Ouija


Ouija
Also referred to as Oujia board, spirit board, talking board, or witch board.
Overview
The Ouija (/ˈwiːdʒə/ WEE-jə, /-dʒi/ -jee), also known as a Oujia board, spirit board, talking board, or witch board, is a flat board marked with the letters of the Latin alphabet, the numbers 0–9, the words “yes”, “no”, and occasionally “hello” and “goodbye”, along with various symbols and graphics.
It uses a planchette (a small heart-shaped piece of wood or plastic) as a movable indicator to spell out messages during a séance. Participants place their fingers on the planchette, and it is moved about the board to spell out words.
The name “Ouija” is a trademark of Hasbro[1] (inherited from Parker Brothers), but is often used generically to refer to any talking board.
The popular belief that the word Ouija comes from the French (oui) and German (ja) words for yes is a misconception. In fact, the name was given from a word spelled out on the board when medium Helen Peters Nosworthy asked the board to name itself. When asked what the word meant, it responded “Good Luck.”
Origin and Meaning
One of the first mentions of the automatic writing method used in the Ouija board is found in China around 1100 AD, in historical documents of the Song dynasty. The method was known as fuji “planchette writing”. The use of planchette writing as an ostensible means of necromancy and communion with the spirit-world continued, and, albeit under special rituals and supervisions, was a central practice of the Quanzhen School, until it was forbidden by the Qing dynasty.[2]

As a part of the spiritualist movement, mediums began to employ various means for communication with the dead. Following the American Civil War in the United States, mediums did significant business in allegedly allowing survivors to contact lost relatives. Use of talking boards was so common by 1886 that news reported the phenomenon taking over the spiritualists’ camps in Ohio.[3] The Ouija was named in 1890 in Baltimore, Maryland by medium and spiritualist Helen Peters Nosworthy.[4]
Charles Kennard, the founder of Kennard Novelty Company, claims to have invented the board with his business partner, Elijah Bond, who patented it with help from his sister-in-law, spiritualist and medium Helen Peters Nosworthy.[5]
The local patent office at first refused a patent. Bond and Nosworthy then traveled to Washington, D.C. where they were also denied a patent until the chief patent officer asked the board to spell out his name, which it did.[6] In 1901, an employee of Bond, William Fuld, took over the talking board production under the name “Ouija.”[7]

Scientific investigation
The Ouija phenomenon is considered by the scientific community to be the result of the ideomotor response.[8][9][10][11] Michael Faraday first described this effect in 1853, while investigating table-turning.[12][13]
Various studies have been conducted, recreating the effects of the Ouija board in the lab and showing that, under laboratory conditions, the subjects were moving the planchette involuntarily.[14][15] A 2012 study found that when answering yes or no questions, Ouija use was significantly more accurate than guesswork, suggesting that it might draw on the unconscious mind.[16] Skeptics have described Ouija board users as “operators”.[17]

Some critics have noted that the messages ostensibly spelled out by spirits were similar to whatever was going through the minds of the subjects.[18] According to professor of neurology Terence Hines in his book Pseudoscience and the Paranormal (2003):[19]
The planchette is guided by unconscious muscular exertions like those responsible for table movement. Nonetheless, in both cases, the illusion that the object (table or planchette) is moving under its own control is often extremely powerful and sufficient to convince many people that spirits are truly at work … The unconscious muscle movements responsible for the moving tables and Ouija board phenomena seen at seances are examples of a class of phenomena due to what psychologists call a dissociative state. A dissociative state is one in which consciousness is somehow divided or cut off from some aspects of the individual’s normal cognitive, motor, or sensory functions.
Some involuntary movements are known as “Automatism”.[20]
This correlates with the ideomotor phenomenon because both rely on unconscious movement. The difference is that the ideomotor phenomenon is based on the idea that just the idea that something can happen tricks the brain into doing it. For example, thinking about not moving the planchette leads to the possibility of the planchette moving, which then makes someone unconsciously move the planchette.[21]
Ouija boards were already criticized by scholars early on, being described in a 1927 journal as “‘vestigial remains’ of primitive belief-systems” and a con to part fools from their money.[22] Another 1921 journal described reports of Ouija board findings as ‘half truths’ and suggested that their inclusion in national newspapers at the time lowered the national discourse overall.[23]

