Peter Birchwood said:
Mirrors are the worst. Ever since I saw a movie where the character was alone in the bathroom, looked at the mirroe and saw the face of a woman reflected behind him, I've been nervous about them Hollywood has a lot to answer for.
I've long been curious as to why so many apparitions are seen as reflections, or without facial features. Pondering the question, I decided that this would pose less of a strain on a percipient' imaging system - basically by reducing the computational demand for detail or full image parallax, as when a individual is clearly observed in three dimensional space.
Mirrors have long been used to contact the dead. Raymond Moody jnr, author of the NDE books, wrote one on the subject, showing the historical precedents of the use of polished surfaces and crystals for divination and spirit contact.
Personally, I felt he had gone overboard in recommending the procedure to bereaved persons as a means of seeing their loved ones again. However, the technique is simple - a dimly lit room, and a mirror which is stared into obliquely to take in part of the neutral background of the room.
After a while (when the Unconscious takes over, I suspect), people often report seeing the loved one of choice framed in the mirror, ostensibly standing behind them.
Personally, as I suggest, I feel it's more likely a wish fulfillment kind of thing, and you're just as likely to see a fantasy figure as a deceased loved one. Having said that, considering the propensity also of the Jungian Unconscious to be a gateway for the dark archetypes of the ID (aka Ouija boards) , I think it advisible to pretty much leave the whole thing alone.
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