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{{trope}}
[[File:MagicMirror.jpg|link=Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (Disney film)|frame|<small>Outlook doubtful, ask again later.</small> ]]
 
A common household device, sometimes employed as a [[Seven Deadly Sins|symbol of vanity]], but with much deeper roots: combining the reflective and symbolic properties of flat, still water and the portability and delicacy of glass, mirrors show a character their reflections, and often much, much more...
 
A common staple of fantasy literature and movies, the Magic Mirror is [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|exactly what you think it is]]: A mirror with magical powers. Like a [[Crystal Ball]], they can be used for seeing the future or communicating with or [[Palantir Ploy|spying on]] someone at the other end, but a mirror is ''much'' more versatile; other possibilities include the mirror being used as [[Cool Gate|a portal]] through [[Portal to Thethe Past|time]] or [[Portal Network|space]], or even into a [[Mirror Universe]], and a [[Crystal Prison]] to trap foes. A mirror may even be used to [[The Mirror Shows Your True Self|reveal the true nature]] of one of the main characters or the villain. They are the standard tool for a [[Vain Sorceress]] who wants to know who is the [[Fairest of Them All]].
 
Often, the Magic Mirror itself may be sentient; if it is, [[Artifact of Doom|it's usually evil]], or at the very least [[Prophecy Twist|quite fickle]].
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* The character, Mirror, in the series Sisters Grimm. Doesn't just show you what you want to see, but will take you there it is within his power, and is the guardian of a never ending warehouse of magical items and artifacts.
* In The [[Tokyo Pop]] published Manga ''The Dreaming'', the use of a Mirror in a Bloody Mary-style ends up with {{spoiler|one girl walking out into the bush, and being found dead}} and {{spoiler|the twin characters started to have different dreams, with one of course ended up being possessed by the Headmistress' dead twin, permanently}}. The more superstitious of the twins berated the other - reciting the common mirror superstitions listed above.
* One of the Clow Card in [[Cardcaptor Sakura (Manga)|Cardcaptor Sakura]] is "The Mirror", but it's more of a [[Master of Disguise]] and shape shifter. In her human form, she's a [[White-Haired Pretty Girl]] in robes who holds a mirror in her hands.
* In ''[[Monster (Animemanga)|Monster]]'', the God of Peace has the reflection of a demon.
* [[Soul Eater|Shinigami's]] very large mirror acts as audio/video link to any of his staff or students provided they have a mirror (a pane of glass works, too). He can, however, use it to watch over people without such an aid (he's seen watching several missions from a vantage point where no mirror can be), though the mirror apparently cannot see everywhere ([[Big Bad|Asura]] and Noah have not been found via the mirror). Shinigami seems to use it for convenient transportation into the Death Room, but it's unclear where he's coming there ''from''.
** There's also the Death Scythe Tezca Tlipocta, whose weapon form is a mirror that allows him to reflect people's souls.
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* One youkai in ''[[Natsume Yuujinchou]]'' was looking for a mirror that could heal her friend. It had broken into fragments and one of them was in Natsume's eye.
* Toyed with in ''Onegai Samia-don'' (the anime version of the novel ''Five children and it''). There's a ''whole'' magical world behind each mirror, but it cannot be accessed from the outside if not via magic; therefore, we only get to see it when a depressed [[Proper Lady|Anne]] asks the Psammead to send her there. {{spoiler|The episode ends [[Bittersweet Ending|in a borderline]] [[Tear Jerker]] as the last spot in the Mirror World is one that contains Anne's earliest memories, including those of [[Missing Mom|her deceased mother]]... and when she's about to unlock them, Psammead's magic wears off since it's sundown.}}
* In [[Peter Pan no Bouken (Anime)|Peter Pan no Bouken]], {{spoiler|Queen Sinistra}} has one. {{spoiler|Wendy gets thrown inside of it, finds a world behind the crystal... and has to face the [[Face Heel Turn|Face Heel Turned]] Princess Luna.}}
* More than one of these is featured in [[Hell Teacher Nube]]. In a variation, there are two who aren't inherently magical, but Kyoko and Miki perform a sort-of spell to follow an urban legend that says mirrors let you see the future...
 
