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The Ouija Board

I'm not sure how you've decided that the Ouija board (actually designed as a game) is demonic.
 
I think that the ouija board itself is not demonic, but anything can be used by the devil or demons or other spiritual creatures for their own purposes. At least that is the belief. That the ouiga board is designed for communication makes it more likely that spirits will use this rather than a refrigerator. Frankly, I would rather have a possessed ouija board than a possessed refrigerator. Or elevator. :)
 
Endlessly Amazed said:
I think that the ouija board itself is not demonic, but anything can be used by the devil or demons or other spiritual creatures for their own purposes. At least that is the belief. That the ouiga board is designed for communication makes it more likely that spirits will use this rather than a refrigerator. Frankly, I would rather have a possessed ouija board than a possessed refrigerator. Or elevator. :)
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Or a possessed pig...
 
Endlessly Amazed said:
I think that the ouija board itself is not demonic, but anything can be used by the devil or demons or other spiritual creatures for their own purposes. At least that is the belief. That the ouiga board is designed for communication makes it more likely that spirits will use this rather than a refrigerator. Frankly, I would rather have a possessed ouija board than a possessed refrigerator. Or elevator. :)
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The ouija board is just a neutral method of communication/ divination, like Tarot cards, runes, tea leaves, palm reading and for that matter animal entrails!
It probably depends on the user's reasons/ motives / state of emotional health / general moral standards plus a pinch of psychic ability whether anything valid comes of the use.

Like attracts like! Don't use any of these things if you are a) depressed , b) emotionally vulnerable or c) messing about for a laugh.

p.s. The poor old Gadarene Swine were considered "unclean" in Jewish law, so whoever was writing the gospel many years later probably thought they deserved it!
I hope the truth was that something suddenly frightened them - nothing to do with demons.:)
 
Sid said:
There's far more to the 'Ouija' boards rise in history than generally known too!
I came across this fascinating report on its real origins. . .
http://university.hypnoathletics.com/edu.gov/491/
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"The word Ouija may very well come from Oujiahua, which is the Romanization of the language spoken in the region where Fuji was practiced."

And I always thought it was from the French and German words for yes.
 
blessmycottonsocks said:
"The word Ouija may very well come from Oujiahua, which is the Romanization of the language spoken in the region where Fuji was practiced."

And I always thought it was from the French and German words for yes.
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Precisely. It's a combination of oui and ja. I'm fairly sure that 99% of people think this.
Then again, that 1% might be academics from "hypnoathletics university" and who argues with academics who feature a photo of a faintly sinister oriental guy with a katana strapped to his back while talking about their Chinese connections. :thought:
 
Recycled1 said:
The ouija board is just a neutral method of communication/ divination, like Tarot cards, runes, tea leaves, palm reading and for that matter animal entrails!
It probably depends on the user's reasons/ motives / state of emotional health / general moral standards plus a pinch of psychic ability whether anything valid comes of the use.

Like attracts like! Don't use any of these things if you are a) depressed , b) emotionally vulnerable or c) messing about for a laugh.

p.s. The poor old Gadarene Swine were considered "unclean" in Jewish law, so whoever was writing the gospel many years later probably thought they deserved it!
I hope the truth was that something suddenly frightened them - nothing to do with demons.:)
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Well quite a lot of poltergeist manifestations have been described as 'evil', with an indistinct black 'form' emanating evil being described in some of the more reputable cases. A poltergeist haunting a children's nursery is one such case and was featured on the first episode of 'Extreme Ghost Stories'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_Ghost_Stories

Despite the over-the-top programme title, the actual witnesses are interviewed and come across as honest. So personally I do think there are evil entities out there and I would steer clear of a ouija board for that reason, but everyone has to make up their own minds
 
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blessmycottonsocks said:
"The word Ouija may very well come from Oujiahua, which is the Romanization of the language spoken in the region where Fuji was practiced."

And I always thought it was from the French and German words for yes.
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To clarify; Fuji (Chinese: 扶乩/扶箕; pinyin: fújī; Wade–Giles: fu chi) is a method of "planchette writing; spirit writing; automatic writing" using a suspended sieve or tray to guide a stick which writes Chinese characters in sand or incense ashes.
 
This 2012 study proved that the Ouija board is (at the very least) an effective way of accessing memories that are not available to the conscious mind.

