Hellebore #14: The Mirror Issue

Reflections, masks, portraits, shadows and photographs. In folklore, they are believed to contain part of our soul, and therefore to be invested with power. But this power they hold has also inspired some of our deepest fears: worlds hidden below the surface, trapped souls, shadowy beings stealing our likeness.

Long before we traced the first lines to represent a human figure, we learnt to recognise ourselves in our reflection on the water. Later, we fashioned mirrors from metal, then glass. The mirror became a powerful symbol associated with the unconscious and the unseen. In this issue, we peer into its depths to reveal portals to other realms; rituals from the past, the present, and the future; folk traditions for the shortest nights; stories of fetches, changelings, doppelgängers and vampires. When the glass dissipates into a bright silvery mist, we will face questions about truth and illusion, identity and transformation, essence and transcendence.

Words by Helen Cornish, Maria J Pérez Cuervo, Katy Soar, Elizabeth Dearnley, Sam George, John Gwatney, and Tunji Offeyi. Art by Courtney Brooke and Sam Freeman. Graphic design by Sam Freeman. Edited by Maria J Pérez Cuervo.