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* The mirror from ''[[Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (Literaturenovel)|Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs]]'' is a recurring character in ''[[Fables (Comic Book)|Fables]]'', and yes, "recurring character" is the right description; it appears to have human-level intelligence. It can show whoever asks it almost anything they ask for, but seems to prefer that the request be in the form "Mirror, mirror, [description of mirror]/[Question that rhymes with the first line]." We see it getting snippy with Jack at one point for not bothering to make his request rhyme (Jack tries to defend himself, saying it's free verse but the mirror doesn't buy it).
** More obliquely: Kay still has bits of the Snow Queen's Mirror stuck in his eyes even though he is freed of them in the story he comes from.
* Despair from ''[[The Sandman (Comic Book)|The Sandman]]'' has a domain full of windows. Each represents a mirror in our world, and she can look through them to watch the suffering of humanity. Sometimes she'll catch the eye of a person looking in a mirror and he'll experience dread and heartache.
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== [[Fairy Tale|Fairy Tales]] ==
* Rather common in Western myths and legends, including:
** ''[[Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (Literaturenovel)|Snow White]]'' (later made into a Disney movie, where the Mirror - exact and unflattering - epitomized the all-consuming [[Vain Sorceress|vanity]] of the queen).
** ''[[Beauty and The Beast]]'' (likewise, in which the mirror shows the user whatever he or she asks to see).
** ''[[The Snow Queen]]'' has a mirror that shows only the ugly things in the world. It gets broken and one of the shards ends up in Kai's eye.
 
== [[Fanfic]] ==
* ''[[Calvin and Hobbes The Series (Fanfic)|Calvin and Hobbes: The Series]]'' has one act as a [[Cool Gate|gateway]] to a [[Mirror Universe]], thanks to one of [[Mad Scientist|Dr. Brainstorm]]'s inventions.
 
== [[Film]] ==
* The ''[[Mirrors]]'' of the eponymous 2008 film, being the (rather halfassed) [[Sealed Evil in Aa Can|prison for some sort of demonic force]], tend to manifest reflections which can make [[People Puppets]] of their real-world counterparts, controlling, harming, or killing them, or sucking them into the mirror world.
* In ''[[Van Helsing]]'', a giant mirror serves as a magical doorway to Castle Dracula.
* ''[[The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus]]'' features a stage mirror as an entrance to the dream world.
* In the French supernatural thriller ''Vidocq'' the villain makes his immortality-granting [[Magic Mirror]] into [[Mask Power|a mask]] for convenience.
* The titular mirror mask from ''[[Mirror Mask]]'', in part.
* In ''[[Snow White: aA Tale of Terror (Film)|Snow White a Tale of Terror]]'' of course. It's also implied that the mirror is either the experience of Claudia's psychotic break or a spirit.
 