You can access the whole paper here at:

https://www2.psych.ubc.ca/~rensink/publications/download/Ouija-GRF.pdf

In a nutshell, participants in this test were asked a question to which the answer was a simple "yes/no". They answered the question both normally, and via a Ouija board. Here's the relevant bit of the abstract:

"Results show that when participants believed they knew the answer, responses in the two modalities were similar. But when they believed they were guessing, accuracy was at chance for volitional report (50%), but significantly higher for Ouija response (65%). These results indicate that implicit semantic memory can be expressed through ideomotor actions."

Now all you have to do is accept that the subconscious knows stuff that it has no business knowing, perhaps through telepathy or clairvoyance, and you begin to see that the ouija board can be a powerful tool.
 
Some timely articles:

“Despite being around for more than 100 years, Ouija boards (a wooden board covered with the letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0-9 and the words “yes”, “no” and “goodbye”) continue to be a popular activity – especially around Halloween. To work, all participants must place their hands on the wooden pointer (or planchette) and ask any present “spirits” to answer their questions by moving the planchette around the board to spell out their response.”

Read on:

https://theconversation.com/ouija-b...plain-why-they-appear-to-work-for-some-193059

And:

https://www.grunge.com/1068386/crimes-people-blamed-on-ouija-boards/

Finally:

https://www.ladbible.com/news/iconic-grandmother-has-ouija-boards-given-out-at-her-funeral-20221020


Source: https://www.anomalist.com/
 
Tempest63 said:
When I bought a ouija board many years ago the instructions stated it should be used by two persons, one male, one female. Yin and Yang and balance etc.
Doing a bit of Googling tonight I found this site which seems to support that theory. Has anyone else ever heard of this?

https://www.liveabout.com/how-to-use-printable-ouija-board-2593142
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Isn't that just an extension of the old rule about seances? The advice used to be that there should be an equal number of male and female participants, and that they should sit alternately around the table.

One male and one female - well, if you're a bloke it seems like a good excuse to get a girl you're interested in alone in a darkened room, and put her into an excitable state... or am I just being cynical?
 
Recycled1 said:
The ouija board is just a neutral method of communication/ divination, like Tarot cards, runes, tea leaves, palm reading and for that matter animal entrails!
It probably depends on the user's reasons/ motives / state of emotional health / general moral standards plus a pinch of psychic ability whether anything valid comes of the use. ...
Click to expand...

I generally agree with the second sentence (concerning dependencies affecting one's perception of outcomes from using any form of divination technique), but I have to respectfully disagree with the first sentence. There are differences between the ouija and the other divination (fortune telling; situation describing; etc.) techniques and intended use contexts, and I believe these differences go a long way toward explaining why:

(a) experiences using ouija can be so disturbing to some folks and ...
(b) opinions about the ouija can be so dogmatic and volatile.

First and foremost, ouija is a direct and deliberate derivative of the spiritualists' talking board technique. This means that the ouija preserved some themes from its spiritualist roots. One theme is contact with another realm or "otherworld" in which there are active entities of a supernatural character. This is the basis for the second theme of ouija representing a communication channel to this purported otherworld. No other querent (questioner; "client") focused divination technique includes these themes as mandatory elements of their application or justification.

Ouija also entails a certain element of real-time connection to the purported otherworld - an immediacy that isn't intrinsic to most other divination (etc.) techniques. You can use any of the other techniques to address issues extending a long time into the past or having consequences a long time into the future. In contrast, a ouija session is all about the "here and now" experience.

The ouija procedural protocol puts the onus for success (in divining anything) on the participants. The querents moving the planchette are put "on the spot" to either obtain an outcome or fail entirely. Especially when the session is conducted in a social setting (e.g., a party) this adds an overlay of interpersonal / social pressure.

Finally, the ouija protocol entails a certain degree of "surrender" on the part of the querent. There's a surrender of proactive control entailed in moving the planchette jointly with someone else. There's a surrender of room for alternative interpretation of results when you're literally "spelling it out." There's a surrender of opportunity for re-contextualizing the session's purpose because it's all done in realtime. There's also the "surrender" entailed in rendering yourself vulnerable in the typically social setting for using ouija.

Bottom Line: Querents have to accept more onus / responsibility under conditions of less personal control. This is a classic - indeed, the canonical - recipe for inducing stress.
 
EnolaGaia said:
I generally agree with the second sentence (concerning dependencies affecting one's perception of outcomes from using any form of divination technique), but I have to respectfully disagree with the first sentence. There are differences between the ouija and the other divination (fortune telling; situation describing; etc.) techniques and intended use contexts, and I believe these differences go a long way toward explaining why:

(a) experiences using ouija can be so disturbing to some folks and ...
(b) opinions about the ouija can be so dogmatic and volatile.

