Surely you've heard the legend that if you break a mirror, you in turn get seven years' bad luck?
But did you ever wonder WHY if you, like, accidentally break a mirror the universe automatically serves you up SEVEN WHOLE YEARS of bad luck?
Obviously it's a ~myth~ — but the myth goes back probably further than you think. Way back to ancient Rome.
According to Israel Drazin, author of Maimonides and the Biblical Prophents, "the ancient Romans believed that when you looked in a mirror, the image you saw represented your soul." So if you broke a mirror, you also broke your soul.
So where's the seven years' bad luck thing come from then?
The number seven was very special in ancient Rome. So special that the Romans believed that life "renewed itself every seven years." So if you broke a mirror, your soul was broken, but your luck would change after seven years."
And while you probably won't actually get seven years' bad luck if you break a mirror...now you know exactly where the legend comes from!
