We all hear superstitions everyday about many things like Friday the 13th, walking under a ladder, and black cats. I never believed in many of the ones my mother told me, but I didn't know why. I think it started out as I was being defiant, trying to do things like open umbrellas inside just because I was told not to, it was unlucky. So I decicded to do research on why some of these superstitions existed today. The breaking of mirrors giving 7 years of bad luck was one of them.
The origins of this myth date back to ancient times. It was believe that when someone looked into a mirror they would see their own soul. Back in those times, the human soul was connected to your future. They would take what they saw in a mirror and predict the future. The ancient Greeks believe that "whenever a person’s future was being gazed upon, if it was bad, a shattered mirror would represent the gods or goddesses way of not allowing a person to see into a terrible fate which waits." Because the mirrors held the future, if one was to break the mirror, they would be shattering their future. The Roman's believe that it there were cycles of health that lasted 7 years. If a mirror was broken that person would have one cycle of bad health. There is also a way to prevent the bad luck. They believed that if they waited before picking up the pieces and brought them outside in the moonlight, that the 7 years of bad luck would no longer apply.
I have broken several mirrors since I was a child, and my life has not been unhealthy or full of bad luck. We know that mirrors do not hold out future, but people still tell this myth to their children. Now it's more of a scar factor, so that children will be more careful with mirrors.
Sources:
http://www.suite101.com/content/the-origins-of-the-broken-mirror-myth-a217524
http://www.halloween-website.com/superstitions.htm
http://www.wisegeek.com/why-is-it-considered-bad-luck-to-break-a-mirror.htm
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I think that this information you've presented is very interesting. I also found some information about the breaking of mirrors, which states that another way to get rid of the seven years of bad luck is to take the broken pieces and throw them in a river.
ReplyDeleteI've broken a few mirrors in my life, which implies that I should be having bad luck for quite some time, right? I also have not encountered any serious bad luck from mirror breaking in the past. Anyway, I agree that it is a scare factor (Of course, no one likes/wants anything broken). Then again, everything has to break sooner or later.
ReplyDeleteI actually broke a mirror about a year ago and no back luck so far! It was interesting to find out that the myth comes from people thinking you could see your soul as you look in the mirror.
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