Also called mirror reversal, mirror spell, send it back spell
A reflective protection spell that uses a mirror, turned outward, to bounce any ill will or bad luck back toward wherever it came from. It names no one: the mirror simply refuses to hold what is sent.
TraditionAfrican American hoodoo reversing work, with parallels in Chinese feng shui
RegionUnited States; China
Era20th century to present
Moon☾ Waning moon
DaySaturday · Saturn
ElementWater
Difficulty●○○ Simple
Time20 minutes
Tonight's moon is read when the page loads.
The working
Clean the mirror with salt water and dry it, so it starts clear.
On the paper, write your own name and a short statement such as: whatever harm is sent to me returns to where it began. Do not write anyone else's name.
Light the candle if you are using one, and hold the mirror so it faces away from you. Say the statement aloud three times.
Fold the paper away from yourself and place it behind the mirror, so the reflective side faces outward and the paper sits safely behind it.
Set the mirror in a window or near the front door, facing out toward the street.
Sprinkle the salt along the sill or shelf beneath it, then let the candle burn down while you watch, or snuff it.
Wipe the mirror clean whenever you dust; a cloudy mirror is said to stop working.
Take care: Do not leave a mirror where it can focus sunlight onto curtains or wood, and keep the candle on a heatproof dish away from fabric. Avoid aiming a mirror straight at a neighbor's door; in feng shui and plain good manners it reads as hostile.
Versions across time and place
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The hoodoo mirror box
African American hoodoo · 20th century to present
Rootworkers line a small box with mirrors facing inward and place a petition or figure inside, so any harm is reflected endlessly back on itself. In traditional use the petition often named a known enemy; the modern, non-targeting form here keeps only the outward-facing protective mirror.
Uses: small box, mirror tiles, petition paper, reversing oil or salt
Chinese feng shui · Modern popular practice; trigram arrangement traditionally credited to Fu Xi
An octagonal frame painted with the eight trigrams in the Early Heaven order surrounds a small round mirror, hung outside above a door or window. It is meant to guard against sha qi from a sharp corner, a road aimed at the house, a hospital or a graveyard. Practitioners disagree about convex versus concave mirrors, and many warn against hanging it inside or aiming it at a neighbor's door.
Uses: bagua mirror, outside wall above the door
Recorded in: Jen Ng, Feng Shui and Bagua Mirrors (fengshuibyjen.com); Wikipedia, Feng shui
History
Mirrors have a long protective reputation, but the return-to-sender spell as people search for it today comes mostly from African American hoodoo reversing work. Catherine Yronwode of the Lucky Mojo Curio Company describes reversing as defense for people who face a persistent enemy, and calls the mirror its main tool, since it reflects evil intentions back on the sender. Mirror boxes, candles burned on mirrors and names written backward all belong to this family of spells.
A separate mirror tradition runs through Chinese feng shui. Octagonal bagua mirrors hang above doors across Hong Kong, Singapore and Chinatowns worldwide, aimed at threatening shapes outside rather than at people. Practitioners themselves argue over how and whether they should be used, and some feng shui teachers treat them as more cultural custom than classical technique. Both traditions share the idea that a home can turn away harm without striking back.
