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OUIJA BOARDS AND COMMUNICATION WITH THE DEAD
When a person is separated from a loved one they
seek communications with that person. If the person
in another state they will call or write. If the
person has deceased some people will seek psychic
mediums or other means in attempts to make
communication. One of those means is the Ouija
board. Unfortunately, many today do not understand
the workings, or know the history of the Ouija
board. The so-called "board game" is manufactured by
the Parker Brothers and sold in toy stores between
other board games such as Monopoly and Scrabble.
However, when we examine its history we clearly
discover it is neither a board game nor a toy.
Talking boards have existed in many parts of the
world for centuries. For example in China as far
back as 500 B.C. the use of Ouija-like instruments
were commonplace, used as ways to communicate with
the spirits of the dead. In Greece, the philosopher
Pythagoras (ca 550 B.C.) encouraged his disciples to
make use of Ouija-like instruments to unearth
revelations "from the unseen world." The
third-century Rome and Egypt, and thirteenth-century
A.D. Mongols, all had forms of talking boards for
the express purpose of contacting spirits. The North
American Indians long before Columbus' arrival used
instruments they called squdilatc boards to locate
lost articles and missing persons. It was also used
by the Indians to transmit information as to when
and how certain religious ceremonies should be
performed. Modern use of the boards date back to
1853 when M. Planchette, a French Spiritualist,
invented a board that used a little heart shaped,
three-legged platform with a pencil as the front
leg. This platform was called a "planchette." When
the user placed his fingers on the planchette and
the platform over a piece of paper and then asked
questions, when it worked, the pencil wrote coherent
messages on the paper.
In 1889 Elihah J. Bond invented the Ouija board, and
in 1891 he patented it in the United States. In 1892
William Fuld, an enterprising Presbyterian bought
out Bond and in 1982 filed for another patent. Fuld
who claims the Ouija board advised him to set up the
Southern Novelty Company in Baltimore, Maryland. He
eventually changed the name to the Baltimore Talking
Board Company. Their product: the Oriole Talking
Boards. They were also known as the "Magic Talking
Boards" and the "Mystifying Oracle." With these
boards the pencil was removed and the three legged
planchette passed over a smooth board on which the
letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0 to 9, and the
words "Yes" or "No," and "good-bye." The earlier
boards had a left-facing crescent moon and a star
(known as the satanic crescent) adjacent to the word
"No," and a five-pointed star inside the circle
(reminiscent of the pentagram) in the bottom
right-hand corner. They did away with the star in
later versions. Fuld named the talking board Ouija
from the French "oui" (yes) and the German "ja"
(yes). He claims the board itself suggested the
name. Some occult traditions hold that demons and
other undesirable entities cannot fully operate in a
person's life unless invited or welcomed. "Yes,Yes"
certainly implies a welcome to them.
The Talking Boards were a national rage during the
First and Second World Wars, when people desperately
wanted to know the fate of their loved ones in
battle. There is a revival of Spiritism during times
of war and other catastrophes. Also, during the
early 1900's the Talking Boards became fashionable
among the ladies as a parlor game. By 1920 William
Fuld had sold over three million boards. Those large
sales alerted the IRS who wanted to collect taxes on
the boards sold. The IRS took the case to the courts
in 1920 contending the Ouija board was a game, and
as was taxable. The lawyer for the defense, Allen
Fisher said, "We contend that it [the Ouija board]
is a form of medium-ship for communication between
this world and the next and therefore does not in
any sense constitute a game or sport. By means of
this board one is enabled to get in touch with the
other side." An attorney, Washington Bowie,
supported this view when he described the board as
"a medium of communication between this world and
the next." The court ruled against the Baltimore
Talking Board Company and they were forced to pay
taxes. The Supreme Court refused to hear the case
and the lower court ruling stood. Thus it was the
IRS and not the inventors or manufacturer of the
board that determined it was a game and not a
spiritual tool. That determination was based solely
on the money made from the sales of the board and
not in any way the use of the boards.
During the occult revival of the 1960's the board
again soared in popularity, to the point that in
1966 Parker Brothers bought the rights to the Ouija
board and moved its production to Salem,
Massachusetts. During its first year over two
million boards were sold, outselling Parker
Brothers' Monopoly. The Parker Brothers offer no
solution to what makes the board work. They did
publish a brochure in response to questions about
the board. The brochure suggests three possible
reasons the board works. These reasons vary from
imperceptible muscular movements caused by messages
originating in the conscious or subconscious mind to
contact with the spirits of the dead or evil
spirits.
One of the world's foremost occult historians, Manly
P. Hall stated in 1979;
The Ouija board driven from most of the civilized
countries of the world, is a psychic toy that has
contributed many tragedies to man's mortal state.
Automatic writing (an advanced form of Ouija), a
weird, fascinating pastime, may end in a wide
variety of disasters. He who listens too often to
the whispering of the "spirit" may find his angels
to be demons in disguise man should leave alone
those forces which may only lead to madness.
Following the definition of the Ouija the Donning
International Encyclopedic Psychic Dictionary adds:
a dangerous tool when used by one not well grounded
in psychic sciences and knowledge of beforehand
preparation; when used as a game for those
unfamiliar with psychic tuning it has been known to
draw the inferior entities to move the indicator;
this inferior entity fools the user and can lead to
dangerous physical phenomena.
If, and there is little doubt, that outside sources
can be responsible for the operation of the Ouija
Board, it is an occultic practice. Often the content
of the messages goes beyond what could be in the
conscious or subconscious mind of the operator.
There have been many cases of possession reported
after a period of Ouija board use. This supports the
claim of outside contact made through the board. It
appears that as the operator becomes fascinated with
the board it leads him to dependence and to the
surrender of his will. This leads to the answers to
questions in the mind before they are spelled out on
the board. At this time the board may be discarded,
and in its place the operator may hear a voice or
voices.
Psychologists, psychiatrists, medical doctors,
theologians and many other informed people have made
strong statements warning of the dangers of Ouija
boards.
It is important to know that the use of the Ouija
board in hopes on communicating with a deceased
loved one that you are not in contact with them. The
messages if coming from the other side are coming
from demons and not spirits of the deceased.
As Christians we should avoid all contact with the
Ouija board. The Scriptures forbid occult
involvement (Lev. 19:31; 20:6, 27; Deut. 18:10-11; 1
Sam. 28:3, 7) The messages are often false, obscene,
and contrary to Biblical truths. Christians cannot
interpret supernatural phenomena associated with the
Ouija board as manifestations of departed spirits.
The Bible clearly teaches that the human spirit does
not wander after death but immediately goes to
either heaven or hell. Such expressions as "at home
with the Lord" (2 Cor. 5:8) or "to depart and be
with Christ (Phil. 1:23) teach that believers go to
heaven after death. In the account of the rich man
and Lazarus in Luke 16, the rich man was in hades
(v.23) and "there is a great chasm fixed" between
the redeemed and the unredeemed (v. 26). The
Scriptures clearly tell Christians to seek God and
His Word: "And when they say to you, 'Consult the
mediums and spiritists who whisper and mutter,'
should not a people consult their God? Should they
consult the dead on behalf of the living? To the law
and to the testimony! If they do not speak according
to this word, it is because they have no dawn" (Isa.
8:19-20). It is also a Christians duty to speak out
against the use of the Ouija board to others so they
don't fall prey to its' teachings.
For Additional Information Contact
True Light Educational Ministry
P.O. Box 310
Shirley, NY 11967
Telephone (631) 395-4646
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TLEM