== Folklore ==
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** Using a mirror to summon some malevolent force, such as "Bloody Mary."
*** And "Candyman".
*** And "[[Kingdom of Loathing|Guy Made of Bees]]", a nod to ''[[Candyman (Film)|Candyman]].''
*** And [[South Park|Biggie Smalls]]
* Divination using mirrors is called ''[[wikipedia:Catoptromancy|Catoptromancy]]''. Some legends held that a catoptromancer could also use mirrors to reflect magic back on the practitioner.
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** Even standard mirrors have a habit of talking back to their users (one tells Harry that attempting to straighten his hair is a losing battle).
* In ''[[The Mirror of Her Dreams]]'' by Stephen Donaldson all magic is based on mirrors and all mirrors are magical. Each mirror functions as a window to somewhere, in the same universe or not, and it is possible to transport things in and out of the mirror. Clever use of mirrors can achieve a wide variety of effects.
* In ''Through the Looking Glass'', the sequel to ''[[Alice in Wonderland (Literature)|Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'', Alice enters another world magically through a mirror.
* Midway through ''Lirael,'' of the ''[[Old Kingdom]]'' trilogy, the title character finds the Dark Mirror, a handheld portal into the past, used specially for Remembrancers. By walking into Death and reciting the incantation, the user can see into past events. The farther back one wants to look, the farther into Death she must walk.
* The Mirror of Llunet is the [[MacGuffin|object of Taran's quest]] in ''[[Prydain Chronicles|Taran Wanderer]]'', by Lloyd Alexander. Taran wishes to know of his parentage and so seeks this mirror (actually a flat, still, shallow pool) which will show the truth.
* There's a mirror in the afterlife in the Detective Inspector Chen series that tells the souls of the dead what they are likely to be in the next life when they reincarnate.
* The [[Big Bad]] in the ''[[Discworld (Literature)|Discworld]]'' novel ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Witches Abroad|Witches Abroad]]'' has a mirrors-facing-each-other setup which multiplies her images, also multiplying her power.
** The Omniscope used by the wizards in several books is described as looking like a mirror surrounded by junk. It's basically a flatscreen crystal ball.
** And the Demon King in ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Eric|Eric]]'' has one that answers questions, although not very helpfully.
* Tom Holt's entertaining but nonsensical novel ''Snow White and the Seven Samurai'' subverts this (as he does practically everything else) by introducing the "Mirrors 3.1" operating system which Snow White's Evil Queen Nemesis uses to pretty much control the whole fairytale world. Sort of. Since it's a parody of a rather well-known OS, you can imagine it doesn't work quite as well as the box claims.
* Galadriel in ''[[The Lord of the Rings (Literature)|Lord of the Rings]]'' has a mirror that shows "''things that are, things that were, and some things that have not yet come to pass.''" When the Fellowship visit Lórien she uses the mirror to show Frodo and Sam what will happen if the Ring is not destroyed.
** That's just what happened in the movie (though Sam wasn't present). In the book the Mirror shows what's going on in the Shire right at that moment, as well as glimpses to the history of the Ring. The Mirror itself is incidentally just water in a silver bowl. It's implied that all the power comes from Galadriel herself, or her ring.
*** The light of the star Eärendil is also caught in the water of the spring, which Galadriel also uses to fill the crystal vial she later gives to Frodo, so presumably it has mystical properties, as well.
* Parodied in book three of the ''[[Enchanted Forest Chronicles]]'', ''Calling On Dragons'', where magic mirrors are used as magical telephones. (You call someone by reciting the couplet "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, I would like to make a call".) A sign of the quality of the mirror is how polite it is to you; one mirror has quite the personality.
* In [[Robert E. Howard]]'s ''The Hour of the Dragon'', [[Conan the Barbarian]] is shown to Xaltotun with a magic mirror.
** In the [[Kull]] story "The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune" -- the mirror of Tuzun Thune.
* [[Clark Ashton Smith]]'s Averoigne stories.
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* Many of the godmothers in the [[Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms|Five Hundred Kingdoms]] have magic mirrors to help them.
** In ''The Sleeping Beauty'' Fairy Godmother Lily {{spoiler|falls in love with hers}}
* There are several forms of [[Magic Mirror|Magic Mirrors]] in ''[[Septimus Heap (Literature)|Septimus Heap]]'', mostly of the portal type. Several of them become critical to the plot in ''Physik''.
* ''[[The Dresden Files (Literature)|The Dresden Files]]'': Harry makes a point of not having a mirror in his home, as there are apparently a bunch of nasty things out there which can attack through them. For some reason he keeps the rear view mirror in his car, though. And McAnally's Pub has 13 mirrors, with no complaints. [[Unreliable Narrator|Maybe there's some other reason he doesn't own one?]]
** Harry himself uses a mirror as a key part of a spell in ''Blood Rites''.
 
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* An episode of ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'' features a mirror that supposedly shows a reflection of a man's assassins. A Central American dictator leaves it to the man who overthrew him, who becomes paranoid when he sees visions of his companions trying to do him in. Ultimately, {{spoiler|he ends up killing himself}}.
* [[Rod Serling|Rod Serling's]] ''[[Night Gallery]]'', episode "The Painted Mirror".
* Gideon of ''[[Charmed (TV)|Charmed]]'' has a magic mirror that connects his world to a [[Mirror Universe]].
 
== [[New Media]] ==
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** Mirror of Mind Switch: [[Freaky Friday Flip|Swaps the mind of whoever looks into it with the person holding it.]] Actually a hand-mirror.
** Classic one is, of course, scrying mirror, which is also the second function of the Mirror of Mental Prowess.
*** There was even a [[Shout -Out]] -- "Isolde's Answer" spell that allowed to see a scene in 5+ mile radius as an answer to one question using any scrying device. And yes, asking a mirror "Who's The [[Fairest of Them All]]?" <ref>-- them all in 1 mile per level, anyway --</ref> was one of examples <ref>The other two were far more useful "Where I put that book?" and "Where are the fish biting today?"</ref>.
* Fetches from ''[[Changeling: The Lost (Tabletop Game)|Changeling: The Lost]]'', as part of [[Evil Twin|their very nature]], have powers over mirrors and associated elements. They can produce a shard of glass that serves as a knife from any mirror, or force a changeling to perceive everyone as wearing their own face, or trap a changeling in a mirror world, or touch a mirror and produce a clone.
** Another [[New World of Darkness]] book, ''Proverbial Monsters'', features a creature called a Miraree that gains access to this world when a mirror is broken, and can manifest through other nearby mirrors to drain people of their [[Life Energy]].
 
