As stated above, you place your fingers gently on to the planchette without pushing it down. Usually to start you proceed to ask if t here's a spirit around, if that's the case, the planchette will start to move.
From the paranormal view, the Board works by creating a link between you ( and others ), the spirit and the board. When you ask questions the spirit will move the planchette through your fingers. It's normal for you to sometimes figure it out where it's going, but just let it flow naturally.
Also, I'd advice you to get to know how the board works, for your own safety. Some people defend a lot of theories on what you should/shouldn't do and some of them you may or not agree with but knowing them could make you more comfortable. Below there's a thread about the Ouija board, if you're interested.
In the end, Ouija works on a similar concept to automatic writing where the idea is to make yourself available for a spirit or other entity to work through you to manipulate the Planchette.
This also the reason for the risk involved with Ouija. You aren't just inviting a spirit into your presence, but you are inviting it to work through you, even if it is to a limited degree. This is why you want to be sure to set some ground rules before starting. You want to do some sort of a protection spell or meditation before starting, to declare that no malicious or harmful entities would be allowed to cause harm or mischief. I would also suggest performing a cleansing after a session as well to clear away any lingering energies.
Doing both would only add a few minutes to the session at the beginning and end but it can save you a lot of trouble in the long run. Plus it has the added benefit of helping ensure the session would be more focused and/or productive.
I am very interested in Ouija boards. So I made my own(has the Alphabet, Numbers, yes, no, and Goodbye) but I'm not sure how the planchette moves. Do you just get a feeling of where it should go or should it move without you thinking of where it should go?
I have purchased a Ouija board and have used it on several occasions and it has never worked for me. A few of those times in a house I lived in that was haunted.
I have also used a friends board where it spelled out grandma and the girls grandmothers last name. None of us knew that information but her. She ran out the room crying. I don't know if it could have been her subconsciously moving it, if only certain boards work, or if boards only work for certain people, or if it is a combination.
We always put are hands on it and let it move on its own. Hasn't happened on the new board yet. I did see a video where people really thought the board worked. Then they were blind folded and moved the planchette like they were stopping on letters, they spelled nothing, and barely landed on a letter.
I think if you move it where you "feel" it should go you will subconsciously influence the board:(
I never studied the spirit board, all I say is from personal experience, so it might not be completely reliable.
I started in a group of trusted friends, and it worked. The space we "played" (I don't have a better word) was filled with energies, as it was an old house that was filled with love and all kinds of objects from my childhood and of the previous owners. The spirits in this instance were very different, some "evil" or distraught, others kind, others not wanting to speak.
We encountered many spirits ( :D edr7677) that would talk in gibberish or just random sets of numbers and letters that would not make sense, and our eyes were open. A lot of spirits contradicted what they said a moment ago, or what another spirit said, many seemed unsure about things, some spirits felt like they were just making up stuff as we asked.
When we tried to play alone the planchet moved, but slowly and the spirits connection was weak (I barely feel its presence, while the other spirits I connected to with two or more people had a strong presence and could move the planchette easy and fast.) I prefer groups because of this.
Then we played in a modern house in an empty room; this house was empty, cold and filled with rich objects. The energies were much the same (cold, unwanting, ect.. ), and so this session had one spirit, no matter how many times we un summoned and re summoned, the same spirit came back. From this, we concluded that because this house was just made (about 20 years ago?) and the room was empty, and usually never used, the lack of history and "presence" played a role in the lack of spirits. (the spirit of this house also seemed to be disinterested in everything in general.)
I have never seen this on a site, so I'll share it with you. I don't know if it is dangerous, but I have never had trouble with this. If you put one hand on the planchet and summon a spirit, and then place your other hand on a paper with a pen, you can let the spirit draw or write with it. In my case, the spirits just scribbled things (probably because the lack of effect on the physical world for so long got them excited?). I visualize my spirit moving out of my hand and then moving the spirits grasp from one hand to the other. I'm interested to see if it works for you, but please be safe if you do try it. I don't know what could happen if you mess up, and although I don't find spirits to be as dangerous as Hollywood makes them, I do understand that they should be respected.
Have you tried saying "are there any spirits with us tonight?" as a statement to start? (If the spirit says no, say "wish you a happy night, goodbye" or something positive, but make sure to let it leave.)
