Mirror Magic
By Eliza Yetter. ©2004.
Originally published on ESPress (now extinct).

Since time began, people have used reflective surfaces for scrying, folk magic, and necromancy. The reflective quality of polished metals, stones, smooth waters, and modern-day mirrors generally symbolize self-knowledge, clarity, the moon, femininity, and truth. In the case of necromancy, the mirror represents absorption (of the soul) and then reflection (a return or regurgitation).

It was the belief of our ancestors that the reflection was a part of the soul. This belief is still found today in our superstitions and customs. For example, when a mirror breaks it is believed that the person who broke the mirror will have seven years of bad luck or that the last person who looked into the mirror will soon die. To counteract this ill-fated omen, people used to throw a broken mirror into a stream. The belief was that the running water would wash away any remnants of the reflected soul that resided in the mirror. Today some people will carefully pick up a few shards of the broken mirror and rinse the pieces under running water before discarding of them safely.

While breaking a mirror accidentally is bad luck, breaking a mirror intentionally is not. Magically inclined crafters will often break a mirror on purpose to create mirror and colored glass mosaics to hang on the wall or to display on a tabletop. These mosaics are made to either repel (for protection) or attract energies. The general rule when creating these mosaics is that if the desire is to repel negative energies, lay out the protective symbol using the broken mirror bits and use the colored glass bits as filler. If the desire is to attract a certain energy, make the symbol or design from the colored glass and use the mirror bits as filler.

Within some European families, mirrors are still covered with cloth or turned to the walls when a death occurs in the home. This is to prevent the soul of the deceased from becoming trapped in the mirror. However, there have been some reported cases in history where a person of the dark arts intentionally traps a dying person's soul in a mirror. Such soul mirrors are accredited with oracular powers and were used by sprinkling chalk dust over them after asking the trapped soul a question. The pattern of the chalk dust on the mirror would reveal the answer.

Witches would, and still do, capture the image of the moon in a mirror for oracular purposes. These witch mirrors were used for scrying and were made from any number of different materials: polished stones, polished metals, a bowl of water, or a glass mirror.

The Kabalists had their own method of using polished (reflective) metals for scrying purposes. Each metal mirror had its own day of the week, overseeing deity, and purpose as can be seen in the chart below [Footnotes 2 & 5]:

Weekday -- Planet -- Metal -- Purpose of Question

Sunday -- Sun -- Gold -- leadership, politicians
Monday -- Moon -- Silver -- dreams, mysticism
Tuesday -- Mars -- Iron -- laws, conflicts
Wednesday -- Mercury -- Quicksilver (in glass) -- money
Thursday -- Jupiter -- Tin -- success
Friday -- Venus -- Copper -- love
Saturday -- Saturn -- Lead -- secrets, discovery of lost

Halloween night is the most popular time for using the mirror to discover a future mate. These Halloween "games" provide a fascinating insight into mirror magic and scrying as it was used among the common folk.

Apple Slices: At midnight sit down in front of a mirror and cut an apple into nine slices. Eat each slice from the tip of the knife. Before you eat the ninth slice, the image of your future lover will appear in the mirror and ask you for the final piece of apple.

Hair Combing: Stand before a mirror in a candlelit room and comb your hair. You will soon see the image of your lover-to-be standing behind you.

Walking Backwards: Standing outside and holding a mirror in your hand, walk backwards while saying:
"Round and round, O stars so fair!
Ye travel and search out everywhere.
I pray you, sweet stars, now show to me
This night who my future husband (wife) shall be!"[Footnotes 1 & 4]
The image of your future spouse will appear in the mirror.

Cellar Stairs: Hold a mirror in front of you while walking down the dark cellar stairs backwards. You will see your intended's reflection in the mirror.

Mirrors are most commonly used for protection. They have been sewn onto clothing to repel evil energies and they can be found made into jewelry to avert the evil eye. Smaller, cosmetic mirrors are often placed in windows to send back the negative energies a family might be receiving from a neighbour or from a person who lives farther away.

Reflective magic, and its resulting superstitions, has been with us since time long forgotten and will continue to remain with us for as long as we have eyes to see. Its broad appeal, its use among both common people and the magically inclined, ensures its use far into the future.

Bibliography and Footnotes:
[1] Blain, Mary F. Games for Halloween. New York: 1912.
[2] Budge, A.E. Wallis. Amulets and Superstitions. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1978.
[3] Chevalier, Jean and Gheerbrant, Alain. The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols. Translated by John Buchanan-Brown. New York: Penguin Books, 1996.
[4] Kelley, Ruth Edna. The Book of Halloween. Boston: Lothrod, Lee and Shepard Co., 1919.
[5] Walker, Barbara G. The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets. HarperSanFrancisco, 1983.
[6] Waring, Philippa. A Dictionary of Omens and Superstitions. London: Souvenir Press, 1978.