In this post, we will talk about the mirror and its magical use in Eastern Slavic spiritual traditions.
First of all, I would like to introduce the concept of Zerkalitsa or Dzerkalytsya – the Spirit of the mirror that is believed to inhabit each and every single solid reflective surface (the words derive from “zerkalo” or “dzerkalo” – “mirror”). They say this Spirit does not have a shape of Her own but takes the shape of whatever is reflected in the mirror. They say Zerkalitsa dislikes other spirits, particularly, vampires, but also Domovoi, Kikimora, and ghosts – and would never assume their shape – hence, they do not reflect in the mirrors unless the mirror was hexed (I personally could somewhat disagree with this statement because I did happen to see Domovoi in the mirror).
Zerkalitsa is attached to Her home as much as Domovoi is – She likes seeing familiar faces and familiar objects. When everyone is asleep, Zerkalitsa entertains Herself by “replaying” all the things and faces She remembered “seeing” during the day, which is why it was forbidden to look in the mirror in the dark of night – one could see something there that could spook him and cause emotional trauma.
Zerkalitsa is a resident of another world, and therefore is believed to know the future. She is the one that shows images in the mirror while one is scrying. They say She is eager to foretell it, but again – some things She shows may be outward scary to someone who is not prepared to see them. This belief somewhat explains the taboo of little children seeing their reflection in the mirror.
When one of the family members is dying, Zerkalitsa becomes concerned and may show the dying person’s face in the mirror without him or her being there, and after death, soul of the deceased that stays at his or her home for 3 days (until the funeral) and then may visit occasionally until 40 days postmortem can reflect in the mirror or even become trapped in there, which is why Eastern Slavic custom calls for mirrors to be covered during one’s death and for 40 days afterwards. If there is more than one mirror in the room, Zerkalitsy (multiple from Zerkalitsa) are said to become jealous and compete each other causing one of the mirrors to become dim and lackluster or even crack and distort reflections before its time.
Zerkalitsa’s greatest joy is when Her mirror is used to reflect sunshine (cast the so-called “sun bunnies”). At this time, Zerkalitsa can leave Her mirror and become part of the Sun, see the infinite views of Earth and the Universe and then return in Her mirror renewed and happy. Belief in Zerkalitsa and Her ability to show undesired images explains many folk superstitions concerning mirrors.
A Slavic Deity that is said to have power over mirrors is Morana, Goddess of Winter and Death, who is said to “mirror” people’s attitude towards aging and death in Her appearance – some see Her as a fair beautiful maiden, cold and proud, yet merciful and kind; to others, she appears as a horrifying hag that causes no other feelings but terror. Any kind of mirror may be brought to Morana as an offering that She would gladly accept. A natural “mirror” that is created by Morana is ice, smooth, reflective, and cold surface that corresponds to the “mirror-like” nature of this willful Goddess. Similarly to bodies of water such as lakes (natural mirrors), man-made mirrors were believed to show us the entrance into the Otherworld, i.e. the World of the Dead. Sometimes, reflections in the mirror were said to become demonically possessed, which would negatively impact the person that was reflected in the mirror. By hexing a mirror or performing an attempt in scrying, the sorcerer or a careless “divinee” fails to close the “door” into the Otherworld leaving it wide-open, which would allow the entities of another world enter ours or spook the one who sees his own reflection in the mirror. Similar portal was also believed to open at one’s death.
When someone was dying in the house, superstitious family members did not only cover all the mirrors in the house but also poured out all the water from the buckets, barrels, and other open containers with sill water in it. The same belief requires to close the deceased one’s eyelids right after passing.
