Ouija Boards (megathread)

6th

Well its been taken to two other forums so no worries about it taking up space here.

mysteria

Much ado about nothing!

WhiteWashMan

for the love of god, stop reporting posts at this point 6th. if the mod of this forum has already warned you and not banned anyone, continually reporting earlier posts is not going to make any difference.

and now youre píssing me off. let it go.

Nevyn

They are dangerous and anyone who knows anything or has had any real experiences and knows what they are about will say that.

I'd as soon encourage someone to play with a loaded gun then with a Ouija board
so really I there fore think anyone encouraging others to do so is a morally reprehensible thing to do.

It is not mother knows best it those that have had hard lessons learned.

mysteria

Thanks Thaedy for your wise words :-)

6th

Listen I understand the dangers as much as anyone can without using one but there are plenty of people who claim to have used them with no result or results which were not "bad".

Talking boards appear in countless books and movies. Their role in such varies from being a benign object to an evil entity. This demonstrates what an iconic part of culture the game has become. A more peculiar role of talking boards in literature stems from authors using the board to channel complete written works from the deceased.

In the early 1900s, St. Louis housewife Pearl Curran used her Ouija board communications with the ubiquitous spirit Patience Worth to publish a number of poems and prose. Pearl claimed that all of the writings came to her through séances, which she allowed the public to attend. In 1917 writer Emily G. Hutchings claimed to have communicated with and written a book dictated by Mark Twain from her Ouija board. Twain's survivors went to court to halt publication of the book that was later determined a hoax.

Since the 1970s, author Jane Roberts has transcribed text channeled from what she described as an "energy personality essence" named Seth. Topics attributed to Seth discuss the nature of physical reality, the origins of the universe, the theory of evolution, the many-worlds interpretation, the Christ story, and the purpose of life among other subjects and form a collection of more than 10 books and a number of videos and audio recordings.

Author John Fuller used a Ouija board in his research for his 1976 book The Ghost of Flight 401. As he was skeptical of its effectiveness, he worked with a medium and claimed they both contacted Don Repo, the flight engineer on the flight which crashed into the Everglades en route to Miami. According to Fuller, the information divined described facts that neither he nor the medium previously knew.

More recently, Pulitzer Prize winning poet James Merrill used a Ouija board and recorded what he claimed were messages from a number of deceased persons. He combined these messages with his own poetry in The Changing Light at Sandover (1982).

mysteria

Have you any more recent data re positive ouija experiences?

6th

Why have they only become dangerous resently? What has changed to make these experiences invalid. At least they are note experiences as opposed to "well a friend of a friend used one etc".

In the past demanding proof of claims was frowned upon. I have just given my opinion and legitimate data. Thats enough for me.

Nevyn

6th wrote:

Listen I understand the dangers as much as anyone can without using one but there are plenty of people who claim to have used them with no result or results which were not "bad".

Even a loaded gun may misfire or maybe they were fortunate enough or maybe
they did just not have the wit to percieve what was happening or they lucky
enough to have good connection to thier Gods and Guides to be protected.

6th

True but is it possible to use a ouija in a manner where it is not dangerous? Sapiens post seems to suggest its possible - though pointless and lazy?

Abby D Cody

This is boring the Hell out of me, now. I thought I was going to learn something about spirit worlds, instead I find more than I need to know about petulence - which I already knew anyway (I'm married, too).

Either get back to the point and stop sniping at each other or KILL THE THREAD, Psi, fer gawd's sake! It's the merciful thing to do.

6th

The last 7 posts before your one are back on topic. Issue resolved.

Abby D Cody

You're right. What a difference a half-hour makes, eh?!

Nevyn

Abby D Cody wrote:

This is boring the Hell out of me, now. I thought I was going to learn something about spirit worlds, instead I find more than I need to know about petulence - which I already knew anyway (I'm married, too).

What is it that you wanted to know ?
start another thread either here or in the spirituality forum.

