How to Close a Ouija Board

Though it looks like a board game and can often be found in the games section of many stores, the Ouija board should not be played with by children. Those who believe in it's abilities may be able to communicate with spirits, which comes with a certain set of responsibilities. One of those responsibilities is to "close" the Ouija board, which means to end your Ouija board session properly. It is not enough to just put the board away, you must make sure that everyone (including the spirits) involved knows that the session is over.

Instructions

1. Decide on a time to stop using the Ouija board. If there is more than one person using the board, all must be in agreement that the time is appropriate to end the session.

2. Move the planchette (the small piece of plastic, glass or wood that is moved over the letters) to the world 'GOODBYE' on the board.

3. Remove your hands from the planchette, ensuring that all others who had their hands on it or the board do so as well. Nothing should be touching the board or planchette any longer.

4. Say "Goodbye" aloud, if you wish. This is an optional step, but one that many feel comfortable using, to ensure that the spirits got the message and that you wish for them to go.

5. After you are sure that any spirits have left, put the board and planchette back in the box and put the box away.

Tips & Warnings

• Though a cleansing ritual is not necessary to close a board, one can be done anyways. There is no one exact way to do a cleansing, in fact there are many variations. They include sprinkling the board with sea salt or lavender, smudging it with some sage, holding the planchette (if it is made of glass) over a flame or smacking the planchette firmly over a hard surface.

• Even if you don't believe in the power of a Ouija board to communicate with spirits, using one can still be scary. Ensure that you and everyone else who participates really wants to use the board. If anyone is scared and being pressured into it, they can become more frightened by doing the ritual. There are medical cases on record where skeptics become scared or even mentally unstable because of their fear of the board and its use. For this reason, you should not use the board if you have any fear or trepidation about use of a Ouija board.

References

• Paranormality: Ouija Board
• Haunted Hamilton: Ouija How-To