Sitting behind a protective glass in the British museum of London is a black obsidian mirror called the spirit mirror. This sacred object made of volcanic glass once belonged to John Dee, personal astrology, magician and mathematician to Queen Elizabeth I. This scrying item has caused much speculation over the centuries and engages ones curiosity for it contains much unknown magical lore.

It is a well documented that John Dee, who the Queen called her philosopher, along with a con man known for his mediumship, Edward Kelley, used the mirror for over ten years to contact angels. If questioned, Edward Kelley said they were in touch with demons and begged to end the rituals, but John Dee received many profound messages from the mirror and continued with these practices to contact other worlds and the deceased.

The mirror itself had come from the Aztec Empire shortly after Cortes conquered their nation. The Aztec priests were adept in using the mirror to conjure one of their Supreme essences, Tezcatlipoca, also known as the Great Smoking Mirror for the purpose of futuristic visions leading to prophetic messages.

Meanwhile, in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, another of these mirrors is on display with much speculation as to who it belonged. Many Qing Emperors have sang songs and written poetry for the mirror calling it the Ink-Jade mirror. Modern day researchers have since confirmed that indeed, this relic is an artifact, a rare obsidian mirror from the Mesoamerican Aztec culture fashioned from the naturally occurring volcanic glass. 

This has resulted in the piece being renamed to the “Aztec Obsidian Mirror”. Mirrors were important relics in the religious traditions of Meso-American cultures, as they were believed to be portals to intangible realms, such as the past and the future.

The Taiwanese learned, just as the British, that the mirror in their possession is traditionally associated with the god Tezcatlipoca, often representing a wide range of concepts, including the night sky, night winds, the jaguar, sorcery, war and conflict.

The Aztecs didn’t disappear, the mirrors didn’t stop being produced and Tezcatlipoca, the God essence, the ONE who can give or take all, is still revered to this day in the indigenous Mexhica culture of Mexico. Traditional dancers, dreamers, curanderas and spiritual leaders are all adept at using their obsidian mirrors, which are still being crafted from Mexican volcanic glass.

In general, mirrors have held a long fascination in the esoteric world. It has always been a tool of divination and magic, a portal that allows us to see into another realm. Mirrors aid one to focus the untrained eye “to see” and perceive what is otherwise unseen. Their purpose is to look into the future, aid in healing, answer questions, solve problems, find lost objects and people, and identify or find thieves and criminals.

Early Egyptians, Arabs, the Magi of Persia, Greeks, and Romans all have documented use of scrying. To gaze upon a shiny surface is the earliest form of divination. “Romans who were skilled in mirror reading were called specularii. Much later, Catherine de Medicis reputedly had a magic mirror that enabled her to see the future for herself and for France. Pére Cotton, the confessor to King Henri IV of France, had a magic mirror that revealed to him the plots against the king.” -https://occult-world.com/mirrors/

The Mayans seem to have had interest in the spirit mirror as these objects were found in every region of the Maya civilization and throughout every period of their existence. Mirrors were of considerable value within Maya society and their use was restricted to the elite. The level of craftsmanship of mirrors seems to indicate they were intended for use by royalty and the aristocratic class alone. Mirrors were hand-held or put into ornate bases, or dwarfs and servants were used to hold the mirror for their rulers. Both for the Maya and the Mexica the very word ‘mirror’ was synonymous with ‘ruler’. 

“Advances in the decipherment of Maya script have revealed the central function of mirrors as instruments for ritual scrying. This ritual scrying was the continuation of an ancient divinatory tradition with its ultimate origins in Pre-Classic shamanistic practices that had been formalized by the Maya priesthood.” – Wikipedia. A Mayan Priest, an interpreter of destinies would say, ‘You have come to see yourself in the mirror; you have come to consult the book’. Mirrors represented wisdom, knowledge and power.

The first time I saw an obsidian mirror, my spirit literally jumped out of my body. I had an instant recognition of a sacred tool that I knew in my heart I wanted to know more intimately. I knew the mirror had called me. I have often heard indigenous wisdom teachers say, ‘Don’t go looking for your medicine, it will find you!’ And so it did. Learning to actually work with my mirror was a whole other undertaking.

I needed a teacher. It took me three teachers to find the one with whom I deeply resonated. What I learned with Alma Santiago Martinez, Nahautl lineage keeper, is that a gazer can get lost in the mirror. Permission, respect and knowledge are needed to approach the obsidiana.

The supernatural portal of the mirror can bring you into deep reflections with many archetypes that live within yourself. You learn to see the cosmic eye and how you reflect yourself into the world. You learn to meet your ego and release aspects of yourself and your stories that don’t serve you back into the black mirror. You learn to hear the self destructive voice that keeps you in repetitive destructive patterns and also release this to the mirror. You find your voice and your courage. Symbolically you connect with the sun, the moon, eyes & faces of the ancestors and the wisdom of the flowers & herbs. The mirror can answer questions, it can offer warnings, it can bring protection. It is a gift, from God, from Tezcatlipoca, He Who We Must Obey. 

I am blessed and grateful to be working with such a sacred ancient tool of magic! Do you too feel a call to the mirror? The true self is there. Right there. In front of you. In the mirror. In the pool of water. In the significant other, in the ancestors, in the reflection that you dare to gaze upon. Would you like to learn to use a mirror? I asked mi maestra to create a teaching around Tezcatlipoca and beginning use of the Obsidian Mirror: https://moonflowermedicine.love/classes-teachings/obsidian-mirror-teaching

Tlazocamati Tezcatlipoca

Denai Grace Seacombe-Fuller, Cihuatochtli, is a Mama of five, Tarot Guide, Acolyte of IxChel, spiritual healer, flower essence practitioner, flower alchemist and student of Nahualism.