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Why are they so meaningful to us.. Spiritually, paranormally?
Is it true that the future can be seen...

What are you views and do you use Mirrors as part of your spirituality?

funny I am just the oppisite I do not use mirrors at all. I mean they are in my home yet I feel they are used more because of superstions yet that is just me. Some say they capture the very soul of a person, some cover them when there is a death in the family, due to the fact that your being vain if you look into them or that they will trap the soul of the deceased within them ... maybe these things are true yet I just myself have not ever had any use for the Mirrors....

They used to be seen as a window into a parallel universe.

as alice went through the looking glass, we too travel into ourselves as we reflect on the opposite we see. the biggest thing sometimes is to see ourselves as we are.

The question is too large for a short answer.
Usually the mirrprs are linked by the theme of "the double" and "gemini" themes and the violent intrusion of conscience in the person`s life.
Also they are used sometimes like gates to some imaginary(or a parallel, real) world.

From the point of view of precognition, they are a great tool for clearing the mind. Staring into a Black Mirror (thats a glass sheet with somthing like blackvelvet behind it rather then silvering) is is great for loosing focus into.

Much like staring into a black coffee (my prefered scrying tool.... go figure) or a sill pool with a drop of black ink (which has its own patterns)

On an interesting note during the 14th and 15th Century it was commen practice to send a servant to a holy place with a Mirror in a case, he would "expose" the mirror (much like a camera) to the site, and then carry it home to their master who would then keep the mirror locked away, expect to take it out, and open it up for special guests who would then be able to comment on how wonderful the view is..... I suspect a bit like the old "Emperors new cloths" syndrom.

Hmm that is an interesting note to this thread. I have heard of when one passess that a mirror should be covered so not to capture the soul of the deceased and trapping them. Personally I only use mirrors for one thing. To get ready.

i have to agree with the above post, i only use mirrors to get ready, i do know that some use them as scrying tools, but i my self have never used them for anything like that. i cant say that I ever would either.

I am not sure about the supernatural use of the mirror since I never knew how to apply it in that kind of way, so it could reflect magical meanings in its frame.

But the standard use of the mirror is certanly of great assistance to me. The care of ones looks.

I use the mirror for those purpouses regularly, and it is a extremly well accepted tool in my world.

maybe because mirrors reflect the light? im not sure in what other reason then that it possible could be used to.

For me it's nothing but a mirror . I've seen the movies read the books , just don't think there's anything to it .

I dont use it as part of my religion. I use them to put on make up and see if what Im wearing looks good,

I do not use mirrors at all either. As ar as I know and always thought and was told is that mirrors bring evil spirits... So i dont need that...

I used to use mirrors to scry for spirits,but not any more.

I have never used my mirrors for anything other than gettin' ready for my day, whether it be to check my make-up or clothes...

Additional note. Considered bad to walk BETWEEN 2 mirrors as the soul may be "Stretched thin" by the repeated images.... Used to be used as a Witch Trap as no witch would walk between them for fear of loosing their power...

Bunkum personally, but so it is said! :-)

Ancients attributed mystic powers to any reflective surface --- heavy taboos on disturbing water into which a person was gazing --- myth of Narcissus.

Watch a bird or other pet looking into a mirror. They can't figure it out. the reflective image is real to them. Same thing with the ancients --- the beginning of belief in a trapped soul (ignorance).

Mirrors

http://www.csicop.org/superstition/index.html

Breaking a mirror can even make a skeptic shudder for a brief moment! The superstition is an old one and has managed to keep its strength over the years. In fact, many superstitions exist for mirrors but the particular beliefs centering around broken mirrors are the most common today.

Mirrors are thought to have two supernatural abilities:

They bring bad luck
The help tell the future
Before mirrors came along, any reflective surface was considered to be magical and credited with the ability to look into the future. In ancient mythology we can often find the gods and goddesses, as well as mere mortals, looking into the still water to catch a glimpse of their fate. The power of reflective surfaces to captivate and deceive are also featured strongly in such myths as Narcissus and Snow White. Reflective surfaces like shiny metals and mirrors were also used to receive messages from the gods.