Zillah

Would those from the "Ouija Boards are dangerous" camp like to provide some examples of their dangers? Specifically I'd appreciate some examples that are distinctly unique to Ouija Boards, as opposed to any other thing that could disturb an emotionally unstable person.

(For example, horror movies have been known to cause people to be traumatised for long afterwards, and I'm sure there have been suicides. That doesn't neccessarily mean that Horror Movies are "dangerous" per se. Similar logic could be applied to suprise parties [heart attacks], ending romantic relationships [suicide/depression] etc)

Oryx

Zillah wrote:

Would those from the "Ouija Boards are dangerous" camp like to provide some examples of their dangers? Specifically I'd appreciate some examples that are distinctly unique to Ouija Boards, as opposed to any other thing that could disturb an emotionally unstable person.

(For example, horror movies have been known to cause people to be traumatised for long afterwards, and I'm sure there have been suicides. That doesn't neccessarily mean that Horror Movies are "dangerous" per se. Similar logic could be applied to suprise parties [heart attacks], ending romantic relationships [suicide/depression] etc)

In order to answer that I would have to presume an acceptance on your part of the ability of ouija boards to contact the spirit world. I dont think Im going to get that but supposing... My impression is that ouija is like opening a door. Handled badly, you may not be able to shut it again, leaving yourself open or attached to all kinds of bad (or benign) things. Which is unpleasant at the very least and incredibly damaging at worst.A psychologist might label this kind of fear and belief a delusion or something else... back to the usual discussion :rolleyes:

Zillah

Thats not really an example though, is it?

Oryx

Zillah wrote:

Thats not really an example though, is it?

What can I do? You know me well enough to know I dont go into real detail about this kind of thing on open forums. And if I did, youd still argue about it:D Perhaps someone else will, there seem to be some experienced peeps about.

Zillah

Well I don't neccessarily mean personal events, even things you've heard or been told.

But in fairness, if you're not willing to explain why they're dangerous, then its a bit unfair to expect others to concede that they are. Its not that I doubt your word, its just the way my brain works.

6th

I've given examples of where they were used and positive things came out of it but that wasnt enough for some people.

Nevyn

Imho it is dangerous and I will always say that the same way I will say LSD is dangerous and bungee jumping and crossing the road with your eyes shut.

IF you 6th do not have the wit to understand that fair enough, people do stupid things each and everyday that endanger themsleves.
Mysteria is completely entitled to giver her opinion on the matter the use of a ouija board is as dangerous as running with siscor if not more so.

You have had a disagreement on this fair enough but that is no reason to tear the lady apart and hold her up to ridicule and spawn a thread like this.
IF she thinks that you are diseminating incorrect information and encourging people to run with siscors then at least she trying to look out for others and
be responsible about it if you seem uninclinded to do so.

To be prefectly frank I would never wish for you, your friends or family to have to see, feel and endure the nastiness that can happen with ouija boards.

Talliesin

I've written plenty here before about why I think Ouija™ boards are a bad idea, so I won't do a big rehash. The main thing though is that if you're able to handle one if it goes awry, you don't really need one. Besides it's pointless contacting whatever wants to make contact and trusting it to be who and what it says it is.

I don't particularly care that mysteria has written a book (Silver Ravenwolf has written plenty, and deserves the the near-universal contempt of the paranormal and magic-working communities that they earned her) I don't particularly care that she's a professional (if 6th made a good enough profit on his magazine, he'd be a professional too), but I agree with the main content of her posts. I also feel that her experiences as a professional have relevance, as much as I don't think her being a professional speaks for itself.

There is a more general issue here though. The psychic field does contain dangers. Some people are born to them, some aspire to them and some have them thrust upon us, but however we end up involved in whatever areas of psychic activity we end up in we do have a responsibility to keep people out of the way of harm we perceive where they may not, balanced by the fact that people are ultimately free to do whatever bloody stupid thing they are going to do (and more than a few good healers, priests, ritual workers, readers, and so on, started off by doing something bloody stupid; one or two by doing something bloody stupid with a Ouija™ board).

