Responsible Use

For June’s how-to Blog, I’ve decided to share a guide I wrote a few years ago, concerning channeling (Ouija) boards, and how to effectively use them. I wrote this guide as an informational tool to fight the misinformation I was bombarded with when trying to sell the high-end, heirloom quality channeling boards I once sold. I still do custom boards for those interested. I hope everyone enjoys!

The Responsible Use of Channeling Boards

How to effectively and safely employ a channeling board for divination

by Martin McGreggor

Channeling boards are an effective and powerful tool for divination and the art of spirit contact. There is however, a great abundance of misinformation and misunderstanding regarding the subject and this guide will hopefully shed some light on the not so mysterious world of ‘Ouija’.

The procedures and actions prescribed in this guide are designed to help the serious practitioner achieve true and gainful insight through safe and meaningful spirit contact. While effective for the author of this guide, the encouraged practices are not ‘foolproof’ and are not intended to be taken as such. Each person will have experiences of their own and this guide is meant to simply give the practitioner the best chance at safety and success, not guarantee it.

*Channeling boards are exactly that, a medium for communication through channeling a particular entity or spirit’s energy. This means that the spirit or entity is influencing the practitioner, not the board, and naturally one would want to know who or what they are being influenced by, prior to the moment it happens.

*With that being said, channeling boards should only be used during a larger working such as a seance, summoning, or other ritual intended to make contact with a specific spirit or entity. Channeling boards may also be used without a larger ritual as a way to discern spiritual activity or to make contact with unknown entities, however one should have significant experience with banishing, cleansing rituals, and other protective measures that are needed when dealing with ‘random’ entities.

*Prior to using a channeling board for the first time in a given area, cleansing and banishment rituals should be performed to cleanse the area of any unwanted spirits or entities. If the channeling board is being used to ‘randomly’ find spirits and entities, this step should not be performed, as you will banish away anything that may have been there.

*Channeling board practitioners must also be aware of the phenomenon known as ‘Astral Deception’. Just because an entity is making contact, it does not mean it is compelled to give true answers to any questions being asked, including who it is. One must use their own judgment and decide whether a particular spirit or entity is trustworthy. A good way to deal with this phenomenon is to prepare for it in advance. When summoning or calling an entity, be sure to summon or call it specifically for the purpose of answering questions truthfully, not just to answer questions. And while this makes it harder for the spirit to lie, it does not completely prevent it.

*In addition to ‘Astral Deception’, the practitioner can also deceive themselves. Negative thoughts, doubts, worries and essentially any kind of distraction can cause the user to influence their own working and damage results. Users should be experienced with some form of meditation techniques to still the mind and, if possible, enter a light trance state prior to using a channeling board. This will open the practitioner more and allow for direct channeling of the entity’s energy without negative influence.

*Never, under any circumstances, insult or disrespect a spirit or entity that is being channeled. Even if the practitioner is skilled in defense and quite capable of protecting themselves, channeling an entity allows it to have far greater influence over the practitioner and anyone else using the board. Even a spirit which would normally have a hard time influencing anything at all can cause harm if angered or provoked while being directly channeled. Always remember that a channeling board is simply a tool for a spirit or entity to make intelligible contact through the practitioner themselves, not the board.

*Channeling boards should be used alone ideally, as more hands on the planchette increases the chance for outside influence. And opposed to the popular conception that the entity needs the ‘energy’ of multiple people to ‘move the planchette, it is extremely difficult for two people to channel the energy of a spirit or entity at the same time properly. This almost always takes two very experienced practitioners, and a powerful being.

*Location matters. Especially if the user is not conducting a larger ritual and is simply ‘looking around’ for activity. Areas of extreme negative energy, or even an abundance of death energy, will attract entities that are generally less than friendly to humans. This does not even have to be some supposed ‘evil spirit’. There are simply negative things out there that feed on negativity and will try to inspire these feelings in order to feed off of them. Always be mindful of where a channeling board is being used, and what could have been potentially drawn there. This is the direct reasoning behind performing cleansing and banishing rituals prior to use.

By using the methods prescribed above, a practitioner with enough experience and skill can have extended, completely intelligible contact with spirits, entities, and beings through the use of a channeling board. Like any form of divination however, one must always use sound judgment and never take anything at complete face value. And while essentially safe to use and employ, channeling boards that are used foolishly or without concern for the consequences can be a sobering lesson in what powers are out there, and why channeling spirits is indeed a serious practice that demands respect and proper education to employ properly. The author of this guide encourages the use of channeling boards by anyone capable of performing successful cleansing and banishment rituals, provided it is being used in a greater working to contact a specific spirit or entity. Randomly searching for activity and opening one’s self up to anything in a given area for the purpose of channeling it is a serious endeavor and should be reserved for those advanced practitioners who can readily defend themselves against a strong psychic attack.