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** In ''[[King's Quest IV]]'', the fairy Genesta first contacted Rosella through it, launching the events of the game.
** In ''[[King's Quest VI]]'', this mirror revealed to Alexander the peril of Cassima in the intro, again launching the events of the game; and yet another magic mirror is given to Alexander by the Beast from Beauty and the Beast, and later used to {{spoiler|win a duel with Death by making him cry.}} The mirror has a second use in the [[Multiple Endings|bare-bones ending]], where it {{spoiler|reveals the princess to be a fake at the royal wedding.}}
** In ''[[King's Quest: Mask of Eternity (Video Game)|King's Quest Mask of Eternity]]'', the mirror shows king Graham what transpires in the Realm of the Sun and later allows Connor his first glimpse of his enemy Lucreto.
** In the [[Extended Universe]] novel ''[[King's Quest the Floating Castle (Literature)|King's Quest the Floating Castle]]'', the mirror is clouded by the arrival of an [[Evil Sorcerer]], and the sorcerer's castle also has a set of mirrors which can be used to view between or even [[Cool Gate|travel between]] each other.
* ''[[Okami]]'' uses magic mirrors both as [[Save Point|Save Points]] and teleportation nodes.
** As well as blunt instruments used to [[Improbable Weapon User|violently beat demons to death]].
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* In ''[[Quest for Glory I]]'' there is a magic mirror that can be used to reflect spells back upon the caster. It's of course an important object in beating the game.
* In ''[[Ultima IX]]'' the destruction of Skara Brae could be seen by activating a red, smoky mirror in Lord British's chambers, after which the mirror shattered.
* The mirror from ''[[Snow White (Disney film)|Snow White]]'' appears in ''[[Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep]]''. For gameplay reasons, it is given the previously unseen ability to suck people into a pocket dimension within itself where the mirror's spirit can physically harm the protagonists.
* The opening scene from the 1936 [[Mickey Mouse]] short "Thru the Mirror", in which Mickey has fallen asleep reading ''[[Alice in Wonderland|Through the Looking-Glass]]'' and his dream self decides to go check out the mirror above his fireplace mantle, is used in the intro of ''[[Epic Mickey]]'' as an explanation for how Mickey ended up in Yen Sid's tower and {{spoiler|accidentally created [[Eldritch Abomination|the Shadow Blot]] and [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|caused the Thinner Disaster]]}}. The short itself is also featured as a 2D "travel zone" level in-game.
 
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* The magic mirror in ''[[Shrek]]'' shows Lord Farquaad prospective princesses with which to marry and become a king, done in the style of a [[The Seventies|70s dating game show]]. In the first sequel, it's used as a television set.
** Its appearance is the same as in Disney's ''[[Snow White (Disney film)|Snow White]]'', or a parody thereof.
* ''[[Xiaolin Showdown (Animation)|Xiaolin Showdown]]'' has the Reversing Mirror, which had the power to reverse the powers of any Shen Gong Wu it was used against. This was a rather loose definition, as its real powers could range from reversing effects (like heavy armor becoming light as a feather) to reversing the direction of offensive attacks (like a projectile or strike being turned the way it came) to whatever the plot required (rather than some magic glasses that showed the future showing the past, it showed a bizarro "opposite" future where the hero was evil).
* ''[[Gargoyles (Animation)|Gargoyles]]'' had Titania's mirror in an episode named, interestingly, ''The Mirror''. Unclear exactly what it did, it mostly seemed to be a focus for Puck's power. It was also used for by Demona to summon and capture Puck, and it exhibited teleportation capabilities.
* In Disney's ''[[Beauty and The Beast (Disney)|Beauty and Thethe Beast]]'', the Beast gives Belle a magic mirror that will show her anything she wishes.
* ''[[Re Boot]]'''s Hexadecimal had a mirror that was powered by her own viral energy. She used it for communication, spying on the Supercomputer, and when broken it released a web creature into Mainframe.
 
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