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.

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 Medicis 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 centre 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.

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