Queen Elizabeth's court magician and well-known alchemist, John Dee, used a mirror for scrying. He has been credited with prophesying the plot to kill King James in 1605.

Because mirrors were thought to hold the key to the future, to break one was to shatter your own future. One of the techniques devised to reverse the bad luck was to bury all the pieces deep within the earth. Another superstition for breaking a mirror was that shortly thereafter a family member would die.

Other Mirror Superstitions:

To see your reflection in a mirror is to see your own soul, which is why a vampire, who are without a soul, have no reflection.

If a couple first catch sight of each other in a mirror, they will have a happy marriage.

If a mirror falls and breaks by itself, someone in the house will soon die.

Any mirrors in a room where someone has recently died, must be covered so that the dead person's soul does not get trapped behind the glass. Superstition has it that the Devil invented mirrors for this very purpose.

It is bad luck to see your face in a mirror when sitting by candlelight.

Before mirrors, in ancient societies, if you caught sight of your reflection or dreamt of it, you would soon die.

Someone seeing their reflection in a room where someone has recently died, will soon die themselves.

Babies should not look into a mirror for the first year of their lives.

Actors believe that it is bad luck to see their reflection while looking over the shoulder of another person.

To see an image of her future husband, a woman is told to eat an apple while sitting in front of a mirror and then brush her hair. An image of the man will appear behind her shoulder.

I have heard many things about mirrors, but no I do not use them for anything because in mirrors you can see things that you are never meant to see. To me I do not want to tamper with that, I have before seen a figure in the mirror, but turned around nothing then looked back it was there. I do not want to do things like that again.

a mirror is a gate way to the human soul.

On a personal level, I remember my family who have passed when I look in the mirror.

My Grandmother has a great deal to answer for re my looks lol

They can also see things that the eye would normally miss.

I myself use them as a meditation tool, or scrying, they are extremely useful in the casting of different magicks as well.

I don't know about a lot of the other stuff that has been said on this thread, but I know that I can't stand looking in mirrors at night time, or if it's dark in the room.
I get an eerie feeling like my reflection is going to move in some odd way or something like that..

I'm afraid of mirrors. I guess it went back with the whole ghost story about turning around three times in the dark and seeing Blood Mary's face in the mirror. I'll never try it, and never will. Mirrors scare me to look at myself in, I"m afraid something's behind me. So it's more of a paranoia element to me.

The mirror shows a reversed image of what lies behind us, a mirror does not lie and shows what it sees without hesitation, the human mind may choose not see to paranormal or other instances, but a mirror often displays it none the less and the mind has to accept what lies before it.

Mirrors are said to be portals into other planes of existence. I don't really use mirrors other than to get ready in the morning, but I suppose I'll still somewhat superstitious in that I won't put two mirrors facing eachother or a mirror facing a doorway (for doing so is supposed to open a portal to the other world).

because they represent a parallell dimension that we can see be but never reach in to

dont remember what spell book i read this in but to keep your house free of unwanted spirits you should put a mirror in front of your door this way if the spirit sees it's self then it will retreat.

I have always been told that when you look into a mirror you are viewing your soul. I guess a mirror could be used some sort of a gateway into your soul, aka another realm.

Never really reflected apon mirrors much now that you mention it, however it is interesting nonetheless that people see so much into them besides the obvious.

“Mirrors are ice which do not melt: what melts are those who admire themselves in them.”
~Paul Morand quotes

I think the whole Bloody Mary thing may be a reason why I can't stand looking at mirrors in the dark. I've never done it, and I don't plan on it but whenever I see a mirror in the dark thats all I can think about =/
In books of superstision it also said that people who have look in the mirror to long will see the devil. I'm not superstisious or anything, but I thought that was an odd way of looking at it.

I heard many rumors.

1) Don't let a baby see its reflectioin or the soul will be taken by the mirror.

2) If someone dies cover the mirror so that person will not return throught the mirror.

3) If it breaks it is 7 yrs. bad luck.