Religious Responses
Since early in the Ouija board’s history, it has been criticized by several Christian denominations.[24] The Catholic Church in the Catechism of the Catholic Church explicitly forbids any practice of divination which includes the usage of Ouija boards.[25] Catholic Answers, a Roman Catholic Christian apologetics organization, claims that “The Ouija board is far from harmless, as it is a form of divination (seeking information from supernatural sources).”[26]
In 2005, Catholic bishops in the Chuuk State of the Federated States of Micronesia called for the boards to be banned and warned congregations that they were talking to demons when using Ouija boards.[27] In a 1995 pastoral letter, The Dutch Reformed Churches encouraged its communicants to avoid Ouija boards, as it is a practice “related to the occult”.[28] The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod forbids its faithful from using Ouija boards as a violation of the Ten Commandments.[29]

In 2001, Ouija boards were burned in Alamogordo, New Mexico, by fundamentalist groups as “symbols of witchcraft”.[30][31][32] Religious criticism has expressed beliefs that the Ouija board reveals information which should only be in God’s hands, and thus it is a tool of Satan.[33] A spokesperson for Human Life International described the boards as a portal to talk to spirits and called for Hasbro to be prohibited from marketing them.[34]
Roland Doe used a Ouija board, which the Catholic Church stated led to his possession by a demon[35]
These religious objections to use of the Ouija board have given rise to ostension type folklore in the communities where they circulate. Cautionary tales that the board opens a door to evil spirits turn the game into the subject of a supernatural dare, especially for young people.[36]

