Seven years of bad luck
Breaking a mirror damages the soul reflected in it, and the luck takes seven years to recover.
Household superstition
Broken mirror superstition
Breaking a mirror: seven years of bad luck. First recorded: Roman era for the seven years; mirrors as soul-holders far older. That makes it around 2,000 years old — joint 15th oldest of the 45 superstitions we have dated.
- Earliest record
- Roman era for the seven years
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
around 2,000 years old
Rank by age
Joint 15th oldest of 45 dated here
Category
Household
The usual explanation, repeated more often than it is sourced, is that Romans believed life renewed itself in seven-year cycles and that a mirror held a fragment of the soul. Breaking one damaged the reflection for one full cycle, so the number seven would come from that belief, not from the mirror.
14 of the dated superstitions here were written down earlier and 18 later, while 12 share its date.
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The versions people follow
What exactly is believed
A mirror that cracks by itself
A mirror breaking or falling on its own is an older sign of a death in the household.
Covered mirrors after a death
Mirrors are covered in a house of mourning so the soul of the dead does not become trapped in the glass.
Two mirrors facing each other
Mirrors facing one another are said to open a corridor for spirits, a belief strongest in Slavic and East Asian folklore.
How the bad luck is traditionally undone
Folk ways to cancel the bad luck include grinding the pieces to dust, burying them under moonlight, touching a gravestone with a shard, or leaving the broken glass under running water for seven hours.
Where it lives today
Most people who break a mirror still feel a flicker of unease, and the "seven years" figure is one of the best-known numbers in folklore — the practical advice is simply to wear gloves.
What people say
Seven years of bad luck.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
Nearest in age
Breaking a mirror is joint 15th oldest of the 45 dated superstitions here. Of those, 3 date from 1900 or later and 14 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 →
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Broken Mirror Superstition: Origin and Meaning.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/superstitions/broken-mirror/
For Wikipedia
{{cite web |title=Broken Mirror Superstition: Origin and Meaning |url=https://astrohot.com/superstitions/broken-mirror/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-28}}