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The Choctaw-Irish Brotherhood(via)

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Some photos I took while doing a rehearsal ritual to develop flow and iron out wording. The candlelight is beautiful.

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Some photos I took while doing a rehearsal ritual to develop flow and iron out wording. The candlelight is beautiful.

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by huulari85

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Spirit Boards are Just Another Divination Method

It feels like spirit boards often get ‘othered’ in the world of divination. People label them as either innately dangerous and to be treated with caution, or as an ineffectual toy that shouldn’t be taken seriously. What could be someone’s favorite form of divination is shoved aside for more ‘traditional’ methods like cartomancy or scrying. In truth, they’re not any different from more popular divination methods, and it’s time we embrace them as another tool in the diviner’s arsenal. 

Spirit Boards Started as a Game

‘Spirit board’ is a broad term for any board that is used for spirit communication. They often have “yes”, “no”, the alphabet, and numbers engraved or printed on their surface; a planchette or pendulum is used to mark the spirit’s response by moving to the appropriate symbol. The most popular spirit board is the Ouija board, which was first made by Hasbro in the late 1800’s. 

Many will point to its origin as a game to say that it’s just a toy, it can’t actually be used for spirit communication. However, the makers of Ouija were inspired by reports of Spiritualists in Ohio using ‘talking boards’ to contact the dead; while Ouija specifically was invented as a game, it is based off a real divinatory system. 

I also want to point out that many divinatory systems we use today started as games. Tarot cards started as a style of playing card, yet I don’t see anyone doubting their ability to communicate with spirits. If being manufactured specifically as a game or toy interferes with an object’s spiritual abilities, why can we use modern playing cards or dice to divine when we don’t have access to tarot? 

Why Are Spirit Boards Dangerous? 

I’m sincerely asking. You can use tarot in the exact same way as a spirit board, yet tarot blogs are not drowning in disclaimers and warnings. I’ve never once been told I have to say goodbye to end a session, and I’ve researched tarot, oracle decks, runes, scrying, and pendulums.

Many will say that spirit boards can open portals. Why does a spirit board open portals, when tarot, which can also be used to communicate with spirits, doesn’t? Most likely, this was just made up by horror movies so the use of spirit boards can be the inciting incident for the plot.

Why do we assume Ouija boards only work when there’s an entity on the other side? We often think of tarot, runes, and pendulums as housing their own benevolent spirit, so it should follow that spirit boards can do the same. Now, some people believe that divination tools don’t have their own spirit, and are simply blank objects manipulated by external entities. In that case, why would spirit boards be more dangerous to use? Shouldn’t every divination tool carry a risk of attracting malevolent entities? You might say that’s why people will recommend putting up protections before a divination session; that would mean we could put up protections before using a spirit board and we’d be just as safe, so there’s no reason to fearmonger about them specifically. 

The aura of danger spirit boards possess is purely from their horror movie reputation; they’ve been portrayed as dangerous because they’re a horror movie darling and that has become everyone’s first impression. 

Many times now, I’ve pushed back on someone’s fear of Ouija boards. I ask the same questions I asked above, and I get mixed results. Many can’t answer those questions, proving my point. I don’t think you can give an actual reason to why spirit boards are dangerous or ineffectual, simply because they aren’t. Once you peel back the horror movie persona, they are just another tool, to be used or misused. 

Sources:

The Ouija Board Can't Connect Us to Paranormal Forces

The Dark History Behind Ouija Boards

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Ctto : aiartzen

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mushroom releasing spores

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Happy Ostara, but...

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As much as we should all be wary of fearmongering in spirit work spaces, it's also good to remember that not every spirit is kind.

It's fearmongering to act like there's ten million evil spirits all trying to hurt you specifically at all times.

But it's true to state that there are malefic entities out there that do want to do harm. It's just that most cases, it's not some super personal plot against you by all of the spirit worlds.

Yes, sometimes we piss off spirits and they want to hurt us in return. Yes, sometimes spirits have motives and plans for us that are unkind. Yes, sometimes we do just plainly get unlucky and interact with a less than kind spirit through no fault of our own. Yes, entities that will pretend to be other spirits do exist. Yes, entities that mean very, very serious harm do exist.

But by doing spirit work, you're not signing yourself up for a constant uphill battle against ten million tricksters, you're not putting a giant target on your back that makes every spirit in a ten mile radius want to kill you.

And the worst case scenarios are typically few and far between. Yes, I believe people when they say "A trickster pretended to be Apollo and tried to kill me in a car crash", but this isn't happening to every single person who puts a toe into spirit work.

To do spirit work is not the open invitation to suffering at the hands of spirits. As well, if the world was truly full of that many malefic spirits, they would not wait for you to start doing spirit work to hurt you. They'd just start as soon as they found you.

It's also good to remember that these spirits don't, in my experience, tend to be well liked by other, kinder spirits. My spirit guides loathed, still loathe, the spirits haunting me and did everything in their powers to help me deal with it, especially as these spirits often did pretend to be Them. So if you are dealing with these spirits, you're likely to have kinder spirits very willing to help handle the situation with/for you.

The world is not as scary, cruel, and evil as some spirit workers like to imply it is. And frankly, I think this stance is bad for many reasons, including that it scares away people from beginning spirit work themselves.

But, spirits are truly broad and vast in how they behave. There are still less than savory spirits out there. Just because there's less than some people claim doesn't mean there's zero total. The horror stories about hauntings and negative run-ins and everything like that exist because these less than savory spirits do exist. Just... not to the same degree as the fearmongering says.

Do what you need to feel and be safe. If you feel you need to/should always vet your spirit guides before talking to them, do so. And you should, honestly, have some kind of protection in place regardless of if you've had a personal run-in or not.

Just remember, not every spirit is kind, but not every spirit is cruel.

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witchy chickadee 🍄‍🟫✨

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Blessed Ostara

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The Seed. a tarot spread for ostara.

1. The Soil.

Where have you grown? While it most certainly is the dawn of a new day, keep in mind your roots are proof that you have already come a long way. The soil is your past. What lesson can you learn from days gone by?

2. The Weed.

You wish to flourish and grow strong, but there is undoubtedly something that is stunting your progress. What are your obstacles, what’s holding you back?

3. The Seed.

Within your immediate future, which area of your life will you first see signs of growth? Which seed has taken hold?

4. The Sun.

The love and support of others is helpful. But the will to grow comes from within. Let the sun be a reminder of what you need to keep in mind in order to help yourself grow.

5. The Rain.

A blessing in disguise. Understand that not all things are always as they seem. Grey skies can sometimes bring you down, but like the sun, rain too is necessary. Through struggle, you will find strength. What blessing in disguise is upon your horizon?

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.☘︎ ݁˖᯽𖣂𖣐𓏢𖦏

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

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I drew The Sun for the second day in a row today. I think the teardrop in this art is a reminder that I can look for joyous moments even when things are frightening or sad. I know that I'm my best self when I'm seeking joy and The Sun is a lovely reminder of that.

This card is from the Chrysalis Tarot by Holly Sierra and Toney Brooks

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For new witches:

You don’t have to accept everything you’re told, your journey is yours to create. Don’t feel pressured to label yourself or fit into someone else’s idea of what a witch should be. Trust your instincts, explore what resonates with you and remember that your craft is deeply personal and will evolve over time.

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