Ouija board – Talking board
„Ouija board“ or „talking board“ is the English term for a fortune-telling game known as a planchette in France and a psychograph in Germany. It is a board with an alphabet, numbers and the words yes and no. A movable pointing device completes the „game“, which was invented in 1891 by the American Elijah Bond. The rights were sold to Parker Brothers in 1966. This is interesting because only one year later four million Ouija boards were produced and sold in North America alone. Especially in English-speaking countries, the Ouija board has become a popular „parlour game“.
During a session with the Ouija board, the game leader communicates with spirits or the deceased so that the participants can ask them questions. The questions can be about the past or the future. The pointer moves to each letter, which then gives the answer. Attempts to give a plausible explanation for the ghostly movement of the pointer are not satisfactory.
Why is the Ouija board not harmless, what are the dangers?
Participating in a séance is never harmless. As with other magical practices, the use of this game must be warned against. „Playing with the devil has consequences and is not really a game. As one New York psychiatrist explained, „The Ouija board is filling the New York psychiatric hospitals for us“.
Among the participants, mediumistic psychoses are common. As Goethe put it in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: „I can no longer get rid of the spirits I have called.“ This means that the „spirit“ (actually Satan) influences people, their actions and also their decisions.
Even if one does not want to admit that the devil is behind it, a suggestive power is triggered in the participant. This can also be observed in other forms of divination.
Examples from the book „Occult ABC“, Dr. Kurt Koch
Ex 166 One of my friends is Mr Ehret from Nappanee, Indiana. One day he went into a public building and saw some students playing with a Ouija board. Not knowing what it was, he asked them. He was told it was a means of revealing hidden things. „Good, I will try it then. When was the house we are in built?“ The Ouija board gave the date: 1894. Mr Ehret found the caretaker and he confirmed the date.
E 168 A Mennonite pastor in Canada’s Okanagan Valley warned his children about the consequences of witchcraft. One day, his eleven-year-old son walked into a room at his school where some classmates were playing with a Ouija board. The eleven-year-old overheard the following game of questions: „Who is behind your power?“ The Ouija board answered: „Hitler“. The students laughed and said, „Stop taking us behind the light. Tell us the truth.“ The Ouija board replied, „Lucifer“. The boys did not know this word. So they asked again: „Who is Lucifer?“ Then came the clear answer, „Satan“. Then the eleven-year-old son of the Mennonite preacher stepped forward and shouted, „If your power comes from the devil, I command you to stop in the name of Jesus.” And it happened. The Ouija board stopped and gave no further answer.
Ex 169 A teacher, who is also the pastor of a church, was walking down a school corridor. Some children came running out of a room shouting, „We’ve seen a devil’s face.“
„What were you doing?“ the pastor asked.
„We were playing with a Ouija board.“
„Let me see it.“ He entered the room, saw the board lying there, and thought to himself, perhaps too confidently, ‘We will soon deal with you!’ He kneeled down in front of several of the children and prayed. Suddenly he had the feeling that two invisible hands were around his throat, trying to strangle him. Only then did he realise the danger of his position. He committed himself to the protection of Jesus Christ and commanded these powers in the name of the Lord. The hands then released his throat.
These examples are enough to show that there is demonic power behind the Ouija board.