Lesson 15: The black mirror.
Most people in this world always have fear for the things they don't understand. As soon as they start fearing things they only have one thing left to do; redicule the subject to make it sound less threatening. Magick has always been one of the most feared forms of art on this world. Not many people know what magic actually is, they only know how strong it's effects are and how powerless normal people are against it.
In the ancient times people practiced it a lot more then they do nowadays. People who still work on magic are often considered to be lunatics or mentally ill. However, the rituals which are performed often find their roots in a deeper form of understanding on how nature and the human mind works. Many people know what the placebo effect is. If people believe in the function of something then it's effects are much stronger. One of the most interesting rituals I would like to discuss is the famous black mirror. This artifact can function as a part of a setup called "the magic triangle", but the triangle is only a tool to remind the person who stares in the mirror what it is we look for. To analyse this ritual properly, the most important question to ask is:"what's the difference between a normal mirror and a black mirror?". The answer is easy, a normal mirror shows you you're reflection, but a black mirror doesn't. A black mirror absorbs all light instead of reflecting it. According to ancient philosophies the world can be seen from two different perspectives, we see with our eye`s and we see with our mind. Only if we do both at the same time the absolute truth will be revealed to us. However, most people are so distracted with what they see they forget to form an image of something with their mind. This is where the black mirror become's a real eye opener. A person staring in a black mirror would eventually start thinking about this mirror. It is supposed to show you something about yourself, yet you cannot see anything. Then the only thing left is to think about yourself. To see a reflection of yourself in the black mirror with you're mind. Who are you? You are what you do. What do you do? Do the things you do make you a more beautifull person? These are the answers that lie hidden in the black mirror. In ancient times people had a qwild imagination. They didn't know so much about reality as we do nowadays, so in order to send people on the right path they where often inspired with stories about magic and dreams.
This is also how the story of the black mirrors where created. Try to convince a normal educated man the importance of self-reflection, not many people take it very serious. They know the importance of staring at a visual reflection every day and to think of that visible reflection in a critical way to become more beautifull on the outside, but people don't think about their behaviour very often to create a more beautifull person inside. Acting pretty is more important then looking pretty. Not many people think about that deeply, but have you ever tried spending time with a person that looks astonishing but has a terrible personality? Might be nice for one night as long as you skip the talking, but the uglier you are inside the less chance you have anyone would like to spend time with you.
Now this is only on a personal level. Mirrors are a very personal tool, created to give you the power to aquire information about yourself. But this doesn't mean the information you gain from a mirror only affects you in a personal way. You affect others with how you look and act aswell. Every action has an equal or opposite reaction. An ugly appearance will shut a lot of doors for you and make people avoid you, but with an ugly personality you can cause some real damage to people or you're enviroment . People who are unaware of their own actions and refuse to look at them in a critical way cause extreme damage to our society without even realising it.
But this is supposed to be a magic black mirror, so where is the magic? The real magick will be available only to those who are fully capable of critical analysation of their own behaviour. War-philosopher Sun Tzu once wrote:"know thy enemy, know thyself, a thousand battles, a thousand victories". This is also what you can find in this magical black mirror. A way to overcome yourself and you're enemies. If you have a complete understanding about why you do the things you do and you know other persons better you can't only recognize their behaviour, you can also manipulate their behaviour. You would even be capable of altering a persons behaviour permamnently by giving them the right critical information about how they behave. However, be aware that this is very risky. Not everyone will choose to follow you're advice and become a better person. Most people would deny everything you say and inmediately push you aside for being to honest in a harsh way. Not every human is capable of accepting the truth for what it is, but in the end, the truth will set you free. And truth always lies in the mirror.