{"id":602,"date":"2017-06-20T19:36:29","date_gmt":"2017-06-20T23:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/poisonersapothecary\/?p=602"},"modified":"2017-06-20T19:36:29","modified_gmt":"2017-06-20T23:36:29","slug":"changing-perceptions-spirit-boards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/poisonersapothecary\/2017\/06\/20\/changing-perceptions-spirit-boards\/","title":{"rendered":"Changing Perceptions of Spirit Boards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Spirit boards are an interesting topic for a witch.\u00a0 Almost all of us probably used them as kids, maybe you made your own like I did.\u00a0 Spirit boards to some hold a sense of mysticism, and to others they have a sense of malevolence.\u00a0 A person\u2019s feelings about these pop culture symbols can reveal a lot about how one views death, the afterlife, and communicating with the dead.\u00a0 Spirit boards are more closely associated with Spiritualism where they originated than with Neo-Pagan or Wiccan traditions.\u00a0 Witches and magical practitioners have their own unique ways of facilitating communication with the spirit world.\u00a0 The spirit board emerged and evolved separately from other occult practices.\u00a0 They came into popularity in the late 1800s when modern spiritualism emerged on the scene.\u00a0 Many apparatuses were developed using pseudo-scientific engineering and intricate moving parts to create state-of-the-art tools for spirit communication.\u00a0 Prototypes varied in size and design.\u00a0 Circular boards called dial planchettes<\/em> or psychographs<\/em> were early predecessors of the modern Oujia board.\u00a0 Ouija is Hasbro\u2019s trademarked name for Parker Bros talking board.\u00a0 Originally chosen by patent holder Elijah Bond in the 1890s.\u00a0 It was sold and promoted as a novelty game by the Kennard Novelty Company<\/em> in 1890.\u00a0Museum of Talking Boards<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Kennard
Kennard Novelty Company. Ouija Board. 1891. Wikipedia Free License Image.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Wonderful Talking Board<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

An article in the Smithsonian<\/em> magazine tells the story of four businessmen who started the Kennard Novelty Company after identifying a solution to spiritualists\u2019 need for more efficient means of communication.\u00a0 Helen Peters, Elijah Bond\u2019s sister-in-law was a medium, and on February 10th 1891 joined him at the US Patent Office.\u00a0 Proving their novelty game worked, they were able to secure their patent.\u00a0 Ironically the men who started this venture weren\u2019t spiritualists, they were capitalists.<\/p>\n

Spiritualism had been popular in Europe for sometime before reaching the US.\u00a0 The Ouija board was most popular during times of uncertainty.\u00a0 During and after WWI there was a surge of popularity in the desire to communicate with the other side.\u00a0 The board appeared in newspaper articles and inspired writers; mainly existing outside of mainstream America.<\/p>\n

\u201c1973\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The year the movie The Exorcist<\/em> came out was the year popular culture and out collective unconscious was changed by this groundbreaking film.\u00a0 The main character becomes possessed by the Devil after playing with a Ouija board.\u00a0 Demonic possession through dabbling in the occult became a common theme in horror movies after the Ouija\u2019s debut.\u00a0 The board was also an easy target for religious organizations.\u00a0 Conservative Christian groups view the Ouija board as a doorway for evil spirits and a tool used by Satan.\u00a0 Hollywood reinforces this stereotype with each movie that shows the Ouija in this light.<\/p>\n

The Smithsonian article goes on to explain that scientists have determined that the board is not operated by spirits, but by something known as the ideomotor effect.<\/em>\u00a0 This theory of unconscious muscle movement giving us insight into our own psyches sounds just as fantastic.\u00a0 Read the full article by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie Here<\/a><\/p>\n

While the ideomotor effect is the likely explanation; it is not to say that spirits do not utilize this method of communication.\u00a0 Mischievous spirits use the existing fear and apprehension surrounding Ouija boards to their advantage.\u00a0 Many of the other divination techniques used like Tarot and the pendulum can also give insight into the subconscious mind.\u00a0 However, witches and other magical practitioners have time honored techniques of entering trance and altered states of consciousness through ritual or the use of visionary plants; employing certain evocatory rites that lead to direct spirit congress.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spirit communication has been a central pillar of magical practice since the begininng of human civilization. Witches, shaman, and sorcerers have learned to gather power and knowledge through their relationships with these spirits. Spirit boards are a modern manifestation of spirit communication tools, and opinions of such vary within the magical community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2804,"featured_media":603,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,50],"tags":[30,52,133,51,134,135,57,58,25,43],"class_list":["post-602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-magic-and-witchcraft-in-history","category-occult-artifacts","tag-modern-witchcraft","tag-occult-artifacts","tag-ouija-board","tag-ritual-tools","tag-spirit-board","tag-spirit-work","tag-the-magician","tag-the-witch","tag-witchcraft","tag-witches-tools"],"yoast_head":"\nChanging Perceptions of Spirit Boards<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Spirit communication has been a central pillar of magical practice since the begininng of human civilization. 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