#soulsapling

[ochre--rain]

Magical Tools: Warding Gloves

A tool that I’ve seen nobody talk about on here is a pair of what i’m calling warding gloves! They are relatively simple to create and can be invaluable to your practice. 

What do they do?

The warding gloves act as both a magical and physical barrier between you and an object that can cause potential harm. With them you can safely handle a cursed object, an object packed with negative energy, or other objects you don’t want to impact you and your energy.

How do I make them?

It’s simple really. All you need is a pair of gloves! They can be as simple as a pair of old work/gardening gloves or something fancier. Mine happen to be a leather pair given to me as a gift. I recommend full size gloves and not finger-less.

You can enchant them by using sigils, calling upon deities, using your personal energy, visualizing, or by however you’ve found to be the best way to enchant an object. As long as the intent is there!

I used a combination of a sigil and visualization. I used the same visuals that I use for my personal ward on the gloves. 

Don’t forget to cleanse them if you feel any negative energy has become attached and you may want to re-enchant/reinvigorate your enchantment before each use. But that’s up to you!

Uses for them:

-safely handle an object you’ve cursed to help prevent backfiring.

-handle objects that have not been cleansed yet that have particularly heavy or negative energy attached. Useful for used goods or antiques!

-if you feel like something you’ve found has a particularly bad vibe, use them as an extra level of protection.

[whichwitchami]

do you have any tips for working with a spirit/ouija board? im making my own and havent worked with one before!

Hi! 

So the very first thing I want to do is tag @theouijagirl because 1. her blog did wonders for getting me over my fears using a spirit board, 2. you’ll find a lot more information there. I’m still super new to using spirit boards and don’t necessarily follow all the ‘conventional’ rules. So take what I say with a grain of salt and check out some other sources. 

What is a spirit board?

A spirit/ ouija board is another tool of divination. A board uses the alphabet and numbers laid out in a pattern and a planchette to spell out responses from whatever you’re contacting. This can be a super nice, carved wooden board, or a piece of paper and a shot glass. Hasboro games makes a glow in the dark one! As with all divination tools, it doesn’t have to be super fancy or expensive to work. 

Spirit board Vs. Ouija board?

I honestly prefer the term spirit board, but as far as I understand, there’s no real difference in the terms. Some people (aka google) say that Ouija comes from the French oui (yes) and the German ja (yes). I have no idea if that’s accurate tbh. I like using spirit board simply because ‘ouija’ has so many ‘negative’ connotations from popular media. It’s all about preference honestly. 

About those negative connotations

One of the things that @theouijagirl and several other blogs have pointed out, is that boards are sold at stores and marketed for like 8-10 year olds or something like that. If they were truly dangerous, they wouldn’t be sold as a board game along with Monopoly and Chutes and Ladders. Yes, the media paints a terrifying picture of Ouija boards (Paranormal Activity, the Exorcist...), but as long as you use them safely, you’re fine. 

There is the possibility as with all spirit communication, to gain the attention of something less than pleasant. Do the things you normally would, set up wards or protections, be polite yet cautious when speaking, don’t believe everything the spirit tells you, and cleanse your space when you’re done. The board isn’t any more or less dangerous than a pendulum or tarot cards. 

What you bring to the board is what you get back

What do I mean by that? This relates back to the Psychologist Carl Jung and his idea of the collective unconscious (Psychology, when talking about a spirit board really? I know but bear with me). This idea is that there’s this huge entity type thing that is the unconscious of all of us, all who have been, all who will be etc, and we have the potential to tap into that through divination. 

So using the idea of the collective unconscious: what you bring to the board is what you get back. AKA, what you feel when you go to the board is what you’re going to find in the collective unconscious. For example, if you’re afraid you’re going to go to the board and summon a demon to your house, you’re going to attract a negative entity to your space. Maybe not a demon, because if demons exist, I promise you they have much bigger things to worry about than the witch whose using a spirit board. 

If you approach the board with an open mind, you’ll get a much better experience. That’s all I’m saying in this confusing and psychology heavy section. 

How do I use a spirit board?

So you have your layout of yes/no, the alphabet and numbers, also a section that says ‘goodbye’ and your planchette (The thing that moves around on top of it) 

Some people do a little ritual before they get started, what this looks like and whether or not you do one is up to you. I like to take a few deep breaths and remind myself that I control the experience on my board, not the spirits that come to say hi. 

Place the planchette on the board and lightly place one or two fingers from each hand on it. You want to use a light touch to ensure you’re not pushing the planchette around the board. The general idea is that a spirit will use your energy  to push the planchette around to spell out its message. If you don’t want it to use your energy, light a candle or have some charged crystals nearby the spirits can draw from. 

From there, start asking your questions. I like to start off just by asking who is around and if they have a message for me. You can attempt to call a specific spirit, but keep in mind that the board is kinda like chat roulette. That guy dressed as batman can claim he is batman, but is he really? I’m not saying you won’t contact your grandmother, but use reasoning and critical thinking. Don’t believe everything you’re told. Go about asking your questions/ having your conversation. Remember to be polite, no one likes to be talked to in a rude way. When you’re done, say goodbye. You can keep contacting other spirits or put the board away. 

some people say that you have to say goodbye by moving the planchette to ‘goodbye’ then flipping the board over. I just say goodbye and take the planchette off. It’s generally  not advised to leave the planchette on the board while not in use. 

