Spirits vs. Science: How Ouija Boards Actually Work!! | A Skeptic's Guide to Divination
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ก.ย. 2020
- How do Ouija Boards actually work? Is it really spirits, speaking to us from the otherworld? Can the dead really communicate with us? Or do studies in cognitive science tell us otherwise? In this video, I explore some of the history behind Ouija Boards, as well as recent scientific studies that seek to explain how the planchette can seemingly move on its own. While the science might not be nearly as spooky as spirits, it is pretty cool for what it can tell us about the unconscious mind!
Studies Referenced:
Helen L. Gauchou et al. 2012. "Expression of Nonconscious Knowledge via Ideomotor Activity": www2.psych.ubc.ca/~rensink/pu...
Marc Andersen et al. 2018. "Predictive Minds in Ouija Board Sessions": pure.au.dk/portal/en/publicat...
History of the Ouija Board, taken from a Smithsonian Magazine article: www.smithsonianmag.com/histor...
The Witch's Cookery video on divination: • 5 Easy & FREE TOOLS FO...
Read my blog: www.obscureclouds.com/
Instagram: / skeptical.witch
The music in this video is Blossom by LAKEY INSPIRED: • LAKEY INSPIRED - Blossom
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So glad I found this channel! Yes, I agree with your analysis. As an Atheopagan, I don't believe in any supernatural agencies. For me, this doesn't make Ouija boards, tarot cards, etc., less interesting, it makes them more interesting!
Consciousness is like a tiny island in the vast ocean of the mind. Our mind knows a lot more than our small consciousness has access to. I think this is where psychics, psychologists, priests, faculty office hours, Ouija boards, tarot cards, etc., come in. I see all of these tools not as accessing secret knowledge from spirits in a non-corporeal realm, but as giving us conscious access to what other parts of our brain know. At their best, all these people and tools don't tell us what to go do with our lives. They are simply companions aiding in our journey of self-discovery.
We are always pushing the planchette! The distinction is between conscious and subconscious pushing. Conscious pushing, by yourself or your partner, is obvious and uninteresting. Subconscious pushing, where you don't realize you are pushing it, can be amazing! Conscious pushing is like learning to dance: it's clumsy and you step on your partner's toes a lot. Subconscious pushing is like elegant partner dancing. You're in the zone. It's effortless flow. There isn't really a sense of leading or following, only of spontaneously moving together. Yes, you are pushing the planchette, but it's so natural and flowing that the planchette can sometimes move so fast your hands fall off it!
I think sometimes the words spelt come collaboratively. And other times one partner is mostly a companion and the other takes a much-needed journey into their subconscious. Just as you noted that reciting the alphabet and waiting for a knock was too slow, I think Ouija boards can also be pretty slow. They're great for aphorisms and other short messages. But, for example, when my friend Jenny needed to explore her own life and issues with her mom, it took us 4 hours with a Ouija board. That's a long time to sit cross-legged on the floor! My legs were kind of cramped and I had to pee for the last 2 hours! But Jenny's questions were so deeply personal and powerful I just didn't have the heart to stop. In retrospect, I think a tarot card reading could have covered all that territory in an hour.
Once my friend Lee and I were playing with a Ouija board. The planchette was moving vibrantly. But on this occasion it never stopped on any letters. Since it was moving so dramatically, but not spelling anything, it occurred to me to replace the board with a large sheet of paper and the planchette with a pencil. Lee and I thought we had invented Automatic Drawing that night! Through later research, we discovered that people had been doing this for hundreds of years!
That’s a fantastic description of consciousness and the unconscious depths of our minds... and I really love the idea of using a Ouija board being like a dance. It can be so fantastic for doing that deep inner work, even though we are unconsciously pushing it. That’s great you could help your friend work through her issues with her mom, even if it was a really long process! I agree that tarot cards can also be really helpful for that, but the kinds of messages we get with different forms of divination tools will vary, and I think with the ouija board things may be more direct sometimes.
