1

First of all, mirrors are not cursed and it is not advisable to break a mirror, as it breaks into a
million pieces and you can possibly cut yourself in several places. However, the belief that a
broken mirror comes with bad luck dates back to the times of the Romans, who were
extremely superstitious people.

What happens if you break a mirror?

Snippet content
Breaking a mirror also breaks the soul into pieces. The soul, now severely damaged, isn't
able to fully protect its owner from bad luck. ... Whether you subscribe to the superstition or
not, breaking a mirror is bad news — if only because of the mess it creates.

What does a broken mirror symbolize?

Snippet content
Mirror superstitions probably evolved from the time when the first humans saw their
reflections in a pool of water, believed that the image in a water was their actual soul and to
endanger it would mean risking injury to the other self. ... It was the Romans who tagged to
the broken mirror a sign of seven years bad luck.
The idea that broken mirrors can bring bad luck most likely stems from the ancient Greeks,
who believed spirits lived in reflective pools of water. In fact, the fate that awaited Greek
mythological figure Narcissus may have grown out of this belief. Narcissus fell in love and it
was his undoing; so besotted was he with his own reflection in still waters that he pined for
himself (or, by some accounts, the visage of his late twin sister) until he died [source:
Encyclopedia Britannica].

Regardless of the way it started, the notion that breaking a mirror brings bad luck is
prevalent in cultures around the world, ranging from Greek and Chinese to Indian and
American. Whether you subscribe to the superstition or not, breaking a mirror is bad news —
if only because of the mess it creates.