4) Don't say Bloody Mary 3 time near a mirror or she will come through the mirror and kill you.


Etc.....and so forth.

This is the information that I could find on the net: "I remembered that many Iron Age Scottish stones have these carved on them. I then remembered that the Celts placed their swords, shields, amlutes back in to rivers, lochs, bogs etc. The theory being that as a place they could see their reflection water was seen as a doorway to Otherworld."

From the links of: http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/boardarchives/2002/apr2002/folktalesarchaeology.html

I personally believe mirrors are just mirrors. but here is what I found randomly online

MIRROR

As one of the tools for "knowing" the self, mirrors are highly important. Although for a person possessed of youth and beauty the deliberate breaking of a mirror can serve as a symbolic sacrifice to Venus, to break a mirror accidentally is a sign that one has ceased to look "within" for one of the long, seven-year "Ages of Man". Hathor's mirror is defensive (like Perseus's shield) and used to reflect evil back upon itself. It is believed by the uninitiated that witches and warlocks fear mirrors, will not have them in their houses and, in any case, witches have no reflection! Like most superstitions, there is something behind it, though the truth is far from ordinary people imagine. One of the sine qua nons of M/magic(k) is that the initiate keep to his own boundaries of selfdom until his unorthodox procedures and formulae have been completely worked out. External "consensus" reality is a distraction from "the wisdom of the self" during this creative period. Strictly as devices for knowing the self, mirrors are no longer of much use to the advanced magician (except for very rare rituals), who dwells more and more in his center.

http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/MIRROR/id/192538

I use mirrors facing each other, one on the altar and one on the wall opposite. And this follows the belief that another world may lay between them, in which those in the Circle are included.
When I was an employee in a Jewish nursing facility it was a common practice to cover mirrors in their room when a patient expired, however it is not belief limited to that religion.

A mirror is just a reflection unless you are in an interrogation room haha. Then things are different.

In all honesty though, I think that most living things have a fascination with a reflection. In humans it can be vanity or various other things. On a different note, set a mirror on the floor and watch a kitten try to play or fight with its reflection. What does that say about animals?

I think it might be a good metaphor, but basically I just consider it to be a conveinence.

DemianA.. Do you feel anything when you place yourself between the mirrors?

Fascinating theories.. really Interesting!

Ah, I think there might be something to mirrors.
This can probably be scientifically explained very easily, but I find this weird...
I have glasses for my inability to see distances. My long distance vision stretches only about a foot before it comes blurry however. If I'm looking into a mirror close up with my glasses on, I can see everything behind my reflection fine. If I take them off, everything in the 'distance' in the mirror becomes blurry, as if I was not looking at a flat object right infront of my face. A 2D image that seems to have more dimension. As a child I seriously thought it was because mirrors are more than just flat reflective objects.
But yeah, probably easily to explain why this is. Mirrors are fascinating things so.

well mirrors are used to obviously make sure you look good lol, but they can be used as scrying tool to look into the future or past.

I have a mirror that is just used for scrying. Don't really use it anymore! In many cultures after someone passes all mirrors in the home must be covered to prevent the soul from returning!

They're useful for many magical workings.

Thats intresting, also ive heard that having a mirror facing your door can prevent evil spirits from entering the room, im not quite sure if this is true, but heard something about it

there has been a great deal in the myth of vampires that has to do with mirrors, basically that if you don't have a soul then you don't have a reflection. I on the other hand avoid them because I don't normally like what I see.

I do not use mirrors in my spirituality. It is said that u can see spirits in a mirror, but this has not happened to me

I wonder if the type of mirror changes the effects of it or its possible use?

I do my best to stay clear of mirrors! I don't have any and don't want any! I never could see myself in one anyway.

