Reading a Witches & Pagans article about the Ouija board last week, I was surprised to encounter a barrage of comments warning people away from using it to communicate with energies existing beyond the physical realm. Given that the audience is presumably made up of, well, Witches and Pagans, I anticipated a more open-minded response on the subject, rather than the long list of fearful comments that ensued. Little did I know that the Ouija board is actually a divided topic amongst the occult community! In investigating this, I believe it is important to take a look at where the Ouija board as we know it came from, and how it evolved into what it is now.
The Ouija Board - originally known as a "spirit board" or a "talking board - rose into use with the Spiritualist movement of the mid-1880's.
The Spiritualist movement originated on American soil, as part of The Second Great Awakening, a religious revival movement that was highly concentrated in western New York State. Spiritualists held the belief that communication with the deceased is possible, and held séances in order to communicate with their spirit guides. Spirit and/or talking boards were one of the tools they employed to accomplish this, and these talking boards became the precursors to the modern-day Ouija board.
In this day and age, pretty much everyone has heard of the Ouija board - popularized as a parlour game in 1890 by Elijah Bond, who designed and took out a patent on his own variation of the talking boards used by the Spiritualists, the first commercial versions of the boards were produced by the Kennard Novelty Company. William Fuld, who was acting as Bond's production manager, began producing a talking board of his own shortly thereafter, and was the first person to brand the board under the name "Ouija." This new name rapidly became the common moniker for the various talking boards that appeared on the market. The Ouija board brand was sold to Parker Brothers Games upon Fuld's death in the mid-60's, with Hasbro taking over the Ouija trademark and associated patents in 1991. With the Ouija Board's original leap into the mainstream being under the guise of entertainment, it wasn't until around 1916 that it became associated with practices of the occult, owing to its use as a divinatory tool by American Spiritualist Pearl Curran.
Since its exit from the world of novelty games and entrance into the realm of occult practices, the Ouija Board has generated some serious dividing lines. Several Christian denominations warn against using the boards, suggesting that they are "portals to hell" and have the ability to facilitate "demonic possession." Surprisingly, the occult community is equally divided on the issue, with some acknowledging that the Ouija Board can be a useful tool, while others echo statements closely aligned to the warnings issued by those of the Christian faith.
In this day and age, pretty much everyone has heard of the Ouija board - popularized as a parlour game in 1890 by Elijah Bond, who designed and took out a patent on his own variation of the talking boards used by the Spiritualists, the first commercial versions of the boards were produced by the Kennard Novelty Company. William Fuld, who was acting as Bond's production manager, began producing a talking board of his own shortly thereafter, and was the first person to brand the board under the name "Ouija." This new name rapidly became the common moniker for the various talking boards that appeared on the market. The Ouija board brand was sold to Parker Brothers Games upon Fuld's death in the mid-60's, with Hasbro taking over the Ouija trademark and associated patents in 1991. With the Ouija Board's original leap into the mainstream being under the guise of entertainment, it wasn't until around 1916 that it became associated with practices of the occult, owing to its use as a divinatory tool by American Spiritualist Pearl Curran.
Since its exit from the world of novelty games and entrance into the realm of occult practices, the Ouija Board has generated some serious dividing lines. Several Christian denominations warn against using the boards, suggesting that they are "portals to hell" and have the ability to facilitate "demonic possession." Surprisingly, the occult community is equally divided on the issue, with some acknowledging that the Ouija Board can be a useful tool, while others echo statements closely aligned to the warnings issued by those of the Christian faith.
Love it or fear it, the Ouija Board is now well-established in popular culture.
Consider ghost hunter Amy Bruni's 2014 Ouija Board spoof of a Hallowe'en themed Happy Meal that resulted in her and her family receiving death threats. Clearly, the Ouija Board elicits a strong and visceral response from many people, and unfortunately, that response is often steeped in fear.
So why the argument against using the Ouija board in occult practices?
One point that I have seen come up numerous times is that the Ouija Board itself exists as an open doorway that does not have a means to being properly closed. The name Ouija - "oui" and "ja" being French and German for yes, respectively - is often cited in this argument, with the double affirmative essentially giving the spirit world carte blanche after making contact via the board. I've also encountered advice that the Ouija Board be employed by only the most highly trained priests and priestesses. While these arguments have compelling features, I do not see them as a means to dismiss the Ouija board entirely out-of-hand, and feel that such a response can only breed fear. Should you approach the Ouija with respect? Absolutely! But fear it? I'm sorry, but fear is just not a concept that I welcome into my particular brand of spiritual practice.
Fear can be a healthy response that ensures our well being, but I do not feel it has a place within a grounded spiritual practice.
I have a long history with the Ouija Board, and none of it can be slanted towards being negative in the slightest. My friends and I started using it while still in grade school, having been given it as a gift from our families. My cousin and I used it up the woodlands of northern Ontario in our late teens, where we connected with an aboriginal spirit who guided us to a petroglyph they had carved under the dome at Petroglyphs Provincial Park. Though we never opened a circle to protect us during our séances - we didn't have knowledge of such things at the time - we approached the Ouija with a respect, and a reverence, and a purity, and closed our sessions with thanks and gratitude. That, I believe, is what makes all the difference - in magical work, or any other aspect of our lives.
Whether you use the Ouija Board - or believe in it's authenticity at all - is up to you. Certainly there are some of us who are more sensitive to spiritual energies, and may wish to forgo inviting more contact with that realm via the Ouija board. If it is something that you feel you need to be specially trained to undertake the workings of, by all means seek out an experienced practitioner to guide you in it's use! I would never suggest anyone embark upon spiritual work they feel unprepared for, or even fearful of, but I also think that chalking the Ouija board up as a target for trouble is dismissing a valuable tool we Witches have at our disposal. I personally view it as no more circumspect than the Tarot, even though I myself haven't worked with a Ouija board in many years.
What's your take on the Ouija board? Do you view it as a valuable tool, or prefer to leave it to those who have a more schooled background as to it's use? Have you had any notable experiences from working with it? Perhaps you were as surprised as I was to learn that there is a divide within the occult community as to it's use... I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on this controversial subject, whether they be Yes, No, or Goodbye.
(oh - and bonus points to those who got the song "Don't Fear the Reaper" stuck in their head after reading this post's title, since that's what has been spinning around in mine ever since I first started writing this entry... Maybe you're psychic enough to not even need the Ouija board!)
Whether you use the Ouija Board - or believe in it's authenticity at all - is up to you. Certainly there are some of us who are more sensitive to spiritual energies, and may wish to forgo inviting more contact with that realm via the Ouija board. If it is something that you feel you need to be specially trained to undertake the workings of, by all means seek out an experienced practitioner to guide you in it's use! I would never suggest anyone embark upon spiritual work they feel unprepared for, or even fearful of, but I also think that chalking the Ouija board up as a target for trouble is dismissing a valuable tool we Witches have at our disposal. I personally view it as no more circumspect than the Tarot, even though I myself haven't worked with a Ouija board in many years.
What's your take on the Ouija board? Do you view it as a valuable tool, or prefer to leave it to those who have a more schooled background as to it's use? Have you had any notable experiences from working with it? Perhaps you were as surprised as I was to learn that there is a divide within the occult community as to it's use... I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on this controversial subject, whether they be Yes, No, or Goodbye.
(oh - and bonus points to those who got the song "Don't Fear the Reaper" stuck in their head after reading this post's title, since that's what has been spinning around in mine ever since I first started writing this entry... Maybe you're psychic enough to not even need the Ouija board!)