These five magic mirrors were used by the Swamp Witch and later by her successor, Christine White. They appear throughout the miniseries, serving as major plot devices--one of them even becoming the object of a quest.
History[]
Early History[]
Not much is known about the history of the five mirrors, but it is known that they were made by the dwarves at an unspecified time, and they were eventually acquired by Snow White's evil stepmother, known in her later years as the Swamp Witch. These mirrors became the source of much of the Queen's power, and they allowed her to become the most powerful woman in the Nine Kingdoms. Every day the Queen would go to her room, lock the door, remove all her clothes, and ask, "Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?" The mirror would then answer, "You, O Queen, are the fairest of all."
For years the mirror gave her the same answer, but one day it said, "My lady is fair to see, but Snow White is fairer far than thee." Upon hearing this, the Queen set out to kill Snow White. Four times she tried to kill Snow White, but Snow White survived the first three attempts, and the mirrors informed the Queen. At last the Queen prepared a poison apple and tricked Snow White into eating it, but this time she waited to watch her die. This time when the Queen returned to the castle and asked the mirrors her question again, they answered once again, "You, O Queen, are the fairest of all."
When the Queen was caught, she was made to put on a pair of red-hot iron slippers and dance in them at Snow White's wedding till she fell to the ground. She made her way to a swamp, and became the Swamp Witch. She plotted revenge against the House of White, but she was too weak to carry out her plots. However, she still had her mirrors, and so she used them to search for a successor.
In her mirrors the Swamp Witch saw a troubled young woman, Christine Lewis, running in the woods. She pulled her into the Nine Kingdoms through her Traveling Mirror, and took her as an apprentice, giving her the mirrors and her power and indoctrinating her with the goal of destroying the House of White.
In Christine White's Possession[]
Once her training was complete, Christine Lewis became nurse to the young Prince Wendell White. She slowly poisoned the Queen until she died, and then she married the King herself. She poisoned her husband until he died, and then seized control of the Fourth Kingdom herself. She tried to poison her stepson, but was caught and imprisoned. Before she was imprisoned, she hid her mirrors in the ruin of one of the Swamp Witch's castles.
During the Crisis in the Nine Kingdoms[]
Seven years later, Queen Christine escaped from the Snow White Memorial Prison with the help of Relish the Troll King, and transformed Prince Wendell into a dog, and her golden retriever into the prince. Before going to Wendell's palace, she went to the old castle that was once home to the Swamp Witch, in order to train the Dog Prince to act like a human, and to recover her mirrors. She would spend much of her time using her mirrors to spy on the Troll King and others, to ensure the success of her grand plan.
When Queen Christine tried to use her mirrors to find Prince Wendell, they could not show her the prince or his two companions, due to the intervention of Snow White. However, the mirrors did tell her that one of the prince's companions was able to harm her. She used her mirrors to spy on the officials of the Fourth Kingdom when they decided to send a messenger to find Prince Wendell in the Disenchanted Forest. She then contacted her Huntsman, and ordered him to kill the messenger.
The Queen learned that Wolf, who had sworn to serve her the day she escaped from prison, was traveling with the Prince and his two companions. Throughout their journey, the Queen would repeatedly contact Wolf, reminding him of his oath and trying to get him to betray his companions. Eventually she got Wolf to return to her side after his attempt to propose to Virginia Lewis went disastrously.
Upon learning that the Troll King was invading the Fourth Kingdom, and realizing her plan was in danger, Queen Christine sought the advice of her long-dead teacher, the Swamp Witch, who advised her to kill the Troll King. The Queen then used her mirrors to locate an apple orchard, and decided to meet with Relish there. When her mirrors told her that the Troll King would not answer them when she tried to contact him, she told them to tell Relish that his children were dead. This persuaded Relish to talk to her, and the Queen ordered him to meet her at the Merrypips' Apple Orchard. She managed to locate the escaped Dog Prince with her mirrors, and then retrieved him after killing the Troll King. Not long after, she went to Wendell's palace and took her mirrors with her, setting them up in her chambers.
Soon Tony and Virginia Lewis learned that the Queen had the last of the three Traveling Mirrors, and began to search for Wendell's palace to find it. When Virginia looked into a mirror given to her by Snow White, she saw the Queen, who was actually her long-lost mother. Queen Christine sensed that someone was spying on her, and walked over to one of her mirrors, but fortunately Tony Lewis--her former husband--had seized the mirror from Virginia and thrown it into the river, so she could not see who had been spying on her.
When Tony and Virginia arrived at the palace with Wolf, they found the room where the Queen kept her mirrors. Tony insisted that he and Virginia return to New York at once, but Virginia insisted on staying until she saw her mother. At that moment, the Queen and her Huntsman entered the room and captured them. Not long afterward, Queen Christine tried to kill Virginia, but Virginia killed her in self-defense using a poisoned comb (the one that the Swamp Witch had used in her third attempt on Snow White's life). Christine regained her sanity and then died, and presumably her mirrors passed to the newly crowned King Wendell. Virginia used the Traveling Mirror to return to New York with Wolf, and what happened to mirrors afterward is not known.
The Mirrors[]
There were a total of five magic mirrors, each serving a different purpose: a Traveling Mirror, a Spying Mirror, a "Mirror to Remember," a "Mirror to Forget," and a "Mirror to Rule the World." These mirrors were the source of much of the Evil Queen's power, and made her the most powerful woman in the Nine Kingdoms.
The Traveling Mirror[]
→ see also main article Traveling Mirror
This mirror allowed the Queen to travel to other places--other dimensions even, and it was through this mirror, that Christine Lewis entered the Land of Nine Kingdoms. It was one of the three traveling mirrors made by the dwarfs, and after one of them was lost in the sea and the other destroyed by Tony's accident, the Queen's mirror was the last traveling mirror in the Nine Kingdoms.
The Spying Mirror[]
This mirror was used by the Swamp Witch to find out who was the fairest of them all. Whenever she asked it her question, it would scan all the other mirrors in the Nine Kingdoms to give an accurate report. It also let her know when Snow White survived the attempts on her life. Years later, Christine White used it extensively to spy on her enemies as part of the execution of her grand plan to destroy the House of White and seize control of the Nine Kingdoms.
The "Mirror to Remember"[]
This mirror apparently helped the Queen to remember things, and helped Queen Christine to remember how the Swamp Witch had poisoned Snow White, which gave her the idea to poison the Troll King and his soldiers.
The "Mirror to Forget"[]
This mirror presumably helped the Queen to forget things. Perhaps this mirror was used by Christine White to suppress the memories of her past life.
The "Mirror to Rule the World"[]
It is unknown what purpose this mirror served.
Quotes[]
"These are my gifts. They give you my power. Mirrors to travel. Mirrors to spy. Mirrors to remember. Mirrors to forget. Mirrors to rule the world." -- the Swamp Witch