Ouija Boards

I don't believe in ghosts, spirits, etc., so I think it's a load of old tosh.

I believe that the evil that some people find when they meddle with psychic stuff comes from deep within them. We all have the capacity for being bad, but it is kept in check by our even greater capacity for good. People in trouble look for answers and authority in things like ouija boards, and some come to depend on this source too much. An obsession with supernatural powers can lead them to concentrate on the darker side of their unconscious mind. The intervention of a priest can shift that concentration to a source of good.

When many fingers are resting on the glass it is very easy to influence which letter it goes to. Try it without all the supernatural hooha and the letters - a clean glass on a kitchen table with fingers lightly touching it skitters about like a nervous kitten.

You don't even need to do it deliberately - if it is wandering about and veers a bit towards, say, T, then some people think that is where it is heading so their eyes and minds go ahead of it, and their fingers follow. With one letter "picked out", some minds (it only needs one) think of the next (a vowel? an O?) and off it goes obedient to their thoughts and unconscious pressure. By then everyone who knew a Tom is thinking "It must be Tom!" and lo and behold - it goes to M.

When the next question is asked, there is an expectation that it works, and that "Tom" is ready to answer, so anyone with a Tom in their lives is primed to recognise whatever answer makes sense to them.

If one of the company thinks themselves psychic, or is feeling mischievous, there is even more chance of getting "messages".

I just posted the following on the wrong thread, my iPad jumped !

I know priests who have been asked for help after people used these boards

Claptrap
I m afraid all clairvoyance is nonsense and charlatans making money out of vulnerable people in my opinion and Ouiji boards are another manipulation but can be very dangerous for some people s mental health

When younger a group of friends used the ouija board.
Until one day it predicted a gas explosion in Glasgow - and it happened that evening
That was the end of that.

Strangely we were talking about this with some friends we caught up with on Friday night. She has had a few sessions with a group of friends and says her dad comes through every time but when she's asked if he ever visited her mum he says no!

Back in the late 60's when it was very popular to scare ourselves silly I tried it with a friend. My parents had a dinner party one night and they thought it would be a good idea to have a go. As I was so intense about it I was of course the one who set it all up. They'd obviously had a bit to drink and my dad thought it would be fun to make it a bit 'real'. We lived in a flat above a shop so he went downstairs and banged on the ceiling with a broom handle 3 times Needless to say they all fell about laughing and I was extremely cross!

Yes, as a teenager with my Mother and an Aunt, a few times.
The glass raced round the board and when it was idle spun very fast we could hardly keep a finger on it.
What I think is that we formed a circuit, we all have ‘electricity’ and glass is a natural material.
Our minds did the rest, as when it was spelling out words we were pretty sure what the next letter would be.

Once in my late teens. Scared me stiff! Never since!

I did one when I was a teenager. When I looked out of the window later that night, there was a tall, dark figure standing at our garden gate.
Now as a woman in my 60s I’m inclined to believe it was actually my overactive, childish imagination (or a random dog walker or something). But it was enough to scare me off ever doing it again!

Years ago as a bit of fun, nothing ever happened and haven't even thought about it since.

I agree with Annie it is dangerous a way of letting evil spirits into your life

We used to do it when we were teenagers, with scrap of paper and a wine glass. It was exciting when the glass moved but never found out much. Best left alone I think.

I did once when on a school residential trip. I only knew one girl from the dozen of us and none of the others had met before as we were all from different schools around the country.
The board spelt out a boy's name and one girl began to sob. It was the name of her brother who was killed in a RTC. Explain that
Haven't touched one since. Although I don't believe you can make contact.

There are a lot of unpleasant people in the world, and when they die their spirits stay close to the living, waiting for the opportunity to cause trouble. Using a ouija board is an easy way to attract them and bring them back into this world. Keep away from them.

I don't believe in any of that stuff. But I do think that things like this can be dangerous ,because suggestible people can be convinced of things which are not true, and which could cause trouble.

I always smile when people say they went to see a clairvoyant or whatever, and "she told me things that only I would know". If you read about how clairvoyants do their work, you'd understand that they make a study of people's body language, and know what people want to hear. For instance, if you told 100 people " others don't appreciate you", almost all of them would say "Yes ! That's so true about me !"........which is because everyone thinks they are unappreciated. And so it goes, and some people make a good living out doing this.

Yes we have often as my sister il hosts loads of them. To be honest we find it hard not to laugh as she’s so in earnest.

However I did see a psychic last summer. She didn’t know my last name so no social media digging. She told me things only I knew about and other things she said which I utterly dismissed as untrue have now come true. Can’t explain it but I also can’t deny the facts..

petra
As I do not believe in an afterlife it would be pointless to use one....
though as a teen when ouija was popular I have been part of a silly crowd of young people mucking about.

petra I suspected it was you??

petra
Zooming around the board at top speed then sending the glass flying to smash on the floor

I laughed out loud at petra's post.

Oh, that gives me a little frisson of fear.
I quite enjoy scary things, and I have an ouija board, but its hidden away, and I wouldn't be brave enough.
Just in case..

I'm here?

I'd say leave well alone, it's like leaving your front door wide open and allowing anyone into your house

I think it is all smoke and mirrors. Read Dorothy Sayer's Strong Poison to find out how to manipulate them.