Almost everyone has heard of at least one superstition concerning mirrors. For centuries, mirrors have been a source of mystery. The main superstitions concerning mirrors are their uses in seeing the future and their ability to cause bad luck. In mythology, mirrors were often used by heroes, gods, mortals, and monsters in order to gain a glimpse of the future. The mirror is given the power to both enthrall and mislead in stories like Snow White and Narcissus.

Probably the most popular myth concerning a mirror is breaking one. The thought that breaking a mirror causes seven years bad luck stems from the belief that breaking a mirror shatters a person’s future. The only way to escape the bad luck derived from this incident is to bury one or more of the broken pieces.

The most common myth is that the reflection in the mirror is actually an image of your soul. Some creatures have no soul, and therefore have no reflection when faced with a mirror. The most common creatures without a reflection are the vampire, the original mythical witch, and the werewolf.

But the myth of the mirror doesn’t end there. There are hundreds more superstitions concerning mirrors. Of these are:

From a new partner to marriage, there are several myths that pertain to these functions of life. To dream of a future partner, sleep with a mirror under your pillow. If a couple first sees each other through the reflection of a mirror, their relationship will be blessed. On the wedding day, the bride must not look at her reflection until after the marriage ceremony, or she will bring bad luck to the relationship.

There are superstitions concerning the trapping and containing of the human soul within the mirror. It is said that if a baby looks in a mirror within its first year of life, it will run the risk of having its soul sucked into the glass. If there is a mirror in the room of a dying person, the surface must be covered before the person’s death; if this isn’t done, the soul will mistake the mirror as a window to the outside world and become trapped within the reflection.

Some miscellaneous fallacies concerning mirrors are: If a mirror falls off of a wall of its own accord, it means that someone inside the house will soon die. A mirror that is framed on three sides was, at one point, used by a witch for divination purposes. It is unlucky to gaze into a mirror by candle-light at night, especially on Halloween or at midnight on solstices. Some people believe that it is bad luck to see their reflection in the mirror over someone’s shoulder. If a person looks into a mirror and their reflection is distorted, it means that the viewer will die.

There are also some urban legends that concern the mirror. Saying the words, “Bloody Mary” into the mirror, three times, at midnight is said to cause the spirit of a malevolent woman to appear and kill the speaker. It is also said that there is another realm inside the glass of the mirror, perfect in every way to our own except everything is backwards. There are also some beliefs that cat-like humanoids can be seen in the glass when the mirror is gazed upon at midnight in candle-light.

Mirrors are a common item in mythology and fairy tales, and there is no doubt that they will continue to do so. New mythologies are still being created which concern mirrors, and some of the old stories are still passed on from generation to generation. There is no doubt that superstitions concerning the ‘magic’ of the mirror, will continue long after we are gone.

Sources:

Kronzek, Allan Zola., and Elizabeth Kronzek. The Sorcerer’s Companion: a Guide to the Magical World of Harry Potter. New York: Broadway, 2001. Print.

“Superstition Bash.” CSI. Web. 28 Dec. 2010. <http://www.csicop.org/superstition/library/mirrors/>.

“Superstitions - Mirrors and Number 13  .” Ghost Haunts - Ghosts and Haunted Places. Web. 28 Dec. 2010. <http://www.ghosthaunts.com/13.html>.