Birth was also considered a “dangerous” time when the Gates between the Worlds stood wide-open. All the mirrors were kept away from a woman in labor. Because pregnancy was considered the time when the child’s soul transitions between the World of the Dead and the World of the Living (Eastern Slavs believed that new souls are created very rarely but are “recycled” instead – a soul of the Ancestor could become reborn in a newborn child), superstitions prevented a pregnant woman, whose womb was basically considered an open portal into the Otherworld, from looking in the mirror. A woman in post-natal period (up to 6 weeks after being in labor), a newborn baby, and a menstruating woman were also tabooed from seeing their reflections in the mirror, as the Gate to the Otherworld for them was not yet shut at this time.
Ancient people often considered a thunderstorm a manifestation of a battle between good spirits and the evil ones. The veil between the Worlds was deemed thin then, as evil spirits attempt to escape and the good ones are entering; hence, there existed a taboo on looking in the mirror during a storm.
The “danger” of the mirror lays not just in its connection with the Otherworld but also in its ability to “double” the person reflecting in it: me and the “mirror me”, one in our World, another one – in the World of the Dead. Transformation of one into a witch, sorcerer, and rarely – vampire commonly was told to occur before a mirror. At the same time, evil spirits that allow themselves to reflect in the mirror may lose their powers, which explains use of the mirror for protection. If a sorcerer looks in the mirror he hexed, the spell would be broken, and he would lose his magical powers forever. In Polesye, a set of magical objects containing a mirror, a sickle, a harrow, man’s pants, dead magpie, stinging nettle, blessed pussy willow, and some other objects is used to protect the barn and its inhabitants from mischief of Dvorovoi and harm of witches.
However, they say “if you fear of wolves, you should stay away from the forest”, and despite all the dangers associated with the mirror and being reflected in it, mirror is one of the most common attributes of folk witchcraft that can be used in divination, love, beauty, and protection magic. They also say a wise woman can learn the true nature of a person by shining a reflection of the sun in the person’s eyes (just for a moment).
Regarding scrying, Slavs retained the most interesting rituals that allow one to see the future, including the future husband. It was considered a taboo to scry in a house where someone recently passed because instead of the desired visions one could see the unkind face of the deceased. If one happened to see something scary in the mirror, the ritual had to be stopped, so as not to open the path for the evil, and the mirror had to be covered immediately.
Most popular places for scrying were the ones where people did not live, such as a banya, a shed, or even a pantry. Scrying on the surface of the water in a lake, a well, or a slow-flowing river was also rather common. Indoor scrying was traditionally performed with a regular mirror, essentially of any size, or a bowl of water (old women say a flat river pebble or a stone polished by the sea had to be placed in the water prior to scrying). Black mirrors are rather uncommon in traditional Eastern Slavic scrying; however, when having the choice for such a mirror, natural black obsidian mirrors are preferred. Due to nature of its material, visions in such mirror may often refer to things and people located at a great distance from us, distant future, or distant past – something other kinds of mirrors may be unable to show us. Exploring past or future lives and incarnations, for example, is one kind of ritual obsidian mirror would be perfect at. Obsidian mirrors also can be used to contact a spirit of recently deceased – black obsidian is a wonderful stone for working with spirits.
Timing also mattered when scrying. Traditionally, it was one of the 12 days after Christmas (the official public celebration of Winter Solstice) after dusk. Common folk did not typically scry at other times, unlike wise men and women who could scry at almost any time they wanted, as long as it was dark outside and preferably on a Full Moon.
Candles were placed around the mirror or lighting, while outdoors the torch could have been used (the bravest ones could scry only by moonlight). In order to experience the Otherworldly contact, the “divinee” removed her belt, unbuttoned all the buttons on her body, thus ridding of all the protection that would normally prevent her from this, and also let her hair loose, thus becoming one with the spirits (loose hair was a must-be for any kind of divination or Otherworldly contact). A protective circle was very commonly cast around the “divinee”, especially if the ritual was performed outdoors but not uncommonly, indoors, as well. A sharp or pointy object such as a knife, a panholder, or even a cane were used to cast the outdoor circles, while chalk, coal, or powdered herbs were used to cast a circle indoors. While many other types of divination rarely required the protective circle in folk tradition, scrying, as a “dangerous” kind of divination, was always performed inside one.