And that’s cool you two decided to use it with a pencil! That’s another thing the 19th Spiritualists did before they had the actual board, they’d use the planchette and the pencil/paper to write out messages from the spirits. It’s neat how that idea occurred to you without knowing that!
Absolutely love this! A healthy dose of skepticism is so essential. You did a beautiful job of approaching divination and magic meaningfully ❤
Thanks so much! 😊 💜
Great video. Appreciate your understanding of the ouji board
Look at the studies about the practice of facilitative communication for individuals who are non verbal
I always feel energy over / in my hands moving the pointer yet when its just me moving it i dont get the energy 😊
I did and it flew across the room and never again
@@StarDustCrusaders12 did it really? I can't believe so many people say this and they are not lying
@@Chris-pq3wp the only reason I tried it myself was because my older sister always tried to scare me.. I thought she was doing it. So one day I decided to do it alone … I’m traumatized lol .seriously
@@StarDustCrusaders12 that's because subconsciously your angry at yourself lol
Cool
You can use a shot class as a Planchette. Just flip it upside-down, put your pointer finger and middle finger gentily on it and ask you questions.
so there are a cross road between science and the sooky! it is the mind aka placebo effect!
Yeah exactly :) The mind is so wonderfully complex---almost spooky in and of itself! There's so much we don't know about it, but what we are learning is fascinating!
@@theskepticalwitch6611 you are so right! there is so much we do not know about the mind and that is crazy as the mind is what shapes a good part of reality we live! we all so do not know a lot a bout the world still! it is fascinating to look at the new data. a cool TH-cam channel a bout new science theory to look at Dissident Science. do you identify as atheist? thanks for the reply!
@@jakemichael8586 ooh thank you for the recommendation! I’ll check it out! I identify as non-theistic and as a naturalistic pantheist, so I feel as though the cosmos is sacred, but don’t necessarily believe in anything “supernatural” :)
@@theskepticalwitch6611 ok so you are a atheist just not the garden variety. i just identify as atheist but do find the universe sacred as well. thanks for the reply take care!
Hmmm....i dunno. I stil aint gonna fuck around with a Ouija board ever again.
Marry lou clark. Was real
I just realized you have no ability to donate to you. Why?
Thank you for thinking of donating to me! I currently don't have anything for that because I don't feel like I'm really offering anything at the minute that I would be comfortable accepting money for... I'm just making videos about things I 'm interested in :) I might start a Patreon in the future though where I'll maybe have some workshops and opportunities for discussions within the community, and bonus content.
@@theskepticalwitch6611 I don't know if you have seen Ocean Keltoi's video on Latent Christianity. If not I strongly recommend you watch it. What you are expressing is a Latent Christian belief based in the protestant work ethic. Your work only has value if you think it does. First... no. Humans are awful as valuing our own work. Second your expressed sentiment devalues those who value the work you are doing, both in becoming more educating, and in sharing your insight. Third Christianity in the US teaches us to see the offer of charity (ie non-forced exchange of goods and services) as a bad thing. I will call you to remember that charity in the pagan tradition is something different. It's a transaction to a member of the community not to paid back to the specific community member who offered the charity, but rather obligates the receiver to pay the charity forward.
If you do not want to start a patreon because you are concerned that no one or not enough people would contribute and the disappointment would be psychologically damaging. That I can accept. Make sure however that your motives for doing or not doing a thing are coming from the right place.
Narrative, narrative, narrative. The story we tell ourselves about ourselves and the way the world works are SUPER important.
From my personal perspective investing in you now will pay dividends down the road. It will benefit the community which will in direct and indirect ways benefit me later.
Again you do not have to do it especially if it will cause you distress. It is good to examine the motives. But hey... I'm just some rando on the internet.
Thanks very much for this great advice... I do think that so many of us feel this way about the content we produce, or whatever it may be. It is important to be conscious about the narratives we're applying to ourselves, and I really should be more aware of what narratives I'm using... I haven't seen Ocean Keltoi's video on Latent Christianity yet, but I will definitely check it out--it sounds incredibly interesting.
I think I will start a Patreon at some point... Maybe within the next couple months, when I have a bit more time to dedicate to my content :)
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