Who can I contact via spirit board?

part of this will depend on your belief system, but so far the only limitation I’ve come across with who I can contact is people who are still alive. It’s just not really gonna work out that way. 

I’ve contacted dead pets, living pets, dead relatives, spirit guides, spirit companions, deities, my higher self... I think that’s it. you can contact any spirit you can think of, but like I said, be careful. It’s easy for spirits to lie and say they are someone they’re not. Use your intuition along with the board to make sure you’re protecting yourself. 

Living pets seems to throw a lot of people off, but its super fun. We contacted a friends dog once, and now its a running joke amongst us to say ‘yes, yes’ really fast, because that’s how he would send positive messages via the board. When contacting an animal, just remember they’ll talk like an animal. If you try to contact a chicken, you might not get super coherent responses. 

My primary way to contact my deities is using the spirit board as of late. It’s a great way to get a full and clear message from them without having to fuss over the nuances of tarot messages. 

Zozo, Mama, and other tricksters and myths

I first heard about Zozo from theouijagirl. The myth is that Zozo is this big scary demon who sometimes takes over your spirit board and just spells that out over and over. Some versions of the myth say they spell out mama. 

If you look at a traditional spirit board, Z/O and M/A are the furthest letters from each other. Big, sweeping motions across the board are scary, and the easiest emotion to feed off of is fear when you’re a hungry spirit who wants power. I’m not saying that Zozo does or doesn’t exist, but 99% of the time, if your board is spelling out Zozo or Mama, its a trickster spirit trying to get quick energy from you. 

If that happens, tell the spirit that this is your board and that action is not allowed. Ask them politely to leave. If they ignore you, be firm, tell them to leave. Wait for the planchette to move to ‘goodbye’. If you’re inexperienced or shaken up by the event, maybe take a break. Otherwise you can continue by asking another spirit to come to the board. If this keeps happening, definitely take a break for a while. More often than not the spirit doesn’t mean harm, but its better safe than sorry. 

Spelling the alphabet backwards or going backwards through the numbers is another myth I’ve seen. Supposedly when this happens and the spirit gets all the way through the letters and numbers, they can leave the board and wreak havoc in the world. I’m not 100% sure I believe this, but I’ve never let a spirit complete the task just in case. It’s a nuisance and a waste of time at the very least since there’s no message in it. 

Same thing goes for going to all four corners of the board in a certain order I think? Be safe/ don’t let the spirit waste your time and just ask them to stop/ say goodbye if this is happening. 

The planchette leaving the board mid session: Another myth of spirit boarding. I personally don’t think it really means anything. Some say it’ll let the spirit out. I’ve let the planchette leave the board before and point to me or someone I’m with, I think it’s the spirit giving us a hug. 

“can you tell me when I die?” spirits lie guys. there’s a huge chance you’re talking to some random spirit named bob who has no idea when or how you’re going to die. Don’t let them scare you with such messages. 

Some things you should do 

as I’ve said, be polite, be critical, but don’t think that everyone is lying. Ask questions that will help you know whether or not it really is your grandma, and trust your intuition. If it feels weird, or you’re getting inconsistent answers, move on. Always move the planchette to goodbye before you leave. It’s just polite. 

It is a good idea to have some rules for the board. What and how many are up to you. Mine are pretty simple: if I ask you to leave, you leave. Spelling Zozo/mama is unacceptable, no going through the alphabet/ numbers backwards. You can have more, you can have less, just make sure you enforce them. 

You have the power, not the spirits

This is your board and your experience. You are in control. If a spirit is breaking your rules, its’ perfectly acceptable to say “Nu-uh. This is my board, and this isn’t allowed. Please leave.” If they refuse follow up with. “this is unacceptable on my board. I’ll ask you one more time to leave, if you don’t, I’m ending the session.” Don’t take their shit. Say goodbye. Either end the session fully or just move the planchette to goodbye and start over. I’ve gotten pretty good at getting spirits to go away, but the first few times they’d just come right back and I would have to end the session all together. 

The power is in your hands, not theirs. Don’t let them take control. 

Parting Thoughts

I still have a healthy uneasiness when it comes to spirit boards that I don’t really have with  my pendulum and tarot cards. I feel like that’s pretty obvious throughout this post. Just remember to have fun and not take it too seriously, while still protecting yourself. The spirit board is just another tool for divination, a tool that you control. When you learn how to set your fear aside and use it wisely, it can be the best tool for clear, straightforward answers and great conversation between the spirits that love you. 

Seriously go check out theouijagirl for more! As I said, her blog was the main reason I got over my fear of spirit boards and grew comfortable with them. Check out her stories, tips, etc. 

As always, if you have anything to add, feel free! If you have any questions or need clarification, message me! 

[thebookishwitch]

You are such a sweetheart! Always doing readings for people and being just generally lovely. I look forward to you on my dash, you brighten my day!

Dawww thank you so much! You just made my day. ^^

[whichwitchami]

Have you ever reshuffled a tarot deck and pulled new cards because you didn't like the first response the deck gave you?

yes

[whichwitchami]

soulsapling replied to your post: why the fuck is it only 65 degrees in my...

We keep our house at 62! Apparently dad melts otherwise

I’m not about that life. 

Especially when its less than 10 degrees outside. I don’t need it hot by anymeans, but I’d rather not be an icicle either