PaperDog wrote:LOL . . .Vampier Writes: Mirrors are believed to have certain Dark Powers and to be soul stealers. Much has been written about souls imprisoned in mirrors. I believe that this does have some basis as mirrors can be portals. All myth is based upon some fact I also believe.
Mirrors most definately can be used to train the inner eye to percieve the unseen. They also can be used in scrying. I have always found mirrors and their qualities to be utterly fascinating.
Mirrors can also deceive the inner eye... and they have a role (I believe) in how we engage the subjunctive in life, and how we fall into the abyss of evil.
1) Greed A dog with a steak in his mouth, approaches the edge of the pond, and sees, in a reflection, another dog with another steak...As most creatures are given over to greedy impulses, the dog attempts to grab the steak from the reflection, and thereby loses possession of the steak he had arrived with.
2) Vanity A woman approaches a mirror , with the expectation of reveling in her own feminine beauty..But she sees the mole on her cheek and the few extra-pounds of curve at her waist. She reaches for a scalpel to remove the mole, and unskillfully destroys the skin around it. She starves her self into malnutrition, causing new moles to appear..She thereby has lost the beauty she possessed when she arrived at the mirror.
3) Pride A man passes by a store window, and notices his own reflection, in conjunction with of the presence of state -of-the-art television set. His tattered clothing speaks to his sense of un unworthiness to possess that television. He then robs and steals from his brothers and sisters to pay for the television...and thereby gains the television, but has lost possession of himself.
Pride is what drives all our great achievements and Art, as a society we need this, it is healthy. Teaching against pride encourages people to be submissive to religious authorities in order to submit to God, thus enhancing institutional church power.
Aristotle's description of pride makes more sense, respect for oneself, as the greatest of all virtues. Rational pride makes a person harder to rule and dominate.
Making Envy a sin encourages people to be satisfied with what they have rather than object to others' unjust power or seek to gain what others have.
Teaching that Gluttony is a sin encourages those with very little to not want more and to be content with how little they are able to consume, since more would be sinful.
Anger? Come on, this is a no brainer, getting a little pissed off at yourself, something or someone else in order to make a change is sometime needed.
Condemning Greed once again is a device that keeps the poor in their place, and prevents them from wanting to have more.
Sloth is the most misunderstood of the Seven Deadly Sins. Often regarded as laziness, it is more accurately translated as apathy: when a person is apathetic, they no longer care about their duty to God and ignore their spiritual well-being. Condemning sloth is a way to keep people active in the church in case they start to realize how useless religion and theism really are.
Just Sayin'