The article "Ouija, Using it Without Harm" on the PaganPath website states: "The Ouija is only as dangerous as you and/or your friends make it. The Ouija can be a useful tool for mediumship (spirit contact) but can also be a tool to tap into the subconscious minds of the users. If you begin your Ouija session with the intention of just seeing what will happen, but without letting superstitious fears scare you, you're well on your way to a fun, entertaining, and informative experience."
Even those who say the Ouija can be used without harm often suggest performing a "cleansing" before any experiments. According to Crystalinks' article on the board, "Some people like to say a prayer over the board - or do some other ritual. In this case envision a protective white light of energy surround yourself, the board, those you are working with, and even the room."
INHERENTLY HARMLESS
Author and ghost hunter Loyd Auerbach is one of few seasoned paranormal investigators who doesn't put much stock in the Ouija's powers. In his book, Ghost Hunting: How To Investigate the Paranormal, he writes: "There is nothing inherently evil or demonic about Ouija boards." The answers come from "unconsciously driven minor muscle movements and not spirits of dead people. Ouija boards have never been shown to tap into spiritual sources. Any danger…is in taking the 'communications' literally."
Many people, like me, who have attempted to use the board get little or no results. Nostro75 in the Forum is another. "I brought one from the Internet and have tried to use it several times, including on my own and with friends and family. The planchette didn't move an inch, ever. So nothing to fear."
The "Skeptic's Dictionary" agrees with Auerbach's position and may have the most reasonable advice about the Ouija. "The movement of the planchette is not due to paranormal forces but to unnoticeable movements by those controlling the pointer, known as the ideomotor effect," the website says in its article on the Ouija.
"Observing the powerful effect of messages on impressionable people can be impressive. Yet, as experiences with facilitated communication have shown, decent people often harbor indecent thoughts of which they are unaware. And the fact that a person takes a 'communication' seriously enough to have it significantly interfere with the enjoyment of life might be a sufficient reason for avoiding the Ouija board as being more than a 'harmless bit of entertainment,' but it is hardly a sufficient reason for concluding that the messages issue from anything but our own minds."