First and foremost, ouija is a direct and deliberate derivative of the spiritualists' talking board technique. This means that the ouija preserved some themes from its spiritualist roots. One theme is contact with another realm or "otherworld" in which there are active entities of a supernatural character. This is the basis for the second theme of ouija representing a communication channel to this purported otherworld. No other querent (questioner; "client") focused divination technique includes these themes as mandatory elements of their application or justification.

Ouija also entails a certain element of real-time connection to the purported otherworld - an immediacy that isn't intrinsic to most other divination (etc.) techniques. You can use any of the other techniques to address issues extending a long time into the past or having consequences a long time into the future. In contrast, a ouija session is all about the "here and now" experience.

The ouija procedural protocol puts the onus for success (in divining anything) on the participants. The querents moving the planchette are put "on the spot" to either obtain an outcome or fail entirely. Especially when the session is conducted in a social setting (e.g., a party) this adds an overlay of interpersonal / social pressure.

Finally, the ouija protocol entails a certain degree of "surrender" on the part of the querent. There's a surrender of proactive control entailed in moving the planchette jointly with someone else. There's a surrender of room for alternative interpretation of results when you're literally "spelling it out." There's a surrender of opportunity for re-contextualizing the session's purpose because it's all done in realtime. There's also the "surrender" entailed in rendering yourself vulnerable in the typically social setting for using ouija.

Bottom Line: Querents have to accept more onus / responsibility under conditions of less personal control. This is a classic - indeed, the canonical - recipe for inducing stress.
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Well-reasoned and balanced.

"There's a surrender of room for alternative interpretation of results when you're literally "spelling it out." - Yes, the words are much more specific than tea leaves and chicken entrails, and because they are more specific, they are capable of doing more harm.

I am not a fan of ouija boards because of several reasons:
The mixed motivations I have seen in people who play with them: the deliberate faking of the message to make another person uneasy, afraid, etc.
The experience itself may start in motion a train of thoughts detrimental to the emotionally vulnerable which will persist long after the ouija is put away.
The possibility, if one believes in it, of spirits, demons, or other incorporeal beings actually beginning communication with the users; and, if invited or allowed, to be able to enter the thoughts of the weak-minded and destabilize them.
 
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Salmonellus said:
Isn't that just an extension of the old rule about seances? The advice used to be that there should be an equal number of male and female participants, and that they should sit alternately around the table.

One male and one female - well, if you're a bloke it seems like a good excuse to get a girl you're interested in alone in a darkened room, and put her into an excitable state... or am I just being cynical?
Click to expand...
Sounds to me like an extension of Victorian era dinner seating.
 
Alright. I suppose my post wasn't totally honest.

I guess I DO think most people should steer clear of ouija boards, possibly because they are the means of divination /communication which are easiest to interpret, and therefore frighten the vulnerable.

All you have to be able to do is read -tarot etc needs some degree of study.

BUT I still use a home made version occasionally, if I feel I want a 'second opinion ' from the world of good, caring, spirits.
I will always pray for guidance and protection first. I wouldn't use it for amusement or idle curiosity or if I was feeling very depressed.(Depression attracts depression.)

I do happen to be basically a Spiritualist, don't forget , with a few reservations!
 
The thing with tarot cards, and other methods of divination, is that interpretation is flexible. Y'know ... "Don't worry, the Death card isn't necessarily bad, it can also mean ..."
As said above, the ouija session is less 'open to interpretation'. The words spelled out are either gibberish or 'in the dictionary', anagrams or require laying out in a certain order to make sense. While the message might need interpreting, the words are fairly 'set'.
As Agatha Christie said, through her character Hercule Poirot, it's all very well the 'spirits' issuing vague warnings, but if they can see all and communicate to the living, they should be a lot clearer.
 
Rourke_Wality said:
The earliest time for possession/hysteria for which I found a reference is supposedly from 1920 in El Cerrito, California found in Paranormal Suite 101 but there is no reference to where this report appeared at the time. Other unsourced reports can be found at the same site.
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Yes, the Town That Ouija Drove Mad! here is a good write-up among many other tales of the boards:
https://www.museumoftalkingboards.com/stories.html
The sleepy town of El Cerrito, California made the national news on March 7, 1920 with the headlines, WHOLE TOWN "OUIJA MAD". Horrified police arrested seven people "driven insane" after using a Ouija board. One girl, only fifteen and found naked explained it was because she could "communicate better with the spirits." In the following days, the madness spread to others in the town including one police officer who ripped off his clothes and ran hysterically into a local bank. Officials quickly held a town hall meeting and decided to bring in mental health professionals to examine the entire population of 1200. To prevent any future outbreak of "ouijamania," they made the rational decision to ban Ouija boards from the city limits.
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tagemoss said:
So i was looking at some videos on youtube of so called ghost hunters doing various investigations and then the eyes start rolling when one decides to pull out the "quija board" (hope i've spelt it right)

question is, why do people have to hold on to the plastic thingy? why can't the "spirits" move it on it's own? my guess it's because they know nothing would happen right? unless ghosts suddenly become 100% proven.

