Mirrors are a constant in our lives. Of different sizes, they reflect our image, enlarge spaces, multiply light, and create illusory windows. In antiquity they were feared by some and inspired others, including the Magi, who used them as magical tools.
Working with Magic Mirrors is serious. After consecration and continual use, a mirror becomes a dimensional portal through which we may see our reality and other dimensions. It opens to our world and to others, so first work on your inner self and gain confidence in your magical and ritual acts. Every magical instrument carries a blend of our energy and that of the Gods; owning one requires discernment and responsibility.
You may acquire a ready-made mirror and charge and consecrate it, or create your own. You will need an oval lens, coloured glass pieces, black enamel paint, glue, and a frame. Paint the convex side of the lens with two coats of black enamel. When dry, fix it in the frame and decorate it with the glass. The energy you bring to its making matters more than its appearance.
Place of the ritual:
Work in direct contact with Nature under the Full Moon, even in a yard or balcony where moonlight is present; never indoors. This is a complex magical operation, and each step has a reason. Do not improvise or adapt it. Changing the rite can reverse the energies and bring unforeseeable consequences.
Consecration of the Mirror
Use an isolated outdoor place on a Full Moon that falls on a Monday. Prepare mugwort tea, one cup for yourself and one for the mirror. Drink yours and meditate on the symbolism. With the other, slowly wet the mirror so that the Full Moon is reflected in it. Speak to the mirror and ask it to be a portal through which you may see what cannot be seen and reach the past, present, and future. Consecrate it with sincere words from your heart; there are no right words. Cover it with a new black cloth and keep it covered when not in use.
Another consecration: materials
Incense; a new cotton or linen cloth; a silver or aluminium basin, never plastic; three candles (white, red, and black); and spring water collected in the morning, or mineral water. Work at night before the exact moment of the plenilune, when the Moon reaches maximum opposition to the Sun.
First part
At the New Moon, buy the mirror and cloth. Take a ritual bath, wash the mirror, and cleanse it with incense smoke, saying:
Object made by human hands, I prepare you to be consecrated.
With incense smoke I remove every disharmonious vibration from you.
I remove every intention that is not mine.
I remove everything left upon you by the paths you have travelled.
Repeat with the cloth, wrap the mirror, and do not unwrap it until the rite. When covering it, recite:
I hide you from the world.
I concentrate your power to reflect.
Your power will be expanded; more than an image, I want you to reflect the inner reality of what I wish to see.
I want you to help me see beyond the limits of time and space.
I focus your power so that you may expand my power to SEE.
Place it on the altar and await the Full Moon. Seek contact with Nature and raise your energy. When collecting spring water, ask permission and explain its purpose. Leave tobacco, corn, or another offering in exchange for what you gather, honouring the Elements and maintaining balance.
The Ritual
On the first day of the Full Moon, it rises at sunset and is overhead at about midnight. Place the basin, water, mirror, and chalk at the centre of the working place. Trace the Magic Circle and invoke the four quarters and Elements as witnesses and Guardians. Pour the water into the basin, let the Moon reflect in it, and contemplate it. Then say:
Goddess, Mother and Sister, Daughter and Companion, I, (magical name), call You in Your four faces: the three we know and the one hidden from all but those who love You and are one with You.
I call upon Your power so that this mirror may be consecrated by the forces of Light, becoming a magical instrument in my service and helping me develop Vision.
Beneath the Light of the Moon, upon the strength of the Earth, I consecrate you, water gathered from the spring, pure and crystal clear. Be the vehicle of the forces here and of the Goddess's breath that will consecrate my Magic Mirror.
Take the wrapped mirror and say:
Mirror created by human hands, I transform you from a profane object into a Magical Object. By my will, by the energy of the Goddess, by this Full Moon, the four winds, and the Earth beneath my feet, I consecrate you.
Unwrap it:
Mirror, I consecrate you to the Art. Your power to reflect is now focused. You will be uncovered only during magical work. I consecrate you by the Force of Night, the Light of the Moon, the Power of the Wind, and the Power of the Stars.
Place it in the basin:
Water gathered from the spring, you came from the underworld to this middle world. May your power teach this mirror to enter the underworld and reveal what others try to hide from me. Let there be no barrier or limit to my Vision.
In this sublunary world the power of this mirror is established. To the worlds above the Moon and the worlds beyond, may this mirror grant me access. Let there be no hidden place, mist, fog, or barrier that limits my Vision.
Turn to east, north, west, and south:
Powers that come with this wind, strengthen this instrument of power, consecrated to the Goddess and to cosmic and telluric forces, for my development and wisdom.
Visualize yourself as a column of power, drawing energy from Moon and Stars to Earth, while Earth's power rises through your feet and body. Say:
I am a link between Eternity and this world. I am the Goddess and the God, Her consort, the Horned One. I am the third point of the triangle that brings into being what is potential in the Sacred Pair. I am life aware of death and beginning aware of the end. By my power I manifest the Goddess and consecrate this mirror as a tool of my magical work.
Let the energies work. Look at the Moon in the mirror so that your image and the Moon are reflected together:
Moon, just as you reflect the power of the Sun, may this mirror reflect the power of the Goddess. Moon, just as you are light and darkness, may this mirror see in light and shadow.
You may feel flooded with light and power and may or may not have visions. Do not be afraid; this is why the Magic Mirror was created. Record what you see in a Mirror Journal. When the consecration is complete, thank the winds in reverse order:
Forces of the underworld, of this middle world, and of the worlds above, I thank you for sharing your power. May the open portals be closed, and may the magic here make the Goddess more fully present in me, and me more fully present in the Goddess. May our fellowship grow strong and may the Circle never be broken.
Remove the mirror from the water:
I consecrated you, created object; now you are an object of power in my service, a tool I will use with wisdom for my growth and defence.
Wrap it:
Now you are asleep and will awaken only when I call you. While you sleep, concentrate and expand your power so that you may serve me wisely.
Pour the water onto the earth:
I return you, water gathered from the spring, to the depths from which you came. Carry my message to those who live there: this mirror was consecrated by the ancient rite, renewing the current that joins us to our ancestors.
Dismiss the Circle and take the mirror to its permanent place. Put three candles in a triangle before it, uncover it, and say:
I awaken you, magical object. I gave you the power of Water, the Underworld, the Moon, the Stars, the Winds, this world, and the worlds beyond; now I give you the power of Fire.
Light the black candle:
From the deep darkness before time and the mystery before light, I bring the first flame, so that no human power can eclipse you when I wish to see beyond this reality.
Light the white candle:
I give you light and brightness, so that you may show me clearly what I wish to see; may my whims and the powers of others never cloud your Vision.
Light the red candle:
I give you the light of flesh and life, so that you may show things as they are and reach all that is living in the dimensions of existence.
Looking at the three reflections, say:
I consecrated you to Earth, Water, and Air; now I consecrate you to Fire. By the Four Elements I make you magical and powerful, an instrument for developing my Vision. May my power always be tempered by wisdom. In harmony with the Goddess, I make you magical.
Cover the mirror:
I put you to sleep. While you sleep you will live in the dimension of dreams, expanding your power. When I call you again, awaken with your full power to assist me.
Extinguish the candles—red, then white, then black—saying each time:
As this candle's flame is extinguished, may the flame within me be strengthened. As the flame in this world goes out, may it grow stronger within the mirror, so that it may be my complete tool.
Finish by burning incense, allowing its smoke to disperse the energies and return them to their origin, while feeling your inner power grow.