Conclusion
Spiritualists in the United States believed that the dead were able to contact the living and reportedly used a talking board very similar to a modern Ouija board at their camps in the U.S. state of Ohio in 1886 to ostensibly enable faster communication with spirits.[37]
Following its commercial patent by businessman Elijah Bond on 1 July 1890,[citation needed] the Ouija board was regarded as an innocent parlor game unrelated to the occult until American spiritualist Pearl Curran popularized its use as a divining tool during World War I.[38]
Paranormal and supernatural beliefs associated with Ouija have been criticized by the scientific community and are characterized as pseudoscience. The action of the board can be most easily explained by unconscious movements of those controlling the pointer, a psychophysiological phenomenon known as the ideomotor effect.[37][39][40][41][42]
Mainstream Christian denominations, including Catholicism, have warned against the use of Ouija boards, considering their use Satanic practice, while other religious groups hold that they can lead to demonic possession.[43][44] Occultists, on the other hand, are divided on the issue, with some claiming it can be a tool for positive transformation, while others reiterate the warnings of many Christians and caution “inexperienced users” against it.[43]
[2] Silvers, Brock. The Taoist Manual (Honolulu: Sacred Mountain Press, 2005), pp. 129–132.
[3] Rodriguez McRobbie, Linda (27 October 2013). "The Strange and Mysterious History of the Ouija Board". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
[4] Woods, Baynard (30 October 2016). "The Ouija board's mysterious origins: War, spirits, and a strange death". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
[5] Cornelius, J. Edward (2005). Aleister Crowley and the Ouija Board. Los Angeles, Calif: Feral House. pp. 20-21. ISBN 978-1-932595-10-9.
[6] "Helen Peters Nosworthy". Pinehurst, Massachusetts, USA: Talking Board Historical Society. 22 September 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
[7] Orlando, Eugene. "Ancient Ouija Boards: Fact or Fiction?". Museum of Talking Boards. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
[8] Heap, Michael (14 November 2002). "Ideomotor Effect (the Ouija Board Effect)". In Shermer, Michael (ed.). The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience. ABC-CLIO. pp. 127–129. ISBN 1-57607-654-7.
[9] Burgess, Cheryl A; Irving Kirsch; Howard Shane; Kristen L. Niederauer; Steven M. Graham; Alyson Bacon (1998). "Facilitated Communication as an Ideomotor Response". Psychological Science. 9 (1). Blackwell Publishing: 71. doi:10.1111/1467-9280.00013. JSTOR 40063250. S2CID 145631775.
[10] Gauchou, Hélène L.; Rensink, Ronald A.; Fels, Sidney (2012). "Expression of nonconscious knowledge via ideomotor actions". Consciousness and Cognition. 21 (2). Elsevier: 976–982. doi:10.1016/j.concog.2012.01.016. ISSN 1053-8100. PMID 22377138. S2CID 5728755.
[11] Shenefelt, Philip D. (2011). "Ideomotor Signaling: From Divining Spiritual Messages to Discerning Subconscious Answers during Hypnosis and Hypnoanalysis, a Historical Perspective". American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis. 53 (3). Informa UK: 157–167. doi:10.1080/00029157.2011.10401754. ISSN 0002-9157. PMID 21404952. S2CID 19324123.
[12] Faraday, Michael (1853). "Experimental investigation of table-moving". Journal of the Franklin Institute. 56 (5): 328–333. doi:10.1016/S0016-0032(38)92173-8.
[13] Podmore, Frank (1911). "Table-turning" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 337.
[14] Burgess, Cheryl A; Irving Kirsch; Howard Shane; Kristen L. Niederauer; Steven M. Graham; Alyson Bacon (1998). "Facilitated Communication as an Ideomotor Response". Psychological Science. 9 (1). Blackwell Publishing: 71. doi:10.1111/1467-9280.00013. JSTOR 40063250. S2CID 145631775.
[15] Garrow, Hattie Brown (1 December 2008). "Suffolk's Lakeland High teens find their own answers". The Virginian-Pilot. Archived from the original on 29 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
[16] Gauchou, Hélène L.; Rensink, Ronald A.; Fels, Sidney (2012). "Expression of nonconscious knowledge via ideomotor actions". Consciousness and Cognition. 21 (2). Elsevier: 976–982. doi:10.1016/j.concog.2012.01.016. ISSN 1053-8100. PMID 22377138. S2CID 5728755.
[17] Dickerson, Brian (6 February 2008). "Crying rape through a Ouija board". Detroit Free Press. Gannett. p. B1. Archived from the original on 29 October 2014.
[18] Tucker, Milo Asem (April 1897). "Comparative Observations on the Involuntary Movements of Adults and Children". The American Journal of Psychology. 8 (3). University of Illinois Press: 402. doi:10.2307/1411486. JSTOR 1411486.
[19] Hines, Terence. (2003). Pseudoscience and the Paranormal. Prometheus Books. p. 47. ISBN 1-57392-979-4
[20] Wegner, Daniel (2018). "An Analysis of Automatism." The Illusion of Conscious Will. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. pp. 99–144.
[21] Wegner, Daniel (2018). "An Analysis of Automatism." The Illusion of Conscious Will. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. pp. 99–144.
[22] Howerth, I. W. (August 1927). "Science and Religion". The Scientific Monthly. Vol. 25, no. 2. American Association for the Advancement of Science. p. 151. JSTOR 7828.
[23] Lloyd, Alfred H. (September 1921). "Newspaper Conscience--A Study in Half-Truths". The American Journal of Sociology. 27 (2). The University of Chicago Press: 198–205. doi:10.1086/213304. JSTOR 2764824.
