tmosphere, and the moon and the mirror
poison each other, in the same manner as two malicious persons, by
looking at each other, poison each other's souls with their eyes. If a
mirror is strongly poisoned in this manner, the witch takes good care of
it; and if she desires to injure someone, she takes a waxen image made
in his name, she surrounds it with a cloth spotted with blood, and
throws the reflex of the mirror through the opening in the middle upon
the head of the figure, or upon some other part of its body, using at
the same time her evil imagination and curses; and the man whom the
image represents may then have his vitality dried up, and his blood
poisoned by that evil influence, and he may become diseased and his body
covered with boils.'

This, of course, is not divination, but sorcery.

Paracelsus gives very minute directions for the making of a magic
mirror. The material should be the 'electrum magicum,' which is a
compound of ten parts of pure gold, ten of silver, five of copper, two
of tin, two of lead, one part of powdered iron, and five parts of
mercury. When the planets Saturn and Mercury conjoin, the lead has to be
melted and the mercury added. Then the metal must cool, while you wait
for a conjunction of Jupiter with Saturn and Mercury; when that occurs,
you melt the amalgam of lead and mercury, and add the tin, previously
melted in a separate crucible, at the exact moment of conjunction. Again
you wait for a conjunction of either of the above-named planets with
the Sun, when you add the gold; with the Moon, when you add the silver;
with Venus, when you add the copper. Finally, when a conjunction of
either of the planets occurs with Mars, you must complete your mixture
with the powdered iron, and stir up the whole molten mass with a dry rod
of witch-hazel.

Thus far your metal; but the mirror is not made yet. It must be of about
two inches diameter, and must be founded in moulds of fine sand at the
moment when a conjunction of Jupiter and Venus occurs. The mirror must
be smoothed with a grindstone and polished with tripoly and a piece of
lime-wood; but all the operations must be conducted only when the
planetary influences are favourable.

By selecting the proper hours, three different mirrors may be prepared,
and then, at a time of conjunction of two 'good' planets, while the Sun
or Moon 'stands on the house of the lord of the hour of your birth,' the
three mirrors should be placed in pure well-