What people say
Seven years of bad luck.Household · 1,990 searches a month
Breaking a mirror
Breaking a mirror: seven years of bad luck. First recorded in Roman era for the seven years; mirrors as soul-holders far older, it is about 1976 years old — the 6th oldest of the 40 superstitions we have dated. Polished metal mirrors were expensive enough in antiquity that breaking one was a genuine financial blow — which is the practical origin the mystical version replaced.
When it actually starts
How old is this one
First recorded
Roman era for the seven years; mirrors as soul-holders far older
That makes it
about 1,976 years old
Rank by age
6 oldest of 40 dated here
Category
Household
Searched
1,990 a month
Romans believed life renewed itself in seven-year cycles, and that a mirror held a fragment of the soul. Breaking one damaged the reflection, and the damage lasted one full cycle. The number seven comes from that belief, not from the mirror.
What is going on
Polished metal mirrors were expensive enough in antiquity that breaking one was a genuine financial blow — which is the practical origin the mystical version replaced.Where it applies. Consistent across Europe and the Americas.
Other household superstitions
Recorded around the same time
Breaking a mirror is the 6th oldest of the 40 dated superstitions here. Of those, 6 are younger than a century and 5 predate the common era.
First-recorded dates are the earliest documented appearance in written sources, not the earliest possible origin — an unrecorded practice can be older. How the dating works and where it is uncertain →