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John Dee's Black Mirror: The Aztec Obsidian in the British Museum

The polished stone Queen Elizabeth I's adviser is said to have used to speak with angels.

Quick answer

What is John Dee's mirror?

John Dee's mirror is a polished disc of black obsidian in the British Museum, associated with John Dee, the mathematician and adviser to Queen Elizabeth I who tried to contact angels through scrying with the medium Edward Kelley. A 2021 scientific study traced the obsidian to sources in Mexico, confirming it was made in the Aztec world and brought to Europe after the Spanish conquest.

Timeline

  1. 1527John Dee is born in London. He becomes a mathematician, astrologer and adviser to Elizabeth I.
  2. 1520s to 1530sSpanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. Obsidian mirrors are among objects brought to Europe.
  3. 1580sDee and Edward Kelley hold sessions in which Kelley claims to see and hear angels.
  4. 1700sThe mirror enters the collection of writer Horace Walpole, who labels it as Dee's.
  5. 1966The British Museum acquires the mirror.
  6. 2021A study in the journal Antiquity matches its obsidian to Pachuca, Mexico.

What is documented, and what is not

On the record

  • The mirror is real and on display at the British Museum.
  • Its Aztec origin was confirmed by geochemical analysis in 2021.
  • Dee recorded his angelic sessions in diaries that survive.

Disputed or unproven

  • Whether Dee personally used this particular mirror rests on later attribution, including Walpole's label.
  • Nothing supports the idea that anything was actually contacted.

Common questions

Who was John Dee?

An English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer and occultist (1527 to about 1609) who advised Queen Elizabeth I and tried to communicate with angels.

Where is John Dee's mirror?

In the British Museum in London, museum number 1966,1001.1.

Is John Dee's mirror Aztec?

Yes. A 2021 study found its obsidian came from the Pachuca area of Mexico.

Read the record yourself

Links go to official archives, museums, agencies and published research. Search links open the archive's own search for this topic.

THE FICTION BUILT ON THIS RECORD · FILE 056 · VOLUME IXQueen Elizabeth's Magician Spoke to Angels Through This Mirror. It's Aztec.Some doors are made of glass so you can see who is waiting before you open them.Read the first pages free →

Last reviewed 2026-10-13. This page covers the public record only. Archive files are dramatized and always marked as files.

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