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What is an Ouija Board
The Ouija Board (or spiritual board or table or table) is one tabletop wooden board with her letters imprinted on it alphabet and the words YES, NO, GOODBYE, and sometimes HELLO, THANKS. A triangular shaped "planchette" (or even a glass) serves as a marker to show the letters and then imprint them words or phrases. There are ready-made tables where they are sold by companies through internet but it is also easy to build by anyone.
The ouija is used in divination but mainly in communication with spirits of people who have died and who are usually of low astral fields, depending on experience and abilities as well as concentration that the user has while using the panel. Today, many people try this type of communication because it is easy and does not require special knowledge, but also out of curiosity or for the experience or even and for fun. (The Article Continues Below the Ad)
Some of the History behind the board
There are indications of distant ancestors of the ouija board placed in the times of ancient Greece, Egypt and Judea as well as during the Middle Ages, where using circles and wheels, spirits were manifested within the circle and revealed the future. However, modern evidence officially dates back to 1948 in Hydesville, New York, where two sisters, Kate and Margaret Fox, claimed to have contacted the spirit of a dead peddler. They immediately became famous and kind of incited an "obsession" that soon spread to America and Europe. In this way modern spiritualism is said to have been revived. People felt ready to communicate with the dead, while several spiritualists were emerging. Also, people who were seen as "intermediaries" between the worlds of the living and the dead became sought after. These individuals, the so-called 'mediums', invented various and interesting ways of communicating with the spirit world. The "rotating board" was one of these methods, in which the medium and bystanders would lightly touch their fingers on the board, expecting to communicate with spirits, and then the board would tilt and strike letters of the alphabet, imprinted on the floor. In this way, entire messages could be written by the spirits.
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A quieter technique was a small disk with a pencil on one end, where the medium touched it, made contact with the spirit, and then the spirit directed the hand, imprinting the message. The disc soon became heart-shaped, with two legs at its two ends (the third was the pencil) and was called a 'planchette' (small board), perhaps because of a French medium of that name... American and European toy companies sold them widely, making them particularly popular as they were also cheap to produce. But all this until 1886, when a mysterious new painting comes to the fore. Specifically, on March 28, 1886 in the California branch of the Sunday New York Tribune, there is a reference to a mysterious board used in Ohio to communicate with spirits, which entire communities use and call it a "talking board" (talking board) while not has a specific name. This 18x20 inch painting is said to do amazing things, things beyond all imagination and understanding... Lastly, the board is referred to as the new "planchette" and this time it is much easier to build and use as no understanding, experience or spiritual training is required. The fact that the message pointer moved by itself from letter to letter to make a sentence was something magical and amazing. A truly new invention. Thus, it didn't take too long for various companies to show interest in creating such a patent, according to the descriptions. So the first patent was made by Elijah J. Bond on May 28, 1890 and when it was approved on February 10, 1891 and released on the market, it was an innovation in the field of tables. Charles Kennard, Bond's agent, calls this new board "Ouija" after the Egyptian word for "good luck". Of course, this is not the word for good luck in Egyptian, but since the painting "told him" that it was used at some time, it prevailed. According to another more believable version, it is claimed that the name Ouija comes from a mythical city of Ouijda. A third version says that ouija comes from the French oui and the German ja (both meaning "yes"). (The Article Continues Below the Ad)
Somehow Kennard and his partners (mainly William Field) legitimized themselves behind the company name "Kennard Novelty Company" and began to mass produce the "Ouija" or "Egyptian Lucky Board". Then, in 1966, the ouija changed hands as William Field sold the patent to the Parker Brothers toy business in Massachusetts.
The ouija board has come to the fore several times since then and became quite popular, especially in World War I, as many people wanted to contact their loved ones who had been lost in the war. It also became quite popular in the 70s and 80s where there was an increase in interest in the metaphysical and the occult... Today, there are companies that release various interesting variations of the ouija, in various designs, which are however carefully designed according to the current trends of the time, in order to avoid possible negative conclusions… It is not officially sold in Greece, but there are sites where you can order it.
How does it work?
The users present gently place their hands on the index finger (on the deltoid), center themselves, and ask questions of the spirit they have summoned. Then the spirit answers them by directing the delta to the letters, forming words or phrases. It is not necessary for them to have their eyes closed, but if they are, there should be someone with their eyes open to record the answers given by the spirit. (The Article Continues Below the Ad)
A Scientific Explanation
The scientific explanation for the ouija board is based on the power of autosuggestion and the ideomotor phenomenon, as without realizing it, some people or events can subjugate our mind. These submissions can affect the mind and have an effect on our motor behavior as well. This is called the ideomotor effect, that is, the effect that submission has on our unconscious and unconscious motor behavior. Thus, the delta moves with the hands of the participants and forms messages that they unconsciously "write" themselves, but are subjected to the thought that it is a spirit. It's pretty well documented, as psychology (submission rather) plays perhaps the most decisive role in the outcome of the game. Nevertheless, this explanation fails at one point: In the results that can be caused by the misuse of the table, which are sometimes not so much cerebral, but tangible (e.g. the visible and existing damage or the physical damage a spirit can cause if enraged or transported to the physical world). Some practical advice, in case you proceed to use this game (which I personally do not recommend for reasons which I cite below) are: -avoid playing alone - it is good to thank the spirits for the answers they give and be kind to them! -Never use the ouija after using alcohol, drugs, or medicines, as well as when you feel weak or generally in a bad mood. It is good to prefer quiet, well-lit areas and especially areas for study and good aesthetics. The space plays quite a key role in which spirit will come into contact…
-It is best not to leave the board on the table if you are not using it. -Always thank the spirits before they leave and always make sure they leave! -NEVER ask the spirit to prove to you that it exists! Perhaps you create a "gateway" through which the spirit will enter the physical world and then... "you painted it!" -Watch out for any psychological influences that a spirit may exert on you. -Don't be gullible in what they tell you, as they can easily lie to you. (The Article Continues Below the Ad)
Finally, it should be mentioned that the ouija board, although sold as a toy, is not a game in any sense, as there are several people who have suffered the consequences of their ignorance when using it. As mentioned above, the spirits that respond to the call of the players, are of lower astral fields and this has the consequence of the – dubious reliability – of the spirit that will answer. If the user does not have the experience to feel any potential danger (like medians have, for example), then he is immediately at risk if something goes wrong... For this reason, the use of the table is not recommended. The communication achieved is relatively uncontrolled (and therefore dangerous), so if we add to this the superficiality and lack of information that usually characterizes the players of this game, then the result can certainly be the worst, putting at risk even the lives of the players. Nevertheless, in order not to be one-sided, the use of the table can also bring good results. For example, a spirit can provide a solution to a problem that concerns the person who invokes it. As an example, I quote the testimony of Nikos Thanos, as recorded in his book "Haunted Greece": "Once I was at a similar gathering, and the spirit we summoned provided a solution to a health problem that a friend's wife had. This woman followed the spirit's advice to the letter, and I found that she was indeed cured of a difficult case of premature arthritis, but this does not prove that her recovery was entirely due to the spirit. Certainly other factors played a role as well." In conclusion, the results of using the board vary in each story that those who have "played" have to tell. What is needed is responsibility, maturity and respect for "that" who responds to the invitation to contact...