Spiritualists and others willing to reach out to their passed over loved ones has always been around. In fact that curiosity has been around from the dawn of human kind. Even stories with the dead are cited in the Bible itself. With that curiosity, came the need to do séances and using mediums or oracles to help get through the barrier and finally talk to someone they cared for that passed over. Some just wanted to reach out to anyone who would talk to them to see what kind of answers they could get about their lives and possibly future. One of the first methods was sitting at a table with a medium or oracle and holding hands. Typically this would be in the dark and with candles. This would enhance the mood and make it easier to see the dead should they actually appear.
Unfortunately with many séances, the mediums were charlatans that had a bag of tricks to convince their clients that the dead were actually coming through. Using their knee or other things to knock on tables or make other noises thus convincing the living they had actually gotten through. Other methods started being created in hopes that there would be a better way. In the late 1800’s a planchette was created to do what is called “automatic handwriting”. It looks similar to the Ouija’s planchette only there is a hole in the middle for a pen to rest in thus being able to write on paper underneath. The idea is the spirit would come through the person using it and write things on paper to answer questions, to tell their story, or say whatever it is they wanted to come through and discuss. This practice is still used today. In fact, I have one and have used mine several times. I don’t know for certain if they work for everyone or just people with mediumship type gifts. Perhaps one of these days I’ll perform experiments with friends who do not have gifts to see if it works for them.
After the automatic writing not working quite as well as they had hoped or not as often; the Ouija board was created. However, there are other forms of Ouija type communications that date way back in the AD period as well so again, this has always been a human curiosity. There have always been rituals to locate or contact the dead. So this is really nothing new. As far as I have been able to research, I have yet to find any accounts of any demonic activity or negative experiences with the board or automatic writing prior to the 1900’s when religion started to play a large role in daily life. In fact, until religion for lack of a better term “exploded” in popularity, there weren’t any accounts documented where anyone opened up portals and let the damned or demonic into their lives. Not to say that it didn’t happen but, I find it awfully curious that no one ever reported anything if they did have bad experiences.
Getting into the 1900’s people started to hear from their local churches that Ouija was of the devil as are tarot cards, or any sort of oracle. However, if you DO read the bible, you see where it’s used in there. There are many different versions of the book of course and so they all vary but oracles, astrologers, etc were used for obtaining information about the future and what they needed to do to make changes or plan things out. Once the rumors got going that Ouija was evil, suddenly you start to hear things, stories, or more I’d say; urban legends. Movies started to get made about the use of the board and how it brings in such horrific evil that surely no one would want to use one after seeing such atrocities. It would seem though; it had almost an opposite effect on many. In fact, it boosted the sales of Ouija boards and people were using it more than before. Some were willing to accept any consequence that could happen in order to talk to their passed loved ones or to ask the dead about their possible future. Even horror movies that are really scary like the classic “The Exorcist” did not seem to deter many from buying and using a board.
Is it that they didn’t believe demonics would come through the board or were they simply more drawn to the thought of talking to someone who’s passed to the other side? Remember, we as humans, have always had a huge curiosity about life after death. As such, many people go through lengths to do what they can to reach out and prove or disprove that there IS life after death. The Ouija has now become a popular fad more than ever. There are now Ouija clothing, boards, mouse pads, mugs, key chains, blankets, etc. It’s the “in” thing to collect. So much so that instead of being terrified, many have embraced the style of it and are walking around in Ouija shoes and dresses. It’s a very popular item at special Halloween stores or on websites such as EBay.
Now with my own experience, I have been making and using them since I was roughly 8 years old. I have yet to have any negative experience. I am now in my 40’s to help paint you a picture of how long I’ve been in action with these things. Do spirits come through? Yes they do! Do demons come through? I’ve not proven or disproven that as I’ve never had that sort of experience. Is it a portal? It can be. However, anything you use to contact the dead could open a portal. This includes going to check out a haunted location or even going on a haunted tour. If you open yourself up to the dead and hope for an experience, you are possibly opening a portal. With that said, the Ouija serves as a simple tool that can be used to talk to not only the dead but also spirit guides and yes, Angels. It’s a communication device which means anyone that has a message can come through.
When you use the Ouija, realize that you need to take the answers you get with a grain of salt. Many of the dead will lie to play with your head or tell you what you want to hear. If they are stuck on a plane where they cannot move on, they are not likely to have information about your future so it’s not wise to ask them about your future. Spirit guides can come through to give you guidance but if you do not have regular communication with your guides, how will you tell the difference? Again, the departed can lie or play tricks. I do use mine to talk to my main spirit guide but I’ve been doing it for so long, I know exactly how he speaks to me and if he starts using different vernacular, I know it’s not him and I stop the session until whoever it is coming through goes away.
Protection is the last thing I will mention here but it’s the most important thing of all if you do decide to search for the dead whether it be with Ouija, pendulums, automatic writing, using tools such as digital recorders, K2 meters, emf devices, or anything else that allows you to open up to the other side. Even if all you are doing is asking them “please touch me and give me a sign that you are here”, you are opening yourself up and as such, you need to be very careful. They can latch onto you from anywhere and follow you home to cause havoc in your household.
As a precaution, you would need to refer to your own beliefs with religion or whatever it is that you use in your life. In my case, I am tied to Archangel Michael. I call him before and after to help me safely open the portal and safely close the door when I am done. This ensures that nothing nasty comes through and if it does, it will not be able to stay with me. Again, I don’t use it to talk to the departed typically; I use it to talk to my guide. Occasionally someone I love that did make it to the final plane or “through the light”, comes through to tell me hello and that they love me. They talk EXACTLY the way they did when they were alive and so without them even saying their name, you’ll recognize who they are.
Whatever you decide to do, I ask you to please be careful. Contacting the other planes of existence can bring things to you that you didn’t want or didn’t ask for. This could include supernatural types of Cryptids as well so please watch yourself and make sure you’re taking the right measures to make sure that you and anyone with you is safe as well as your family back home. I hope this helps give you a better and clearer picture of what Ouija is and what to do with it should you decide you want to try one out at home or at a haunted location. Whatever your choice is, please stay safe!
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