Unusual Gift Ideas

Mirrors - Mirror Superstition

There are many legends and superstitions surrounding mirrors. Mirrors are said to be a reflection of the soul, and they were often used in traditional witchcraft as tools for scrying or performing other spells. It is also said that mirrors cannot lie. They can show only the truth, so it is a very bad omen indeed to see something in a mirror which should not be there. Also there is a legend that a newborn child should not see a mirror until its first birthday as its soul is still developing. If the child sees its reflection it is said that it will die.

It is a common superstition that someone who breaks a mirror will receive seven years of bad luck.

One of the many reasons for this belief is that the mirror is believed to reflect part of the soul, therefore, breaking the mirror will break part of the soul. However, the soul is said to regenerate every seven years, thus coming back unbroken. To counter this one of many rituals has to be performed, the easiest of which is to stop the mirror from reflecting the broken soul by grinding it to dust. The belief might also simply originate from the high cost of mirrors in times gone past. It is also said that tapping the broken mirror on a gravestone seven times will allow the soul to heal. Another option is to bury the mirror, also preventing the mirror from reflecting the broken soul. However, if the mirror is both touched to the gravestone and buried, the bad luck will remain. If you are in this position, the only course of action is to dig up the mirror and grind it to dust. Finally, this dust must be sprinkled around the same gravestone on which the mirror was initially tapped.

In days past it was customary in the southern United States to cover the mirrors in a house where the wake of a deceased person was being held. It was believed that the person's soul would become trapped in a mirror left uncovered. This practice is still followed in other countries (Greece), extending to everything that could reflect the deceased person's face (like TV appliances); another explanation given is that the devil will appear in the reflection of the dead. Mirrors falling from walls or otherwise breaking or cracking mysteriously were said to be haunted.

According to legend, a vampire has no reflection in mirrors because it is an undead creature and has already lost its soul.

Spectrophobia is the fear of mirrors.

Another superstition claims it is bad luck to have two mirrors facing each other.

A staple of childhood slumber parties is the game Bloody Mary, which involves chanting "Bloody Mary" three times in a darkened room while staring into a mirror. There are many versions of the game, but the general idea is that "Mary" will appear in the mirror and attempt to harm or kill the person who has summoned her. Thanks to a series of popular horror movies based on a supernatural killer who haunted mirrors, the phrase "Candy Man" may be substituted for Mary.