The Mirror Reality
The Mirror Reality
A tool for observation. A luxurious assistant to the narcissist. The portal to all things magical and the gateway to the spirits. An easel for the artist and the humdrum piece of glass for the early morning shave.
The mirror has been more of a decorative piece in our homes. Far more than an antique embellishment to our status in society. More than the reflection we see in the water or the glass that surfaces the ocean.
You likely recall from the time you heard your first fairy tales. Remember when the evil queen in “Snow White” asks,
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“Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” – and the mirror answers?
And the mirror answers her call
Writers, thotties, and hotties have often reflected [insert badum psst] on these potential powers. In Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shallot,” the titular character uses a mirror to see the people of Camelot since she is unable to do so directly. Harry Potter fans will remember the Mirror of Erised, which allows its users to see their desire (Erised spelled backward) rather than merely their image. Fans of The Who know well the mirror’s spell on Tommy.
What is a mirror:
A mirror is a smooth or polished surface that returns an image by reflection. Technically, a mirror or reflector is an object such that each narrow beam of light that incised on its surface bounces (is reflected) in a single direction. This property, called specular reflection, distinguishes a mirror from objects that scatter light in many directions (such as flat-white paint), let it pass through them (such as a lens or prism), or absorb it.
History of the Mirror
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The earliest manufactured mirrors were pieces of polished stone such as obsidian, a naturally occurring volcanic glass. Examples of obsidian mirrors found in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) have been dated to around 6000 BC. Mirrors of polished copper were crafted in Mesopotamia from 4000 BC, and in ancient Egypt from around 3000 BC. Polished stone mirrors from Central and South America date from around 2000 BC onwards.
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By the Bronze Age most cultures were using mirrors made from polished discs of bronze, copper, silver, or other metals. In China, bronze mirrors were manufactured from around 2000 BC,some of the earliest bronze and copper examples being produced by the Qijia culture. Such metal mirrors remained the norm through to Greco-Roman Antiquity and throughout the Middle Ages in Europe. During the Roman Empire silver mirrors were in wide use even by maidservants.
The Greek philosopher Socrates, of "know thyself" fame, urged young people to look at themselves in mirrors so that, if they were beautiful, they would become worthy of their beauty, and if they were ugly, they would know how to hide their disgrace through learning.
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Glass began to be used for mirrors in the 1st century CE, with the development of soda-lime glass and glass blowing. The Roman scholar Pliny the Elder claims that artisans in Sidon (modern-day Lebanon) were producing glass mirrors coated with lead or gold leaf in the back. The metal provided good reflectivity, and the glass provided a smooth surface and protected the metal from scathes and tarnishing. However, there is no archeological evidence of glass mirrors before the third century
Mystic Beliefs & Lore
Mystics and diviners have long believed it to be a portal to magical worlds. The mirror has other unusual properties - it takes in the energy of the person who gazes into it. As such, they can carry both positive and negative vibrations. These vibrations can be observed in the spectrum of light rays that travel from the reflective surface to our eye holes and mega mind. Then they use the mirrors and never consider that they are in that way beginning to relive the lives of their previous owners. Oftentimes, old mirrors are the reason why problems that were characteristic of previous generations reappear, such as alcoholism, cheating and other such issues.
Examples in Fiction
Literature
Kurt Vonnegut’s “Breakfast of Champions.” In it, we find that our protagonist, Kilgore Trout, calls mirrors “leaks” because he sees them as a hole — or leak — between two universes.
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“Sometimes, somebody would say in his presence, ‘Excuse me, I have to take a leak,’” wrote Vonnegut, referring to the common euphemism for urination. “And Trout would reply waggishly, ‘Where I come from, that means you’re about to steal a mirror.’”
The Reaper’s Image by Stephen King
But in many cases, a mirror’s power is far more sinister. In “The Reaper’s Image,” Stephen King weaves the tale of a rare Elizabethan mirror in which a person standing in front of it sees the image of the Grim Reaper — and then meets with a ghastly end.
King and the others didn’t make up these stories out of thin air. They come from long-held superstitions dealing with the connection between mirrors and death. It’s a practice that has gone on for centuries in cultures around the world. In German and Belgium, for example, mourners covered mirrors with a white cloth. In various parts of China, mirrors are immediately covered or turned upside down.
In documenting the custom in China in 1910, Reginald Fleming Johnston wrote, “If the dead man happens to notice a reflection of himself in the glass he will be much horrified to find that he has become a ghost, and much disappointed with his own appearance as such.”
Some thought that if the dead’s soul saw its reflection or paintings of land, people or food, it would become distracted and want to remain on Earth. Others believed a soul remained in the home for three days after death and any mirror that captured its image would either tarnish or, worse, reflect a picture of the dead permanently.
the practice persists, particularly in Judaism. During shiva, the seven-day ritual of mourning after a death, mirrors often are covered for two reasons: They eliminate any chance of distracting a mourner from concentrating on his deceased friend or family member (e.g., no temptation to check makeup or preen hair). There also may be some historic belief that during shiva, evil spirits may attach themselves to reflections in mirrors.
Night by Elie Wiesel
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One day I was able to get up, after gathering all my strength. I wanted to see myself in the mirror hanging on the opposite wall. I had not seen myself since the ghetto.
From the depths of the mirror, a corpse gazed back at me.
The look in his eyes, as they stared into mine, has never left me.