While gazing into one or two mirrors that form a corridor was rather common in Eastern Slavic villages, not every divination with a mirror could be called “scrying”. One of the ways to summon a prophetic dream was to comb hair before going to bed in front of a small mirror. This mirror was placed under a pillow afterwards, and food and drink were left by the bed for the “night visitor”. After that, the “divinee” went to bed hoping to see her future husband in a dream.
Not all images seen in a mirror could be interpreted right away; however, there are few signs that are fairly easy to interpret. For instance, to see a coffin and hear church bells ringing foretells death, to see youth laughing and singing speaks of an upcoming wedding, if it smells like honey in the room during scrying, future life will be sweet, and if a long-awaited guest would leave something behind, this object has to be kept until someone comes and asks for it in its own time. Mirrors are used in love spells. They believe that power of a love spell said before a mirror doubles in power and then arrives to the object of one’s love through another mirror that he happens to look at. However, such spells need to be said with true love in heart, for mirror cannot reflect something that is not there. Maybe this is why one of the traditional gifts that the groom gave to his destined bride was a hand-held mirror. Mirrors that were bewitched with a love incantation were given by a girl to a young man she liked or even by a wife to a husband before a distant journey – so that he would not forget of his “other half”.
In beauty magic, looking in the mirror was supposed to “create” the image that other people would see when looking at that person. A very short incantation was said during this: “As I gaze at you and can’ get enough, may other people not get enough of me and my beauty; as you cannot live without me, may the world become empty without my beauty.”
Another important area of magic that involves using mirrors is protection. A very common spell that remains popular nowadays is to place an image of yourself (such as a photo, in modern day) between two small mirrors – the mirrors should be facing outwards and keep this “amulet” away from everyone. Placing an image of a person between the two mirrors facing inwards was considered a hex, as it would draw the person straight into the Otherworld; however, some hexes may be removed this way, too – a photo of a hexed person is placed between the two mirrors facing inwards and ask first the Moon and then the Sun for help. The photo is kept between the mirrors for 21 days accumulating all the negativity and then burned – this burning symbolizes burning of a hex.
I often see small round mirrors worn as amulets – this custom seems to be common among Native Americans and modern-day Slavic “witches”. However, old folk advise against such amulets worn for a long period of time – glass is very difficult to bewitch as an amulet: it holds the charge only for a short time and then loses it, plus, as we already saw from the story of Zerkalitsa, sunlight shining on a mirror purifies it from all the information it accumulated previously, including the spell. A wearable “shaman’s mirror” made of pure metal: bronze, copper, or silver is considered a lot more effective amulet for personal protection.
Also, I want to tell about another very interesting practice with a mirror, which is charging of amulets. Reflective properties of the mirror make it a very potent tool for empowering an amulet with sunlight or moonlight. This spell is best to be done outside, or in the worst-case scenario – by the open window. A ray of sun- or moonlight is caught by the mirror and then directed at the amulet while reciting the incantation to the Sun or the Moon, respectively. Before drawing the mirror away, the caster needs to ask the celestial body “Give me enough to handle”, and then he or she can take the mirror away. The blessed object needs to stay in the sunlight or moonlight for a while in order to become used to its new charge, and only after that it could be handled. After the ritual, and offering is given to the Sun or the Moon.
Finally, I will give you an example of a folk ritual that shows how to charge a mirror for magical use. First of all, it needs to be a new mirror that you personally like. It needs to be purchased with “joy in the soul” – I guess this explains the custom not to haggle over the price. Next, collect some water from a well, a river, a lake, or a spring at sunrise and wipe the mirror with a soft linen or cotton cloth dipped in such water with words: “Water-my wise sister, help me see all the truth in dark night and bright day. So Be It!” If you cannot obtain such water, use plain white salt instead (sea salt would work great).
I hope now you learned some more about using a magical mirror. May it reflect light upon you and bless you with knowledge!
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