WEBVTT - The Artifact Redux: The Mirrors of Dr. Dee

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, Welcome to The Artifact. Uh, this is Robert Lamb. Oh,

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<v Speaker 1>and I'm Joe McCormick. I mean, I guess you recorded

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<v Speaker 1>this one by yourself, didn't you. That's how we've been

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<v Speaker 1>doing or that's how we were doing them. I don't know.

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<v Speaker 1>We're we're recording this a couple of months in advance,

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<v Speaker 1>so who's to say what happens between now and the

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<v Speaker 1>time when we actually published this. But yeah, it's spring break,

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<v Speaker 1>so we have a repeat episode of The Artifact for

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<v Speaker 1>you as as I think this may be the first

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<v Speaker 1>Artifact repeat, the first Artifact Vault episode ever, but suitably

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<v Speaker 1>it concerns a mirror, which is perfect because we've are

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<v Speaker 1>other Vault episodes this week concerned Gorgon's. Yeah. Okay, all right,

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<v Speaker 1>well let's dive right in. Welcome to Stuff to Blow

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<v Speaker 1>Your Mind, a production of My Heart Radio. Hi, my

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<v Speaker 1>name is Robert Lamb, and this is The Artifact, a

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<v Speaker 1>short form series from Stuff to Blow Your Mind, focusing

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<v Speaker 1>in on particular objects, ideas, and moments in time. Elizabethan

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<v Speaker 1>scholar Dr John d was one of the most learned

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<v Speaker 1>men of the sixteenth century, applying his intense mathematical intellect

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<v Speaker 1>to matters scientific, political, alchemical, and occult. He advised Queen Elizabeth,

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<v Speaker 1>sought communion with angelic beings, advocated British expansion, and plunged

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<v Speaker 1>the depths of human knowledge in an age of great change.

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<v Speaker 1>While D's most famed possession was his expensive library of books,

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<v Speaker 1>he was also known to possess various mirrors and glasses

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<v Speaker 1>of peculiar power. One of these was the magical speculum,

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<v Speaker 1>or the devil's looking glass. If you're envisioning an ominous

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<v Speaker 1>framed mirror of darkness, you may be disappointed to see

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<v Speaker 1>what looks more like a slate painting palette, or perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>part of an ikea end table. The mirror itself has

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<v Speaker 1>a diameter of eighteen point four centimeters and a width

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<v Speaker 1>of three centimeters. It is circular, with a perforated notch

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<v Speaker 1>for hanging, handling, or mounting. The mirror substances that of

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<v Speaker 1>polished obsidian, volcanic in origin and believed to have been

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<v Speaker 1>crafted by the Aztecs between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries.

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<v Speaker 1>If you visited the British Museum you may have seen it.

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<v Speaker 1>The mirrors. A leather case features an inscription informing us

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<v Speaker 1>that it is quote the black stone into which Dr

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<v Speaker 1>D used to call his spirits unquote. These words are

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<v Speaker 1>attributed to the eighteenth century art historian Horace Walpole, along

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<v Speaker 1>with a pair of crystal spheres. D used this object

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<v Speaker 1>in his pursuit of angelology and sorcery, possibly brought back

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<v Speaker 1>from the voyages of Sir Francis Drake. The obsidian mirror

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<v Speaker 1>was likely used in scrying rituals by Aztec priests in

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<v Speaker 1>the worship of tez Catala PoCA, the god also known

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<v Speaker 1>as the Lord of the Smoking Mirror, due to the

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<v Speaker 1>black mirrors used by his priests and his overall connection

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<v Speaker 1>to the dark volcanic glass of obsidian. But D also

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<v Speaker 1>possessed another amazing mirror, an artifact bequeathed to him by

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<v Speaker 1>Sir William Pickering in sixteen seventy five. It was a

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<v Speaker 1>noted curio of the time. D even demonstrated the properties

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<v Speaker 1>of this mirror to Queen Elizabeth herself. As Benjamin Wooly

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<v Speaker 1>points out in his book The Queen's Conjuror, it is

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<v Speaker 1>unlikely that he ever used this mirror in his occult practices. No,

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<v Speaker 1>the Great Perspective Glass had a place in John D's

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<v Speaker 1>purely logical interests. Wooly writes that D kept the mirror

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<v Speaker 1>proudly displayed in a corner of his study. Anyone who

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<v Speaker 1>lunged at the mirror with a dagger or sword founded

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<v Speaker 1>their reflection lunging back at them with like hand and weapon. This,

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<v Speaker 1>of course, is not the typical way of mirrors, and

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<v Speaker 1>the effect was said to be quite unsettling, But D

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<v Speaker 1>explained the effect to his guests via the mathematics of perspective,

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<v Speaker 1>rather than the supernatural. A typical mirror doesn't so much

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<v Speaker 1>as flip your image, but turn it inside out. The

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<v Speaker 1>text on your shirt appears backwards in the mirror, just

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<v Speaker 1>as the text also appears backwards if you were to

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<v Speaker 1>withdraw your head into the shirt and read the text

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<v Speaker 1>from within the garment. So the Great Perspective Glass was

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<v Speaker 1>likely a nonreversing mirror, which can be accomplished by connecting

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<v Speaker 1>two regular mirrors at their edges at a ninety degree angle,

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<v Speaker 1>among other strategies. Of course, even a typical mirror's reflection

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<v Speaker 1>can feel unsettling, is Argentinean writer jore Lewis Borges wrote,

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<v Speaker 1>quote the Crystal Spies on us if within the four

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<v Speaker 1>walls of a bedroom, a mirror stairs, I am no

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<v Speaker 1>longer alone. There is someone there in the dawn reflections

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<v Speaker 1>mutevous stage a show unquote. As we grow accustomed to

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<v Speaker 1>the inside out stranger, how ranger still is the rarely seen,

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<v Speaker 1>non reversed stranger, or the smoky shade of tes Catl

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<v Speaker 1>Polca's dark Realm. Tune in for additional editions of the

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<v Speaker 1>Artifact each week, hosted by either Joe or myself. As always,

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<v Speaker 1>you can email us at contact at stuff to Blow

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<v Speaker 1>your Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your Mind is

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<v Speaker 1>production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my

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<v Speaker 1>Heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.