Eliezer implies that even though he has survived the war physically, he is essentially dead, his soul killed by the suffering he witnessed and endured. Yet, when Eliez says, “the look in his eyes, as he stared into mine,” he implies a separation between himself and the corpse. His language, too, indicates a fundamental separation between his sense of self and his identity as a Holocaust victim—as if he has become two distinct beings. The corpse-image reminds him how much he has suffered and how much of himself—his faith in God, his innocence, his faith in mankind, his father, his mother, his sister—has been killed in the camps. At the same time, he manages to separate himself from this empty shell. The image of the corpse will always stay with him, but he has found a sense of identity that will endure beyond the Holocaust. As dark as this passage is, its message is partially hopeful. Eliezer survives beyond the horrible suffering he endured by separating himself from it, casting it aside so he can remember, but not continue to feel, the horror.
We live in a world that is obsessed with externalities. Appearance is touted as the key to success; driving the correct automobile gives others the message that we possess a certain character (which we unfortunately strive to obtain). We have developed into a society that pushes external manifestations of achievement over the actual achievement itself.
When people must sit shiva in the house of mourning they are in essence paying their respects to the deceased. Shiva is a week that is given over to mourning the deceased. Jewish people do not work during that week; they do not indulge in luxuries. They reflect on the merits and deeds of the person who died. What we are mourning is not the externalities of the person, the way the person looked, the way the person dressed but the essential person. They practice overlooking the distinct personality characteristics of this person, how they acted and how they related to us. Jewish folks recall the special qualities that the deceased had and of our relationship with him/her. When they sit shiva they try to concentrate on the inner person who is no longer with us not on the external appearance of the deceased.
The mirror is not just a reflection of our projected identity, but rather a reflection of multiple facets of ourselves in time. I literal portal to all our identities across time and space.
Dungeons & Dragons
Mirror of Life Trapping
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An extra-dimensional cell is an infinite expanse filled with thick fog that reduces visibility to 10 feet. Creatures trapped in the mirror's cells don't age, and they don't need to eat, drink, or sleep. A creature trapped within a cell can escape using magic that permits planar travel. Otherwise, the creature is confined to the cell until freed.
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If the mirror traps a creature but its twelve extra-dimensional cells are already occupied, the mirror frees one trapped creature at random to accommodate the new prisoner. A freed creature appears in an unoccupied space within sight of the mirror but facing away from it. If the mirror is shattered, all creatures it contains are freed and appear in unoccupied spaces near it.
Film
Doctor Strange
The Mirror Dimension allows an advanced sorcerer to train more advanced and dangerous spells without adversely affecting the real world, keep an eye on threats without being noticed, and a prison for those without a Sling Ring. The final usage is paramount that a prisoner is locked without a Sling Ring as it is the only means to escape. However, the realm is shown to be accessible without the use of the Sling Ring, which allowed the likes of the Ancient One and Doctor Strange to transport themselves and others into the dimension, though a Sling Ring was ultimately required to leave it. In addition, the Mirror Dimension can be used in combat by a sorcerer with the knowledge and skill needed to perform it liberally by manifesting a gateway to it to absorb attacks and then sending the manifestation at the enemy to trap them at the Mirror Dimension, but these Mirror Dimension gateways can seemingly be destroyed when enough power is directed at them, as Thanos was able to use the Power Stone to destroy a gateway that was sent towards him by Dr. Strange
The Science
Could the cosmos hold the key to humans opening the first portal to a shadowy dimension which mirrors our own world?
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Scientists in Oak Ridge National Laboratory in eastern Tennessee hope so, and have completed building equipment they are to test this summer which may allow us the first glimpse of a parallel universe which could be identical in many ways to our own, with mirror particles, mirror planets and possibly even mirror life.
The discovery of a concealed mirror world may sound like science fiction from the Stranger Things series, but it has been repeatedly suggested by physicists as a tempting means of explaining anomalous results. However, as yet, hard evidence such a realm exists has refused to manifest itself.
Unlike the upside down reality we’ve been introduced to and fear in Stranger Things, this mirror universe could be a reality almost parallel to the world we know today (for examples and references listen to the Dreams and parallel realities episode and Brain in a Vat episode)
The existence of a mirror world could also explain our universe’s lack of the isotope Lithium 7, which physicists believe doesn’t match the quantities the Big Bang would have created.
Wait do y’all remember the “God Particle” they discovered in the 10’s (yes we’re calling 2010’s the 10’s again just like we’re going to refer to the 2020’s as the boring ad whoring 20’s)
The detection of high-energy cosmic rays which come from beyond our galaxy could also be explained by the existence of the mirror world.
They are too powerful to have travelled only through the observed universe, but if they had oscillated into the mirror realm and then back out again, it could explain why that is the case.
Citations
Topato. Mysteries24. “Why you Should Never Sleep Across from a Mirror”. https://mysteries24.com/n2-96140-Why_you_Should_Never_Sleep_Across_from_a_Mirror (accessed September 3. 2020)
Roger Schlueter. Belleville New-Democrat. “What’s the connection between mirrors and death?” https://www.bnd.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/answer-man/article135829058.html#storylink=cpy (accessed September 3, 2020)
D&D Beyond. “Mirror of Life Trapping”. https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/mirror-of-life-trapping (accessed September 3, 2020)
Elie Wiesel. Spark Notes. “Night” by Elie Wiesel. https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/night/quotes/page/5/ (accessed September 3, 2020)
Fandom. “Mirror Dimension”. https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Mirror_Dimension (accessed September 4, 20202)
