Magic Mirrors.pdf

Magic Mirrors

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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 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

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Magic Mirrors

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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.

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