What is the Ouija Board?

The name Ouija is derived from the French oui and German ja, which simply mean “yes.”  The Ouija Board is a flat, smooth board that bears the letters of the alphabet, including the words “yes,” “no,” “maybe,” and “goodbye.”  A hand-sized, heart shaped pointer called a planchette is used then as an automatic writing device.  Spirits are believed to move the planchette about the board, spelling out messages and answering questions from “players.”  The process is a form of divination called dactylomancy.

The Ouija Board is a quick and easy way whereby one can become involved in the occult.  Users generally ignore the scientific tests and testimonies that the Ouija Board is dangerous and that there is an intelligence guiding the planchette.  Sir William Barrett conducted experiments in which the operators of the board were blindfolded, the letters of the board were rearranged, and an opaque screen covered the surface of the board.  He published his conclusions in the September 1914 Proceedings of the American Society for Psychical Research.  The experiments proved that the power behind the Ouija was not resonant in the user that was demonstrated by the amazing swiftness and accuracy when normal human facilities were limited.1

Many channelers have contacted their spirit guides through use of the Ouija.  For instance, Pearl Curran had the famous “Patience Worth” material dictated to her through the use of the board.  Jane Roberts, popular for the “Seth” books, began contact with spirit guides through an Ouija Board.  The Exorcist is an account of an actual case of demon possession from using the board.2  Nevertheless, many people view the Ouija Board as a harmless pastime.

1 Edmond C. Gruss, The Ouija Board:  A Doorway to the Occult (Phillipsburg, NJ:  Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, 1994), pp. 40-41

2 Stoker Hunt, Ouija:  The Most Dangerous Game (New York:  Harper and Row, 1985), pp. 89.