Solomon, Mirror of

Popular name given to a "magic mirror" used for divination. Various magical signs and devices have been attributed to the biblical Solomon, but they were derived from folk legends rather than any statements in the Hebrew Bible. The Mirror of Solomon is constructed from a shining and well-polished plate of fine steel, slightly concave. The blood of a white pigeon is inscribed at the four corners with the names "Jehovah," "Eloym," "Metatron," and "Adonay."

The newly constructed mirror is placed in a clean and white cloth. Its owner, when beholding a new moon during the first hour after sunset, would repeat a prayer that the angel Anaël might command and ordain his companions to act as they are instructed, that is, to assist the operator in divining from the mirror. He or she would then cast a suitable perfume upon burning coals, at the same time uttering a prayer.

After repeating this process three times, the person breathes on the mirror and evokes the angel Anaël. The sign of the cross is then made upon the operator and upon the mirror for 45 days in succession, at the end of which period, if all goes as planned, Anaël appears in the form of a beautiful child to accomplish the operator's wishes. Sometimes he appears on the fourteenth day, according to the devotion and fervor of the operator. The perfume used in evoking him is saffron.

For another method of constructing a magic mirror that does not involve the sacrifice of a white pigeon, see the appendix to The Philosophy of Natural Magic by Henry C. Agrippa (University Books, 1974).