Motif
mirror avoidance during sickness or dying
mirror_avoidance_during_sickness_or_dying
A motif of the Sacred Law and Social Order family, within the sub-family Taboo and Ritual Restriction. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.
1 occurrences
1 traditions
comparative
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The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2) CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE.; lines 3606-3684 confidence: high
The passage explains covering mirrors in sick-rooms as protection because in sickness the soul may easily take flight; it compares this with rules preventing sick people from sleeping because sleep projects the soul outside the body.
The passage states that sick or dying people should not see themselves in a mirror because the soul may be projected out of the body and be at risk.
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