Big Ideas, Real Impact. 〰️
Magic mirrors have always been more than vanity. Across cultures and centuries, reflective surfaces have been treated as portals, protectors, weapons, and oracles—tools for seeing beyond the ordinary world.
In Magic Mirrors: Historical and Mystical Traditions Across Cultures, Spencer R. Cope traces the mirror’s strange lineage from the volcanic obsidian of Mesoamerica to Egyptian temple rites, Greek catoptromancy, Chinese “light-penetrating” bronze mirrors, medieval warnings of demonic reflections, Renaissance occult experiments, and Victorian spiritualism—right up to the modern revival of scrying and mirror lore in popular culture.
Blending history with myth, symbolism, and the psychology of perception, this book explores:
How mirrors became instruments of divination, protection, and power
Why cultures feared broken mirrors—and how cleansing rituals evolved
The science of reflection and illusion behind “magic” mirror phenomena
The famous mirror-bearers: Tezcatlipoca, Amaterasu, Perseus, John Dee, and more
Practical techniques for creating and using a scrying mirror (for curious readers)
Whether you approach mirrors as sacred technology, cultural history, or mystical metaphor, this book invites you to look closely—because the oldest magic isn’t in the glass. It’s in the act of seeing.
Spencer R. Cope researches the crossroads of history, folklore, and perception—especially how everyday objects become “sacred technology” across cultures. He spent a year studying the tradition of magic mirrors, then took it further by crafting homemade obsidian-like glass to explore the material reality behind the legend. A professional at the S.J. Quinney College of Law and an iOS developer, Spencer blends practical craftsmanship with storytelling—and keeps one foot in the real world (and the other in the uncanny).