the reason people have to each have a finger on it is because one or all of them are moving it right?

i came across this article which explains a specific body movement is responsible (well, when the people touching it aren't just faking it in the first place that is.) or it's a combination of the two.

https://www.vox.com/2016/10/29/13301590/how-ouija-boards-work-debunked-ideomotor-effect

thoughts?
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See:
The Ideomotor Effect
https://forums.forteana.org/index.php?threads/the-ideomotor-effect.24826/
 
EnolaGaia said:
I generally agree with the second sentence (concerning dependencies affecting one's perception of outcomes from using any form of divination technique), but I have to respectfully disagree with the first sentence. There are differences between the ouija and the other divination (fortune telling; situation describing; etc.) techniques and intended use contexts, and I believe these differences go a long way toward explaining why:

(a) experiences using ouija can be so disturbing to some folks and ...
(b) opinions about the ouija can be so dogmatic and volatile.

First and foremost, ouija is a direct and deliberate derivative of the spiritualists' talking board technique. This means that the ouija preserved some themes from its spiritualist roots. One theme is contact with another realm or "otherworld" in which there are active entities of a supernatural character. This is the basis for the second theme of ouija representing a communication channel to this purported otherworld. No other querent (questioner; "client") focused divination technique includes these themes as mandatory elements of their application or justification.

Ouija also entails a certain element of real-time connection to the purported otherworld - an immediacy that isn't intrinsic to most other divination (etc.) techniques. You can use any of the other techniques to address issues extending a long time into the past or having consequences a long time into the future. In contrast, a ouija session is all about the "here and now" experience.

The ouija procedural protocol puts the onus for success (in divining anything) on the participants. The querents moving the planchette are put "on the spot" to either obtain an outcome or fail entirely. Especially when the session is conducted in a social setting (e.g., a party) this adds an overlay of interpersonal / social pressure.

Finally, the ouija protocol entails a certain degree of "surrender" on the part of the querent. There's a surrender of proactive control entailed in moving the planchette jointly with someone else. There's a surrender of room for alternative interpretation of results when you're literally "spelling it out." There's a surrender of opportunity for re-contextualizing the session's purpose because it's all done in realtime. There's also the "surrender" entailed in rendering yourself vulnerable in the typically social setting for using ouija.

Bottom Line: Querents have to accept more onus / responsibility under conditions of less personal control. This is a classic - indeed, the canonical - recipe for inducing stress.
Click to expand...
Did I not read fairly recently that a number of teenagers(?) in the States all passed out after using a ouija board? Suggestive of your idea that experiences can be disturbing.
I'm sure I've mentioned before that I witnessed my mother and god mother with a board (probably 60 years ago) . I've no memory of the actual outcome but the image is so imprinted on me that I do not go anywhere near boards, so something must have happened.
 
PeteS said:
Did I not read fairly recently that a number of teenagers(?) in the States all passed out after using a ouija board? Suggestive of your idea that experiences can be disturbing.
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Or it could have something to do with massive consumption of weed and alcohol.
 
Can this be real? Christian Ouija board:

1671359653659.png
 
Twenty-eight girls rushed to hospital after playing with Ouija board at school

A GROUP of girls were rushed to hospital after playing with a Ouija board at school.

The 28 youngsters passed out while using the seance set at Galeras Educational Institution in Colombia.

28-possible-cases-anxiety-school-801010674.jpg


They were hospitalised with signs of fainting, anxiety and other symptoms.

Many parents believe the children have been using Ouija boards in class.

The school is waiting for the medical reports before providing an update on the incident.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/21629108/girls-hospital-ouija-board-school/

maximus otter
 
Stormkhan said:
Sounds like Ouija was a trigger for mass hysteria, rather than causing mass faintings.
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The answer to that, would be if the reason actually comes via the children themselves, as it stands it seems very questionable about what exactly the real cause may be. And there are quite a number of those reports which state the word "allegedly."
 
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