Bites and Kisses,

The Daywalker

LDK and others did great with superstition and such about mirrors. I know others have mentioned in other threads what I was also taught - that they can be used to view you. When I go to a hotel I take small mirrors and place them facing the wall mirrors in the room/bathroom to reflect back those that may use it to 'spy' on me. Also I always take some seasalt and sprinkle around just as added protection.

in some culturs mirrors were seen as bad when a person died there souls could go into them so they covered all the mirrors in the home the person died in with black cloth.in some instances known in haunting situations people have said to of seen people in the mirrors.so maybe there is truth to that who knows... i am pagan so i know they can be used as like a crystal ball have i ever used one no . i do have millions of mirror in my home from antiques to just ones i bought cause they look cool. being an enterior decorater big mirrors hanging on the wall can make a small room look bigger and open it up by reflecting more light into the room. id say there are many uses of mirrors and why people tend to be drawn to them or have them in there home.

In an old Jewish story, Adam had a wife before Eve: Lilith. She rebelled against her husband and was kicked out of the garden, becoming a demon mistress, with hundreds of her children slaughtered every day and using mirrors for her children to travel through.

In Greek mythology, after refusing the nymph Echo's affections and causing her to fade away in grief, Narcissus fell in love with his own reflection in the water after Hera cursed him. He too died away, whispering to the pool and pleading with it to return his adoration, but only "Echo" answered him.

Mirrors are popular with Seers and in many Wiccan sects.

Way too many novels and crappy Hollywood movies involving mirrors leading to another Universe.

I have never viewed mirrors as spiritual. I think they have some suppositious attributes given to them that are not earned.

It really depends on what your trying to do. Some "spells", or whatever you call it, require a mirror to be used. I personally only have one mirror in my home. In my bathroom. And it can stay right there. I had an experience when I was young that freaked me out. So I stay away from the mirror other than normal uses. lol

I believe they are simply symbols. A symbol of a parellel universe... a symbol of a soul... nothing more. Nothing less.

I have never used mirrors in my spirituality. I do not see a point in it. In my opinion the eyes are the only mirror you need.

As for the "what is it " factor.. Its its origins. Where and how mirrors were made .... Only the rich had them..

I dont use mirrors however I do believe in the old tale if you break them it gives you bad luck.

throughout history, and now we see it in movies and tv series that windows are believed to be portholes to other universes.

I use a black mirror for scrying; it's just a piece of glass spray-painted black. I have never had any negative experiences as a result of this.

Now...I have had some interesting experiences with mirrors. I lived in a small apartment just after my divorce for a short period of time, and I took the long mirror out of one of the closets and put it in the bathroom so I could have a full-length mirror in there for getting dressed and such. One sunny afternoon I was in the bathroom, and I had my back to it. I heard a voice say, "There's an old man standing behind you." I turned around, and sure enough, there was an old man with a cane in the mirror -- just for a moment. It wasn't a scary experience, just...extremely odd. (And no, I am not schizophrenic, or anything like that. LOL)

The other mirror I have had bad experiences with is one that hung on my grandmother's wall. I've had some creepy experiences in that house, and that mirror always scared me. I've looked into it while it was hanging there, and have seen some unpleasant things. I'm hesitant to put any certain reason on why this might be, except that I think it's possible that a mirror may "reflect" the atmosphere of a place, to some degree -- whether that is in a "real" sense or only in the imagination of the viewer; but at any rate, when my grandmother died and we were cleaning out the house, that mirror was taken outside laid on the ground in the bright sunlight, under a clear blue sky. I thorougly examined it before I took it home with me, and it seemed fine; but I will never hang it on my wall.

just to be on the safe side, it's a good idea to put sticky tape over your mirrors to stop you from accidentally walking through into another world. we don't allow mirrors where i work.

many stories use mirrors as apart of spiritualty many think that when they look into a mirror that they are the mirror and and they are looking out from the inside it has alot todo with their soul and how they view the world others use it to define a personality to give one personality it's seperate world (say u have a split personality that means theres two in one well inorder to define each individule one would talk through the mirror) others look through them and see a whole new world they see the outside like in "Lady Of shalott" she used a mirror to look down at camalott b/c she couldn't physically look kover and see through the window so the mirror acted as her window b/c had she had physically looked out the window sahe woudl have died.

Alice in Wonderland's Through the Looking Glass comes to mind here - but not making fun of anyone!

