Ouija board questions

I made my own, but I have a few questions:

1) The board is paper and I used a nickel for the planchette, whats the best planchette material and what shape should it be?

2) How many fingers to put on the planchette to operate? how hard to press down.

sorry Ive never used one before, thanks for your help.

mod edit fixed error in title

[edit on 5-6-2005 by asala]

Traditionally, any kind of wood is viewed as more than adequate. Glass is second best, and metals tend to be considered a little lower down on the scale. This is largely to do with the (perceived or actual) vibrational qualities of each material - wood being a better conductor of spiritual vibrations than glass and metal. In my experience, there's no "shape" that's better or worse than others. Obviously something "pointy" is easier to navigate and interpret, but this is really down to your preference.

As for pressure - try it a few times. Obviously, it can't be too light or too strong - about the same as it'd take your forefinger to move a plastic yoghurt carton a couple of inches would be enough. Again though, this is going to depend on your tools. Metal will need a little more pressure.

It's harder to do this alone, generally speaking, than with a group. Each has their advantage though. Perhaps more to the point, it might be important to ask, are you ready for what you're about to do?

Whether or not you believe in spirits (it's probably fair to assume you to, seeing as you're trying to contact them!), it's usually recommended that you protect yourself in some manner, whether it be a physical "ring of salt" type of protection, or a simpler "psychic boundary" method.

Curiosity does beg the question - how much have you researched this? As with anything of this nature, it can result in (at best) upsetting experiences if you're not prepared. That's outside of the possibility of actual hostile spiritual activity. I really don't mean to scare you needlessly, but these things are meant to be considered.

Ouija board work isn't something to be undertaken lightly - at least this is the general opinion within many Pagan communities. It's not a game, and it's important that you at least know how to protect yourself.



HTH.

Well thanks for the input first of all.

I have been researching the subject for just under a month, and by that i mean spending 4+ hours a day looking into it.

I am fully ready to do this and can accept whatever consequences may come of it, although I did use protection of the psychic kind as I said a prayer at opening and closing and imagined white light filling the room. Even after I did this I could not contact any spirits so I put it away.

a few more questions:

1) I dont know if I have any scrap wood to make a planchette with, but will a small drinking glass work? it is probably 4-5 in. tall and weighs about 10 ounces. I would use this turned upside down, right?

2) I hear lighting candles attracts spirits. Would it still work if I left the lights on while I lit candles, seeing as I get spooked pretty easy and I am doing it solo?

3) what are the advantages/disadvantages of doing it with someone else?

4) A question from my original post: How many fingers to put on the planchette to operate?

and 5) does a wood or paper board work better?

Thanks again, I really appreciate this.

Years ago, before I ever hear of the dangers of using Ouija, a lot of my friends fooled around with them and seances...also called table turning.....and some strange things happened. Not really harmful, but unnerving....you should be careful. You might do a search of ATS...there are several old threads here on this subject.....and most are laced with warnings.

If you have some protection and are determined to continue: Your board would need to be heavy enough to not slip and slide around.....I once saw someone use an old card table, drawing the letters and numbers directly on it's surface.

We also used a variety of 'planchettes', depending on how many people wanted to participate. The more hands, the stronger the response seemed to be. A small shoe box, the size a child's pair of shoes comes in, worked very well.....or a similar small box would work.....maybe an old valentine box, to get the pointy shape.

We once used an old lamp shade, to allow four or five people room to touch it, and the results were interesting.....the shade actually levitated! ( and we did check to see if anyone was lifting !) For this we could not use it as a pointer, but had to call out the letters, one at a time, 'asking' the 'spirit' to move the shade at the correct letter.( This was not too efficient a method of getting a message, but it did work.)

I wouldn't use too much pressure, just enough to keep your fingers in contact with the surface.....you can suppress the movement by holding it down. We always tried to keep three or four fingers in contact....you could try fewer.

Again, be careful. I would suggest more research before diving in.

Originally posted by Haliberd
1) I dont know if I have any scrap wood to make a planchette with, but will a small drinking glass work? it is probably 4-5 in. tall and weighs about 10 ounces. I would use this turned upside down, right?

Probably a little too heavy. It needs to be able to slide easily on the surface of the board. It should move with only lightly pushing it.

2) I hear lighting candles attracts spirits. Would it still work if I left the lights on while I lit candles, seeing as I get spooked pretty easy and I am doing it solo?

That's up to you man. IMO the only thing that is important, besides having a board and planchette of course, is the person(s) using the board. Just make sure there is enough light to see the board.

3) what are the advantages/disadvantages of doing it with someone else?

More influence over the movement of the planchette.
If they're someone who you're attracted to, perhaps you'll get lucky!!

4) A question from my original post: How many fingers to put on the planchette to operate?

Typically 3 fingers of each hand, Index, Middle & Ring finger should all be able to reach the planchette at the same time while keeping them semi straight. I don't think there is actually any set rule on it however just as long as you're touching it.

and 5) does a wood or paper board work better?

Shouldn't make any difference as long as it's a smooth surface which the planchette is able to slide on easily.

Thanks again, I really appreciate this.

Sure thing, have fun!!