[24] Ellis, Bill (2000). Raising the Devil: Satanism, New Religions, and the Media. University Press of Kentucky. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-8131-2682-1. Retrieved 16 October 2023. Practically since its invention a century ago, mainstream Christian religions, including Catholicism, have warned against the use of Oujia boards, claiming that they are a means of dabbling with Satanism (Hunt 1985:93–95). Occultists, interestingly, are divided on the Oujia board's value. Jane Roberts (1966) and Gina Covina (1979) express confidence that it is a device for positive transformation and they provide detailed instructions on how to use it to contact spirits and map the other world. But some occultists have echoed Christian warnings, cautioning inexperienced persons away from it.
[25] Kosloski, Philip (28 October 2020). "The spiritual dangers of playing with a Ouija board". Aleteia. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
[26] "Are Ouija boards harmless?". Catholic Answers. 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
[27] Dernbach, Katherine Boris (Spring 2005). "Spirits of the Hereafter: Death, Funerary Possession, and the Afterlife in Chuuk, Micronesia". Ethnology. 44 (2). Pittsburgh: 99–123. doi:10.2307/3773992. JSTOR 3773992.
[28] Synod of the Free Reformed Churches of North America (March 1995), Pastoral Letter Issued by the Free Reformed Churches of North America Out of concern for all confessing and baptized members, Synod of the Free Reformed Churches Publications Committee, archived from the original on 8 March 2018, retrieved 8 March 2018
[29] Schultz, Scott (2016). "What Does God Tell Us To Do In The Second Commandment?" (PDF). Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2018. A final way we misuse God's name is when we use any type of witchcraft such as crystal balls, Ouija boards, tarot cards, etc. Using these things are sinful because we are asking the devil to help us instead of God. In the Second Commandment God not only commands us not to do these things, but he also commands us to do certain things.
[30] Ishizuka, Kathy (1 February 2002). "Harry Potter book burning draws fire". School Library Journal. Vol. 48, no. 2. New York. p. 27.
[31] "Book banning spans the globe". Houston Chronicle. 3 October 2002.
[32] LaRocca, Lauren (13 July 2007). "The Potter phenomenon". The Frederick News-Post.
[33] Zyromski, Page McKean (October 2006). "Facts for Teaching about Halloween". Catechist Magazine.
[34] Smith, Hortense (7 February 2010). "Pink Ouija Board Declared "A Dangerous Spiritual Game," Possibly Destroying Our Children". Jezebel.
[35] Heiney, James J. (29 August 2016). "Demonic possession". In Fee, Christopher R.; Webb, Jeffrey B. (eds.). American Myths, Legends, and Tall Tales: An Encyclopedia of American Folklore. ABC-CLIO. p. 305. ISBN 978-1-61069-568-8.
[36] Brunvand, Jan Harold (2006) [1996]. "Ouija". American folklore: An encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. p. 534. ISBN 978-1-135-57877-0.
[37] Rodriguez McRobbie, Linda (27 October 2013). "The Strange and Mysterious History of the Ouija Board". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
[38] Brunvand, Jan Harold (2006) [1996]. "Ouija". American folklore: An encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. p. 534. ISBN 978-1-135-57877-0.
[39] Heap, Michael (14 November 2002). "Ideomotor Effect (the Ouija Board Effect)". In Shermer, Michael (ed.). The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience. ABC-CLIO. pp. 127–129. ISBN 1-57607-654-7.
[40] Adams, Cecil; Ed Zotti (3 July 2000). "How does a Ouija board work?". The Straight Dope. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
[41] Carroll, Robert T. (31 October 2009). "Ouija board". Skeptic's Dictionary. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
[42] French, Chris (27 April 2013). "The unseen force that drives Ouija boards and fake bomb detectors". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 December 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
[43] Ellis, Bill (2000). Raising the Devil: Satanism, New Religions, and the Media. University Press of Kentucky. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-8131-2682-1. Retrieved 16 October 2023. Practically since its invention a century ago, mainstream Christian religions, including Catholicism, have warned against the use of Oujia boards, claiming that they are a means of dabbling with Satanism (Hunt 1985:93–95). Occultists, interestingly, are divided on the Oujia board's value. Jane Roberts (1966) and Gina Covina (1979) express confidence that it is a device for positive transformation and they provide detailed instructions on how to use it to contact spirits and map the other world. But some occultists have echoed Christian warnings, cautioning inexperienced persons away from it.
[44] Carlisle, Rodney P. (2009). Encyclopedia of Play in Today's Society. Sage Publications. p. 434. ISBN 978-1412966702. In particular, Ouija boards and automatic writing are kin in that they can be practiced and explained both by parties who see them as instruments of psychological discovery; and both are abhorred by some religious groups as gateways to demonic possession, as the abandonment of will and invitation to external forces represents for them an act much like presenting an open wound to a germ-filled environment.
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