Mirror

The magic is in you, and the mirrors reflect it.
—Uma Reed, Developing Your Intuition With Magic Mirrors (1998)

Mirror. There is a “shivery thrill” [1] to the word. “Mirrors have been used as special, magical devices for thousands of years. . . . It is not surprising that the magical words ‘Mirror, mirror on the wall’ play such an important part in the story of Snow White.” [2] As in Lewis Carroll’s famous novel Through the Looking Glass, mirrors entice us with the idea that they might show “alternative worlds or realities.” [3] Small wonder that mirrors have played such an important, historical part in the art of conjuring.

In Literature:

• “Mirror, mirror, mirror. The words reflected back and forth endlessly in his mind.” —Ian Irvine, A Shadow on the Glass (1998)

• “This is a magic mirror. I know. You’ve probably heard of a magic mirror before. There was a magic mirror in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Let me see if I can remember the magic words to say to the magic mirror. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all? That’s right. Well, this isn’t the same mirror, it’s better. Here are the magic words to say to this mirror: Mirror, mirror in my hand, show me evil in the land.” —Lisa Bany-Winters, “The Snow Queen,” On Stage (1997)

[1] Ian Irvine, Dark is the Moon (1999)

[2] Richard Webster, Soul Mates (2001)

[3] Stephen R. Donaldson, Mirror of Her Dreams (1986)