A mirror can reflect back much more than just an image. I did not state it before but there have been times I've looked through a mirror and caught movement in the corner of my eye, but turning around, there is nothing in the room with me, but a flicker of something within the mirror. This was a few years ago in an old house.

Hmm its hard to say. I mean they could capture energy, but i dont really see a big connection with spirituallty, paranormal and mirrors.

It is my belief that mirrors were a mystery when they were made. Only the truly wealthy had them therefore they were a thing of mystery. Whenever anyone wanted to show off their wealth they showed their spices and mirrors.

Due to this background I would believe that anyone who was not the truly wealthy used their mirror as a magical thing.

Glass in general was for the wealthy and upper class for many years. Mirrors especially a speciality and unique item for those who could afford.

I don't think there is anything about mirrors, merely superstition from all the old wive's tales.

I beleive it is a superstition as well

from my understanding wiccans use mirrors more for calming spells.. i never heard of trying to see the future through them

And the those readers that sometime use the glass globe thng to me is a scam however tarot card readersi beleive them because they don't tell you your whole future but more of bit and pieces that you yourself needs to put togeather.. things relating to how you feel and so on...

It`s said they can steal your sole..

Never heard about mirrors stealing souls thought those were cameras.

Mirrors have always freaked me out. I get this overwheling feeling whenever I look into them that soemone is watching me inside it. Dunno why.

Maybe this article bring some light to this topic?

Magic Mirrors
Magic Mirrors - They enabled, it was said, to see the present, the past and the future. They are of great variety, and of great antiquity.



"Then from his secret Art the Sage Vizier,
A Magic Mirror made; a Mirror like
The bosom of All-wise Intelligence,
Reflecting in its mystic compass all
Within the sevenfold volume of the World
Invol'd; and looking in that Mirror's face
The Shah beheld the face of his Desire."


St. Augustine (in De Civitate Dei, Ch. VII, 35) says that they were used by the witches of Thessaly who wrote their oracles on them in human blood.

Varron claims that they are of Persian origin, the Magi having used them for a method of divination called Catoptromancy. Spartianus says that Didius Julianus used them to know the result of the battle which Tullius Crispinius fought with Septirnus Severus, his rival for the Throne.

The persons who, in Rome, read these mirrors were called Specularii.

In the East these instruments were called Stellar Mirrors. Pica della Mirandola had faith in them, provided they were made under a favorable constellation, and that they should only be consulted when one felt comfortably warm, for the cold harms the lucidity of their oracle. Reinaud speaks of them in his Description of the Blacas Cabinet. He adds that the operators perfume them, fast for seven days before using them, and recite sacramental prayers at the moment of consulting them. The Chinese and the Hindus made theirs of metal, concave or convex.

Muratori tells us of a Bishop of Verona who was put to death because under his pillow a magic mirror was found bearing on the reverse the word flore which means flower, and proves collaboration with the devil, since, according to St. Cyprian, Satan sometimes appeared in the shape of a flower. A mirror of this kind was also found in the house of Calas de Rienzi. Catherine de Medici had one.

The shape of these mirrors was, as we have said, very varied. Some bore the name of their inventor (Cagliostro, Swedenborg, etc.) More recently they have been used to fix the eye of clairvoyants or mediums so as to put them into a state of hypnosis.

