Mirrors: Thoughts, opinions, experiences

[SpiritKitty]

I’ve been fascinated by mirrors since I was very little. I don’t remember if I heard stories, or saw something on television, but somehow, I came to learn about a mirror’s potential as a gateway to another place. Whether it was the spirit world or a world where everything was opposite, I was obsessed. I’d spend a lot of time staring into them, looking for something unusual or trying to catch my reflection doing something it wasn’t supposed to. I had a collection of pocket mirrors that I would set up to create intricate labyrinths of reflection.

A few years ago, I dated someone who claimed to have owned a haunted mirror. They were now very afraid of old mirrors, but I am crazy about old stuff in general.

I started researching ways to “un-haunt” a mirror. I was surprised there wasn’t a lot of information on mirrors.

So, what do you know about mirrors? Anything is welcome. Their use in scrying, as portals, hauntings, their power, anything. Firsthand, secondhand, read it in a book, even just theories.

I had heard a long time ago that a ghost can become trapped between two mirrors. Recently I saw a video about making a “Devil’s toy box”. Not something I can imagine anyone being brazen enough to do, but it did give me an idea. More on that latter...😈

[Floater]

Ahh – myths and legends. Something I can talk about!

Probably because early man didn’t understand how reflections work, mirrors have long been associated with “mysticalness”.

There’s the obvious legend that breaking a mirror will bring 7 years of bad luck – probably arising from the belief that one’s reflection is one’s soul.

For the same reason, vampires have no reflection because they have no soul.

Some even believe that mirrors can “trap” newly departed souls, so they are covered in homes where someone is dying.

There’s also the myth that if you look into a mirror at midnight on Halloween by candlelight, you will see the devil (or your future spouse – depending on who you ask).

More “modern” stories also give mirrors strange powers – we have the magic mirror in the Snow White fairy tale, the mirror “portal” in Alice Through the Looking Glass, and of course Greek myth in which Narcissus fell in love with his own reflection which spelled his doom.

Hope that helps.

[SpiritKitty]

Thank you for the input! I was really hoping for more responses.

Any recommendations for a more active forum?

[Ordnael]

From my experiences, mirrors can reflect the invisible when you're in trance, and astral mirrors - mirrors that you find while astral projecting - can usually act as screens and portals.

Many years ago I was sleeping on a chair in front of the tv when it was turned off. Suddenly I could see through my eyelids, and saw on the screen the reflection of a faceless, white hooded entity next to the window of the room.

Intuitively, I multiplied my astral form and tried to scare that being away, floating towards it with the multiple versions of myself. The creature didn't even move. No idea what it was or what it was doing there, not sure if it even noticed I was kind of astral projecting and 'attacking' it.

In dreams, mirrors can show you entities that are 'behind' the dream, thus it is useful to tell if there are any blockages affecting you, just try and see your own reflection.

Sleeping with a mirror in front of your face can cause nightmares. It is considered an object of vanity, so it is not unusual that negative beings will be associated with it. In some cultures they will flip it so that the reflective surface is hidden and entities will be prevented from traveling through it.

[Ordnael]

Yesterday I watched this video, the chimpanzees get angry after seeing their image in the mirror: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xMd6pyyMbc

Wanted to know why they reacted like that, the video gave no explanation, except suggesting they thought the ones in the mirror were enemies, so I used my intuition, which is best active when you're awake in bed between dreams. The answer I got is that they get frustrated because they can't smell the creatures in front of them, they think their senses aren't working properly and start throwing tantrums. In other words, they get angry because of the deception, not because they feel threatened.

[inavalan]

Originally Posted by Ordnael

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My words of wisdom: The truth that makes you seem small and weak is better than the lie that makes one seem big and powerful. While the first one redeems you, the latter constantly haunts that one and gives no rest.

Could you explain why do you believe to be so? Who decides that your truth is to seem small and weak, and why would that redeem you? Same question about the other part of your words of wisdom ...

I'd say that whatever you think is the truth is the basis of what you are, and what you become. As they say: it isn't a lie if you believe it.

[inavalan]

Originally Posted by Ordnael

Yesterday I watched this video, the chimpanzees get angry after seeing their image in the mirror: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xMd6pyyMbc

Wanted to know why they reacted like that, the video gave no explanation, except suggesting they thought the ones in the mirror were enemies, so I used my intuition, which is best active when you're awake in bed between dreams. The answer I got is that they get frustrated because they can't smell the creatures in front of them, they think their senses aren't working properly and start throwing tantrums. In other words, they get angry because of the deception, not because they feel threatened.

This seems related to your post:

The mirror test is a measure of self-awareness developed by Gordon Gallup Jr in 1970.

The test gauges self-awareness by determining whether an animal can recognize its own reflection in a mirror as an image of itself.

This is accomplished by surreptitiously marking the animal with an odourless dye, and observing whether the animal reacts in a manner consistent with it being aware that the dye is located on its own body.

Such behaviour might include turning and adjusting of the body in order to better view the marking in the mirror, or poking at the marking on its own body with a finger while viewing the mirror.

Animals which have passed the mirror test are common chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, dolphins, elephants, humans and possibly pigeons.

Surprisingly, gorillas have not passed the test, although at least one specific gorilla, Koko, has passed the test; this is probably because gorillas consider eye contact an aggressive gesture and normally try to avoid looking each other in the face.

Human children tend to fail this test until they are at least 1.5 to 2 years old.

Dogs and 1 year old children, for example, usually react to a mirror in fear or curiosity, or simply ignore it, while birds often attack their own reflections.

[JosephineB]

Interesting info on the mirror test Inavalan.

[BigJohn]

I find scrying mirrors interesting to the point that I used to make some.

To me, scrying mirrors captures the child-like innocence of when we used to see (scry) things in the clouds and other things. Today, we argue about the complexity of performing such a simple 'act' as being something only the masters, etc. can do.

[Ordnael]

inavalan, there is a somewhat similar quote, "It's better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not."

What I'm implying is that karma, or the Greek goddess Nemesis will be after that boastful one who conquers through deceit, while the one who is good and meek is better off and escapes punishment, regardless of whether the person has a reputation or not.


Take for example the case of Larry Nassar. He was a renown physician, and took advantage of his position to molest children. In their minds they thought they were wrong for having doubts about his conduct, which prevented them from taking actions against him. The truth made them feel small and weak, that they were violated, while the lie, that Nassar was a good person, trustworthy and above suspicion, made him powerful.

Someone who lies to appear to be important will have the ghost of being caught and exposed always hanging around.


Concerning the study you quoted, that channel has videos with other animals reactions too. Humans are predominantly visual creatures, while animals will rely on smell and hearing to a much greater degree in order to examine things around them. In one video a female leopard is attracted to her own image when the mirror has the scent of a male leopard who usually goes there.