There is a natural frustration for those who are neither complete sceptics nor gifted/cursed with enough unasked-for experiences to make scepticism nigh on impossible, and yet have an interest or curiousity about the field.

I think that in more than a few cases a genuine calling, whether to the Craft, to healing or whatever, first manifests in the kind of unwise fascination with the more accessible aspects of the field, such as the Ouija™.

And yes it's not a very good idea. And yes these people need better guidance than they can get from a magazine article. And yes people who work psychically are bloody difficult to get guidance from, for reasons that are valid and important but no less frustrating for someone drawn to this kind of experience for whatever reason.

And the fact that not every teacher suits every student makes this all the more difficult.

I maintain my view that the Ouija™ is unwise for the novice, and near-pointless for the experienced. I'd much rather see someone start with the Tarot, which is not to say that I think the Tarot is safe. I'm inclined to extend the old Craft saying that "you can't heal if you can't kill" to the view that anything that is harmless is useless and anything useful is potentially dangerous. The Ouija™ though is useless and potentially dangerous. It doesn't even have the utility of proving anything (no recorded experience of the Ouija™ can be proven as not being entirely psychological in origin).

Ultimately, I'm not left saying much that will be satisfying to someone who feels they are at the edges of this field and feel drawn to go deeper in. I can give you the consolation that actually, unless you (as often happens) get an inflated ego you're likely to continue to feel dissatisfaction at later stages in your path too, so it's not a simple them/us divide that is excluding you from something.

Abby D Cody

Thaedydal wrote:

What is it that you wanted to know ?
start another thread either here or in the spirituality forum.

Thank you for being interested. The depth of my ignorance can be slightly assuaged by knowing some of the following:

1: Are there different boards for different nations (Russian, Chinese, Korean, Egyptian etc, where the alphabet is oh so different)?

2: Why is it presumed that spirits would take advantage of the ignorant. To say spirits would only take serious mediums seriously is like saying they're still human with human prejudices.

3: Why does ouija get nothing but bad press. Is it only Hollywood that perpetuates this myth? Or do mediums also have a vested interest in us not going it alone?

4: Why are mediums not more favoured as targets for bad spirits? Don't they annoy the spirit world more frequently than the occasional board-user?

5: Has there ever been a definitive study of the effects and consequences of using ouija? Surely, with such a powerful negative result (according to many on this thread alone) practically guaranteed, it is the perfect starting point for a scientific study of the next world, much more predictable and explorable than throwing a handful of cameras into a seance.

And there are undoubtedly many more questions that I can't think of on my own.

Talliesin

Abby D Cody wrote:

1: Are there different boards for different nations (Russian, Chinese, Korean, Egyptian etc, where the alphabet is oh so different)?

Parker Brothers (who hold the trademark on Ouija™ and where the first to sell them [or perhaps second after buying the license from someone else, close enough]) are an American company and trade primarily in the Wester World.
The same principle applies to any alphabet, though it would be less convenient with ideographic scripts for obvious reasons (ever seen how many Chinese characters there are in the Universal Character Set - and they're still not finished).

Abby D Cody wrote:

2: Why is it presumed that spirits would take advantage of the ignorant. To say spirits would only take serious mediums seriously is like saying they're still human with human prejudices.

Contacting the spirit world with a Ouija board is like trying to meet sensitive caring potential life-partners by wearing a t-shirt saying "I suck cock on a first date" going into a pub and downing Bicardi Breezers until you pass out. There might well have been some sensitive caring potential life-partners in that pub, but you're going to meet the creeps.

Most spirits have better things to do than talk to some gob****e by playing 20-questions through an awkward spell-it-out system. Some are bastards and will find it funny.

