs so that the space between your two hands forms a triangle. Now hold the triangle between the moon in the sky and the mirror reflecting it, allowing the moonlight to pass through the triangle and into the mirror. Focusing on the reflection of the moon through the triangle, repeat the following charm thirteen times, for the full moon occurs thirteen times in the year:
Speculo Lunae
Mirror of the night
Fill this looking glass
With your magical light
As you charge the mirror, feel the loving power of the moon surrounding you, flowing through your hands, and filling the mirror with that power as if it were a cup overflowing with white moonlight energy. You may leave the mirror to bask in the moonlight for as long as you like, but take care to bring it inside before the sun rises. Keep the mirror out of the sunlight. Protect it by wrapping it in a dark-colored scarf or putting it into a drawstring bag. The next time you’re doing some big moon magic, bring out your moon mirror and let its power shine. Set candles on it on your full moon altar, place a petition on it and surround it with herbs for healing spells, and use it as a spell element anytime you want to add lunar energy to rituals or spellwork. Recharge it using the same method anytime you want, especially during a supermoon or blue moon.
Mirror of the Sun
A mirror charged with the power of the sun can be a great boost to spellwork for increasing prosperity, growing personal power, and boosting metabolism, joy, growth, and renewal. Mirrors also have been used at faraway distances to reflect the sunlight toward another person in order to send messages, so they’re great for communication magic.
I have to start the instructions for making this special magic mirror with a warning, so bear with me here: never, ever, ever look directly at the sun’s reflection, in a mirror or otherwise. You’re not going to use the same method here as you did for the moon mirror. This one’s a little different because you can wreck your eyes if you try to gaze at the sun. (You probably already knew that, but just in case you get excited about charging your sun mirror, it needed to be said.)
A sun mirror should also be round, like the moon mirror; two to four inches in diameter is a good size. The mirrors in the candle section of your favorite home decor or big box store work great—they have nice mirrors with beveled edges for candle bases. There are mirrors of the right size with finished edges in many craft stores. You’ll also need a gold-colored paint pen and the solar mirror wash in chapter 7. Use the gold paint pen to draw the mirror of the sun seal (from chapter 8) on the back of the mirror. Charging your sun mirror at the time of the sun’s zenith, at noon, will fill it with solar power. For more magical timing, try a Sunday. Making this mirror on the spring equinox (when the sun’s power is beginning to grow) or the summer solstice at noon (the sun’s most powerful position all year) would both be excellent. Use the solar mirror wash on the front of the mirror and wipe it clean in a clockwise circle.
Bring the mirror outside at noon on your chosen day and place it someplace where it’s in direct sunlight. Surround the mirror with gold—try using one or more gold chains (gold plated is fine) and linking them together to form a circle around the mirror. Now make a triangle of manifestation gesture. The description of this gesture is in the moon mirror directions, but for this mirror you will be using it in a different way. Making sure that you are positioned where you can’t see the sun’s reflection in the mirror, hold the triangle of manifestation over the mirror so that the shadow your hands make is over the mirror and the triangle of sunlight is in the center of the mirror. Even though you aren’t looking directly at the sun’s reflection—which could damage your eyes; just don’t do it—from the mirror’s point of view the sun is right in the middle of your triangle, and that’s all that matters.
Repeat the following charm eight times to represent the yearly stations of the sun in the solstices, equinoxes, and cross quarters:
Speculum Solis
Star of the day
Empower this glass
With each mighty ray
You don’t need to leave it outside after your short ritual; the sun’s rays absorb very quickly in a mirror. Store it wrapped in a gold-colored scarf or golden drawstring bag. The next time you’re doing some magic for money, legal matters, communication, health, or any solar-related magic, set your sun mirror on the altar along with your herbs, stones, and candles and let it double everything with its sunny energy. Feel free to recharge it anytime you feel the need, and don’t forget to set it outside next summer solstice!
Bad Vibe Trap
This is a special mirror used for trapping negative energy that’s already built up within your environment. A Hexenspiegel or oeil de sorcière is great for deflecting incoming baneful energy, but what do you do if creepy, nasty vibes are already there? This no-nonsense mirror combines a reflective silvered mirror with a black back and becomes a negativity vacuum, like a black hole: bad energy goes in but can’t come out. You need this one, right? It’s more about function than fancy, but it’s easy to make and a powerful way to clean house, spiritually speaking.
First you’ll need black quick-dry nail polish, black electrical tape, and a concave silvered mirror. Any round mirror that magnifies will work, so check out the health and beauty section while you’re shopping and watch for shaving mirrors or compacts, the kind with two mirrors, one regular and one magnifying. The cheaper the better because you want it to be in a plastic frame that you can break off. Check out the dollar store for a good deal on a super cheap magnifying mirror. Wear safety glasses or goggles in case you break the mirror getting it out, and do it in the garage over some newspaper just in case for easy cleanup. As long as you wear glamour-less safety glasses and set up a safe place to work, you probably won’t break the glass—it’s kind of like insurance! I found a great shaving mirror at a local big box store in a perfect round black plastic frame that didn’t need to be removed, since it was already black and the sharp edges protected, so it really depends on what you find. Once you have the glass free from its frame (or not, as the case may be), use the mirror purifier to clean the entire thing.
Using the nail polish, paint a pentagram on the back and sprinkle with cayenne pepper and black pepper, making sure to get it all along the pentagram. Allow it to dry for ten minutes. Shake off the pepper that isn’t stuck to the pentagram. Now apply two coats of black nail polish, covering the entire back of the mirror, allowing it to dry for ten minutes between coats. When you’re done, let it dry for about an hour. Now you will stretch the electrical tape around the outside edge of the mirror, pushing down the tape across the front and the back edge of the glass, creating a thin frame around the front and back. Apply attracting mirror wash (chapter 7) to the front of the mirror, and you’re ready to go!
To use it, hold the mirror by the edges in your left hand, grasping it where the electrical tape is. Clear everyone but you out of the area. Moving counterclockwise around the house or room you wish to rid of bad vibes, shine the mirror all around, being sure to get the corners of the room or problematic areas in the same way you would use smudge. You can repeat a charm if you like, such as, “Negativity, come right here; take up home inside this mirror.” Negativity left from arguments, the evil eye, or even fallout from downright hexes will be sucked into the concave mirror and trapped like they’re in a black hole. The electrical tape insulates your fingers from the negative energy, and nothing can get out past the cayenne and black pepper pentagram on the back. Trapped!
When you’re done, take it outside, set it in the direct sunlight to burn off the bad vibes, and spritz it with mirror purifier. You can practically see steam rising up and almost hear the Wicked Witch of the West’s voice: “I’m melting, melting! Oh, what a world! What a world!”
Seriously, no witches would be harmed, but you can say goodbye to astral nasties. Keep your bad vibe trap mirror wrapped up in black cloth. You may wish to store it next to your attracting mirror wash until the next time you need it.