Cahagnet, in his Magnetic Magic, quotes the principal mirrors as follows :-

The Theurgic Mirror - a bottle of clear water looked at by a child and in which the Archangel Gabriel replies by pictures to his questions.
The Mirror of the Sorcerers - any kind of mirror or pail of water. The country sorcerer, standing near the consultant, recites a spell and shows him the reflection of the picture wanted.
The Mirror of Cagliostro - the bottle of clear water is on a piece of furniture, and before it a child, on whose head the operator places one hand and tells him the questions to ask, to which replies are given in allegorical pictures.
The Mirror of du Polet - a piece of cardboard having pasted on one side a sheet of tin and on the other a piece of black cloth. The operator magnetizes it strongly and places it a foot away from the eye of the consultant who, having fixed his eyes on it, soon sees in it the desired object.
The Swedenborgian Mirror - a paste of graphite mixed with olive oil is poured on an ordinary mirror and allowed to dry for a few days. The consultant, whose image must not be reflected (he stands at some distance for this reason) looks into it, whilst the operator stares magnetically at the back of his head, and vision takes place.
The Magnetic Mirror - a round crystal globe filled with magnetized water at which the consultant looks carefully until the desired vision appears.
The Narcotic Mirror - similar globe but a narcotic powder made of belladonna, henbane, mandragora, hemp, poppy, etc., is dissolved in the water.
The Galvanic Mirror - it is made of two discs, one of copper and concave, the other of zinc and convex, both magnetized nine times in nine days. The center of the concave is looked at.
Cabalistic Mirrors - there are seven, being seven globes each representing one of the seven planets of Astrology, made of the corresponding metal and consulted on the appropriate astrological day. They are:-
The globe of the Sun, made of gold and consulted on Sundays as to superior beings and the great persons of the earth.
The globe of Mercury, made of a glass globe filled with mercury and consulted on Wednesdays as to questions of money.
The globe of Jupiter, made of tin and consulted on Thursdays as to the probability of success and as to the devotion of domestics.
The globe of Mars, made of iron and consulted on Tuesdays as to quarrels, lawsuits, enmities.
The globe of Venus, made of copper and consulted on Fridays as to questions of love.
The globe of Saturn, made of lead and consulted on Saturdays as to secrets, lost articles, etc.
The globe of the Moon, made of silver and consulted on Mondays as to dreams and plans.


D J McAdam © 2005-2006.

Source: http://www.djmcadam.com/mirrors.htm

very good and well put LKD and Pantervamp ... in the info LKD listed, if you read between the lines you will find why Vampiresand other creatures of the darkness shun mirrors ...

Sometimes I am afraid to look in the mirror at work especially because we have had 4 people die in our restaurant. I get a creepy feeling. And it's not just because I don't think I'm anything to look at either. lol

Mirrors don't hold any special beliefs for me. However, I can see and understand why some others believe as they do. I think it boils down to what you've learned over the years. Whether it be an old wives tale handed down from generation to generation or a myth that has been read and not forgotten by others.

i think it is all a matter of personal preference some find power in mirrors while others find power in other articles me for instance i draw my power from flames

Mirros creep me out in my family when a person dies they cover every mirror in the house of that dead person (even in the bathroom) I really dont know why it is just tradition

Mirrors or other reflective surfaces are the one thing that allow us to see ourselves. Well before the advent of cameras and the like.

I would have to back Lady K's posting of what is cohearent to the mirror's and there capability...

They also give us a window for meditation and forsight into past lives and such....That is if you are intune...And take the time to try and understand....

All is possible if you let yourself see....Believe nothing unless you can prove it otherwise.... :)

Only a trap for the vain.

Ah the never ending serch for "self" both physically, psychologically and metephoricaly. Its part of the human condition to try to understand ourselves in context to both the inner and outer world. Many tribal style spiriual belief systems believe that mirrors "refect everything inner and outer" back upon ourselves. what we want to see and what we sometimes dont want to face. In many belief systems the spirtual world is belived to be gained though the inner world. So mirrors and other refective surfaces were used as a focal point to see into these realms. They are/were used as doorways to other worlds so to speak.

WOW.. Some brilliant feedback and very interesting information.

However before mirrors we also had Water as a source of reflection!

Yes indeedy, objects with shiny surfacing can be used, including water.

If a mirror is adjacent to the most commonly used door in the room, ghosts may enter through there. Adjacent on the left side I think it is. It's supposed to create a doorway for spirits.
My grandparent's house used to have a big mirror placed exactly in this position, and their small house was very haunted, with everyone who had slept in it having a story to tell.

Im afraid of mirrors for some reason, i just dont like looking in them other than when im in the bathroom getting ready or whatever, but i have a mirror in my room and i always turn it backwards while im in my room, i just dont like it

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