Abby D Cody wrote:

3: Why does ouija get nothing but bad press. Is it only Hollywood that perpetuates this myth? Or do mediums also have a vested interest in us not going it alone?

Most mediums aren't professional and have a vested interest in getting people to piss off and stop asking them to contact aunty muriel, or to do a reading in inappropriate places like the middle of a party. However most people have at least some ethics, so won't say "use the Ouija™ instead" just to get rid of them.

Abby D Cody wrote:

4: Why are mediums not more favoured as targets for bad spirits? Don't they annoy the spirit world more frequently than the occasional board-user?

Bouncers are favoured as targets for thugs looking to start drunken brawls. They also know how to handle themselves.

Abby D Cody wrote:

5: Has there ever been a definitive study of the effects and consequences of using ouija? Surely, with such a powerful negative result (according to many on this thread alone) practically guaranteed, it is the perfect starting point for a scientific study of the next world, much more predictable and explorable than throwing a handful of cameras into a seance.

There've been plenty of studies. Definitive is hard. Nothing with a Ouija™ can be proven as not being of purely psychological origin. (It's worth pointing out, that even if the view that it is entirely of psychological origin, it's still dangerous).

stevenmu

Abby D Cody wrote:

2: Why is it presumed that spirits would take advantage of the ignorant. To say spirits would only take serious mediums seriously is like saying they're still human with human prejudices.

I'd add to what Talliesin said that spirits don't have to have evil intentions to do harm. They could be trying to help and still harm someone, in the same way even the best of doctors can hurt their patients. Also, even a spirit saying 'hello' could give someone severe psychological problems, as could any number of non spirit related events, such as a door coincidentally slamming shut.

Sapien

Talliesin wrote:

Contacting the spirit world with a Ouija board is like trying to meet sensitive caring potential life-partners by wearing a t-shirt saying "I suck cock on a first date" going into a pub and downing Bicardi Breezers until you pass out. There might well have been some sensitive caring potential life-partners in that pub, but you're going to meet the creeps.

Les mots justes.

6th

If people could stop bringing up the whole conflict thing we could turn this into a decent thread.

As i have said before and will say for one last time - I believe ouija boards are potentially dangerous, to a degree- pointless and lazy.

I have given examples of when it was used with fruitful results but I am not telling people to go out and use them. I have only said if peopel are going to use them, which they will, they should know as much about them as they can. Hopefully when people do learn about them they will decide not to use them.

Hiding information about them will not stop people using the.

They are in my opinion comparable to elements of the internet in their dangers. You dont know who you are dealing with and ever precaustion should be taken. I also understand that the internet has alot of uses but my comparison is only in the dangers.

I wont post any more on this for now as people still seem to be hung up on the conflicts. Hopefully as i say people will get over that and move on.

6th

Abby D Cody

Look, I hate to mention it, 6th, but the last five posts seem to have been pretty much centred around answers to the original statement. I honestly (and gratefully) didn't spot a single reference to this "conflict" of which you speak. Did anyone else?

P.S. Talliesin, you one rude boy. Sweet.

Talliesin

6th wrote:

Hiding information about them will not stop people using the.

Firearm safety relates to the properties of guns and ammunition. To teach firearm safety you teach a bit about guns and ammunition. In this case the danger, utility and caution all goes hand-in-hand.

Ouija board safety relates to psychic self-defense, judgement of spirits you are dealing with and psychological self-awareness. To teach people these things you don't need to mention the Ouija at all.

6th

Talliesin wrote:

Ouija board safety relates to psychic self-defense, judgement of spirits you are dealing with and psychological self-awareness. To teach people these things you don't need to mention the Ouija at all.

To teach these things you dont need to mention ouija - true. However my point was that if someone comes to it from a ouija perspective they should have access to information.

Addy I was pointing out that it had been brought up again today, there was no point but ah well i'm sure it will get mentioned again. Possibly by you in response to this.