ASK A WITCH-Mirror Magic

This big question gets the full column. Mirrors have always frightened and enchanted us, for good reason. There is much we don't understand. Be safe and proceed with caution, and when in doubt, trust your intuition.

I'm hoping you can help me with a couple suggestions for an unusual issue. A little background, I'm a born witch from a very long line of generational Magick. My mother and grandmother taught me growing up and I practiced quite a lot on my own over the years. I have experience binding and my boyfriend is a shaman. He and I created an incredibly secure home - my usual empath issues evaporate when I walk through the door and it is a safe space. Two years ago I manifested myself into a reality that was too starkly different and had to make a choice which one to return to. It scared me, and I ceased my practice until earlier this year when an entity began a psychic attack on my partner and I. I successfully shielded us from the entity but a couple weeks ago I made a mistake. I brought a mirror into our home. Its really unlike me to bring found objects into the home, especially mirrors, but I was enthralled by it. Its large and gorgeous and when I brought it in we couldn't find a place for it but set it aside. When we have purchased antiques in the past my partner would get a feel for them before we bought them and clear them with sage and Palo Santo but this time he did not, the enthrallment seemed to effect us both. It sat on the floor in a corner of our home and over the next couple weeks I noticed fans turning themselves on and off, electronics in unoccupied rooms turning on in the middle of the night, and I kept breaking glasses and misplacing things. We also began to experience a surge in spiders but I attributed it to the weather. I mentioned to him a few days ago what was happening and that I thought we might have a visitor, if he could smudge the place please. He did, and he definitely felt the presence of an entity that did not want to budge and was able to clear our home, but today it dawned on him that the mirror could be responsible. He definitely felt some dark energy, he tried to clear it but it didn't work, and ultimately he settled on placing it outside near our plants facing towards the ground. He said that it felt like a portal, the design of the frame urges you to place it one particular position where he felt it became "activated". We don't want this mirror anymore, but we also don't want to leave this cursed object for someone less prepared to handle it. I've begun mixing a tincture to incorporate into an incantation - various protective herbs, Palo Santo ash, rosemary oil, an amethyst, mustard seed, a wishbone - set in a jar, mixed and amplified with a sacred object, sealed and placed on my window sill. I am planning on trying to lock this mirror but I have no experience with locking a mirror and there seems to be little to no useful advice online. Burning the mirror, burying it, or otherwise destroying it is not feasible. I just want to take care of this cursed object before it does more than just mischief.

Thank you for reaching out. This is a complex issue and I’m glad that you and your partner have enough experience to know when you’re in danger. For what it’s worth, I think you are doing everything right so far (with the exception of bringing an unknown object into your home, which most people literally do every day). There is a reason you were drawn to this object, and, like you mentioned, it is because you are equipped to handle it.

I know that the both of you aren’t new to the craft, but many of my readers are, so forgive me if I tell you things you already know. Mirrors are mysterious and can be dangerous. Personally I will often cover my mirrors if I’m doing intense magical work, or if I can sense an entity trying to gain access to my protected space. Cleansing and blessing mirrors, energetically and actually, is always a good practice to ensure that they remain clear and safe. Everyone has different methods for this, but sunlight and moonlight work, as do smoke cleansing, crystal grids, sound, incantations, prayers, saltwater… putting the mirror on the earth, facing the ground, is an excellent method for neutralizing its energy. You could also place it in a body of water, if that is convenient, and ask the spirits of the water to cleanse it.

The tincture you are preparing is another great idea. Creating something sacred using your plant, animal, and mineral allies, and infusing it with your own energy and intentions is very powerful. Like I said, you are doing everything right.

This is where things get tricky. With most objects, everything you have done should be enough to take care of the situation. But every once in awhile even the most experienced of us get thrown a curveball. It is my belief that we are only given what we can handle, so I am confident that this is an opportunity for you to strengthen your personal practice.

I am curious about the experience you had that took you away from the craft, as well as the entity you mentioned that attacked you recently. I am guessing that they are all connected. Without having all of the information I can’t link them together more elaborately, but I urge you to explore the relationships further.

My intuitive take on the situation is that you have a powerful foe. Whether embodied or in spirit form, you have caught the attention of someone/something that is drawn to your personal power. This isn’t all that unusual, as there are endless unknowable forces and beings in the multiverse. Us witches are more susceptible than most to attracting these challengers. You will need all of your tools to deal with this.

When I found myself in a similar predicament, I had to look outside of my normal methods, which were all falling short. For me that meant asking deities for help. I don’t usually work with deities, but I needed powerful allies, and when I reached out several showed up offering assistance. I don’t know who/what you normally work with, but consider expanding your team. This could mean you call on the archangels, your ancestors, the lineage of medicine people and witches through time, gods or goddesses, the elements, celestial bodies… you may already have animal allies, but perhaps there is a new one willing to come work with you for this particular issue. Prepare your space, make the call, and see who shows up. You can’t and don’t need to do this alone. Luckily, even though you don’t have a traditional coven, you do have a magical mother and partner, so you are more supported than some. If you are able, have one or both of them join you in any rituals you do. We are exponentially more powerful together. Even if she can’t be with you in person, having your mom focus on you and join you from afar is still very helpful.

I must confess, I have never locked a mirror, and my online search was no more fruitful than yours. I think you can look at this like a binding, which you already have experience with, and proceed accordingly. If it were me, I would prepare by gathering my tools (including your tincture, and a large cloth, rope, or string), my team (partner, and possibly mom from afar), and opening safe and sacred space, including any new allies who have agreed to work with you on this. Choose your moon phase thoughtfully- personally I would work this magic during a waning moon- and spend the day in self care rituals (exercise, meditate, bathe, anything that helps you feel centered and powerful). When the time comes, perform your binding by wrapping the cloth, rope, or string around the mirror and speaking your incantation. You probably have something in mind for your tincture, but if not, perhaps dip your binding material in it, or use it to coat the mirror itself. Be very clear in your speaking and intentions that you are closing the magical abilities of this mirror and also blocking anyone from doing harm to you, your partner, or your home. Let the mirror represent this trickster that has set their sights on you (and probably placed this mirror in your path) and firmly exert your boundaries. You are backed by many powerful allies and not someone to be messed with. In no uncertain terms you are done with this interaction. Even as you are firm, be compassionate. In my experience most beings aren’t evil, more likely they are lost and wounded, so ask for your spell to be for the highest good of all involved, even this bothersome entity.

After your ritual leave it bound and on the earth for however long you feel is necessary (I suggest as little as day to as long as a week). Ask the earth to continue your work. If you do leave it longer than a day, just be sure to check in regularly and continue to connect with your allies to be sure that your spell is working. I would also suggest sprinkling some salt around it to keep the energy contained. Once you feel the mirror is clear and you and your partner are safe again, perform a ritual of offering gratitude to all who assisted you in this work.

Now, what to do with this mirror? You could take it to an antiques dealer, a thrift store, a free pile, the dump. Because you have taken care of its magical properties, you can rest assured that if someone else takes it home they will be safe. Bless the mirror and send it back out into the world, however you like. Continue to monitor the safety of your home and your energy.

Good luck. I know you can handle this and I believe you will be a stronger, better, and more powerful witch when this is over.