Black Mirrors 

    Before long these members were reporting back wide-eyed tales of incredible sanctum experiences that if summed up could best be described as "intensely Cabalistic".  When the experiment cycle was over HSL requested rather insistently that all mirrors be returned to him right away. Most were returned but I suspect there may be a few out there other than the one I have.

   Back in the 1970's I interviewed 4 old members of AMORC and according to the consensus HSL was looking for a specialized mirror design for official RC sanctum use and it's only purpose was for metaphysical work, unlike the regular dresser mirrors that were commonly recommended for use in sanctums. These mirrors were however, very expensive to produce and beyond the reach of what most people could afford.
   These experiments with the colored mirrors and their use of color in meditation coincided with HSL's own research on the subject that later became a part of the 12th Degree.

   These mirrors were made of thick glass and measure 18" by 12". One side is treated with a flat coating of a very dark purple-black dye. I've had it analyzed by scientists at U of Chicago and Stanford U here in California and the results are that it's a type of coal tar dye commonly used in those days for a lot of industrial application but also metaphysical optical instruments by occult experimenters.  Plus there were trace amount of silver and other substances.   The color is unlike anything I've seen. Very very dark purple, or black with a tiny touch of purple. Similar to the color you get if you sandwich several Kodak Wratten #36 color photography filters together and hold them to the light. Close but not exact.
   Color does produce an effect as we all know. These mirrors were really keyed into some color harmonic that was especially conducive to initiating mystical experiences in those who were already familiar with the practical use of regular mirrors in their sanctum.

   Take a look around where Rosicrucians gather and ask your senior citizen AMORC friends. Maybe there's one of these black mirrors laying about and no one knows what it is. My description should help to identify it.

   How did I get one?  When I was working at RC Park in 1974 they were cleaning out an old storeroom to make way for a new set of offices.  Among the "junk" was a wooden crate with a dozen black mirrors!  When I saw them I knew exactly what they were and confirmed it with my boss there who was himself an old-timer and knew HSL and RML quite well. In fact it was he who first told me the story of these mirrors and even he didn't know any still existed. For the princely sum of a $2 contribution to AMORC I was allowed to take one home along with a receipt for "1 pane of colored glass". Later I went back to try to buy the rest but they had already been taken to the garbage dump! 

  The best way to describe the black mirror is to compare it to the regular reflective sanctum mirror.  If the regular mirror is like a general purpose radio receiver with a somewhat unidirectional whip antenna then the black mirror is like a military spy radio that can home in on one frequency and cancel out all side-channel crosstalk with a highly directional antenna.
   In other words it's useful for meditating on one very specific idea, concept or symbol and amplifying and magnifying in on it to an exceptional degree.
    It does have a downside however. It requires the use of tight focused concentration but if you should use it and just go into a general unfocused meditative state you'll get some bizarre and even unpleasant results. Remember that scene from Star Wars during Luke's Jedi training where Yoda sends him into a dark cave. Luke asks Yoda what's in the cave and Yoda replies "Only that which you bring with you".

   If you want to read more on this fascinating subject or even build a black mirror yourself I want to refer you to a book on the subject called "How to Make and Use a  Magic Mirror" by Donald Tyson.  It costs only $9 and can be ordered from Amazon and most metaphysical bookstores can order you a copy.