Hey there! Happy first day of October!
The last few days of September have been crazy busy for me. I’m still working on editing the fourth book of the Shadow Enforcer series, but at least I am done with the book cover design. If you are following me on Facebook or Instagram, or if you are a member of my Facebook group, you have probably seen it already. If everything goes as planned, I hope to publish the next Shadow Enforcer story by the end of this month.
With the fourth book of the series coming out soon, now is the best time to jump into the world of the Shadow Enforcer, where ancient gods of different pantheons walk among unsuspecting humans, magic is real, and anything is possible. The first three books of this Urban Fantasy Series are available on Amazon, FREE with Kindle Unlimited.
In the meantime, here is some inside scoop on one of the mysterious creatures of the Slavic Lore—Zerkalitsa.
…and the monster of this month is Zerkalitsa.
Well, maybe she’s not really a monster. Zerkalitsa is a good Slavic house spirit, the master of all mirrors. Not only is she not evil, but she also can’t stand anything evil and refuses to reflect it in her mirror. This is the reason the other spirits of Slavic lore that are considered being evil—domovoj, vostruha, or kikimora--do not have a reflection.
I wonder if that was where all the stories about vampires not having a reflection got started…
No one knows how Zerkalitsa looks. After all, she is a spirit reflecting those who are looking in the mirror at the moment.
Superstitions and beliefs associated with Zerkalitsa.
There are quite a few superstitions and beliefs associated with mirrors and many of them have something to do with this interesting house spirit.
1. No matter what you do, don’t look in a mirror at night…
Legend has it, Zerkalitsa doesn’t sleep well, or maybe not at all. At night, when everyone is fast asleep, she entertains herself by replaying everything she has seen during the day. This is the reason some people suggest not to look in the mirrors at night—you never know what kind of “movie” Zerkalitsa is playing at that moment. You may end up seeing something you really don’t want to see.
2. Cover all mirrors if someone is no longer among the living…
One of the oldest Russian traditions is to cover all the mirrors in the house when someone passes away. But why? How did this tradition start in the first place?
Zerkalitsa is deeply attached to the owners of the house, and if one of the owners passes away, she griefs deeply, calling for the dearly departed to return to her. According to Slavic beliefs, the spirit of a dead person doesn’t leave their house for three days. So, if you do not cover all the mirrors, you are taking the chance of seeing the reflection of that spirit in Zerkalitsa’s mirror. I don’t think you would enjoy that kind of encounter.
3. Don’t have more than one mirror in a room.
What can I tell you? Zerkalitsa is a jealous type. If you put multiple mirrors in the room, she gets extremely jealous and tries to get rid of the competition. According to Slavic lore, Zerkalitsa is the reason sometimes mirrors lose their shine and distort the reflection when there is more than one mirror in a room.
4. Don’t show a mirror to your baby.
Zerkalitsa can see the future. This is a powerful gift as well as a heavy burden. If you dare show a mirror to your innocent baby, Zerkalitsa may predict the baby’s future and show it to them. That will scare the child, making them sick.
How to make Zerkalitsa happy?
Believe it or not, it is relatively easy. Nothing makes Zerkalitsa happier than a reflection of direct sunlight in her mirror. While the ray of sun is reflecting in the mirror, Zerkalitsa can leave her domain and manifest in the world of humans.
In this extremely short period of time, she can fly around the world, learn all the secrets of the universe and return to her mirror.
I only wish we could learn things that fast…
To meet Zerkalitsa, enter the world of The Shadow Enforcer, where ancient myths and magic are real, and things are not what they appear to be...