When I was young, maybe 6 or 7 or 8, I watched an episode of Fact or Fiction that changed my life forever.
If you are not familiar with the premise of the show, they tell 4 stories. Some are made up and some are real. They are frequently paranormal and deal with ghosts or UFOs or some other taboo subject. At the end of the show, they tell you which ones were based on fact, and which were complete fiction.
In this particular episode, a woman moves into a new home. She sets up a large mirror in her hallway outside her bedroom. After a few weeks, she notices the apparition of a woman appearing in the mirror every time she walks past. Sometimes her own reflection is distorted into the image of the ghost woman. Eventually, she ends up covering the mirror because it causes her so much distress.
One evening, a man breaks into her home through the bedroom window. There is a struggle, and she runs out into the hallway. While she is trapped in his arms, the sheet gets pulled away from the mirror and the assailant sees the ghost woman. Completely spooked, he runs off but is caught by police. He reported that the woman he saw in the mirror was one of his previous victims.
The story turned out to be true, and the dead woman was there to protect her, not scare her.
Immediately after watching that, I took down the mirror in my bedroom.
When staying in hotels, I will cover the mirror.
When I spend the night at my parents’, I cover the mirror.
At home, I make sure the mirror on my vanity is turned away from the bed before I go to sleep.
Two weeks ago I rearranged the living room and had to move the TV just so I would not catch my reflection in it. I have no other mirrors in my house other than the necessary one in the bathroom. (As a 32 year old adult, I still freak out a little when I go into the bathroom and the light is off; I constantly imagine Bloody Mary waiting for me when I flip on the switch.) Mirrors in general just plain give me the creeps.
I understand that, in the case of the Fact or Fiction show, the spirit was there to protect someone. But couple the fear of seeing the unexpected with the horror tropes from Hollywood — it’s just a burnt in phobia for me now.
Anyway… getting back to the point of all of this: I dreamt of my grandma again today. In my dream, I saw her reflection in a TV screen. I won’t go into detail about the dream just now, but I find it interesting that that was how I saw her. As a reflection.
I wonder if the MODE of how I saw her means anything. Mirrors. Reflections. Images. Imprints. Suggestions. Scrying. Gazing.
I wonder if I would be good at scrying. Perhaps I avoid it because I am not ready to utilize it. I have to get over my irrational fear first.
I feel my spirit strengthening. I feel like I am coming in closer to being in tune with the universe. Am I learning the language? Interpreting the signs correctly? When I am ready, I will find the perfect obsidian bowl to use for water scrying. I’m not sure I will ever be ready for a straight up mirror.
—edited to add, briefly: I used to have a ghost companion (a story for another day) and the only time I could see him was through my rear view mirror. And again, I saw the ghost of Mr. Wysock at my grandparent’s house also from my car in the side-view mirror. At my cabin, I took a photo of my family and captured a silhouette of a deceased family member in the sliding glass door – a reflection. This confirms it. And it seems so obvious. If I want to communicate with the dead, I personally will need to use something reflective. A mirror. Water. Crystal ball. A TV. (My dreams are reserved for those I love.)—
Margot Velvet 