RE: ADSactly Folklore: Magic mirrors of the soul
Great post, @ladyrebecca! As you say, the mirror is one of the most significant objects created by man. although there is its effect on nature in the reflection of the waters. You referred to the myth of narcissus, and by the way of it, and to your indication about the sorcerer Tezcatlipoca, in Nahuatl mythology, I would like to add something about it. In one of the versions of the myth of Quetzalcoatl, the main god of the Nahuas, Tezcatlipoca subjects the god-king priest to a trap: he shows him a mirror, in which Quetzalcoatl sees his face mistreated by his fasts and mortifications, and feels defeated. What is the trap? In which the priest king of the Toltecs feels vanity.
And this is one of the meanings of the mirror. Not by chance is an emblematic object of the Baroque era, where emerges the ironic individuality of the artist and skepticism about the relationship between reality and unreality (Velázquez's meninas are an example).
Regarding the latter, I remember an aphorism-type poem by our contemporary Venezuelan poet Rafael Cadenas: "In the mirror where you look there is no one".
Forgive this deviation from the theme and the extension. Thank you for your post, @ladyrebecca.
Thanks a lot, @josemalavem, for providing additional information on South American myths. I am a big fan of early South American civilizations.
I wanted to start a series on the main ancient aboriginal cultures of Latin America, as it is a field in which I have worked as a teacher and researcher of literature. But the multiple occupations that limit time delay these projects. I hope it won't take too long to put it into practice. Greetings.