Oujia Boards Actually Work - Science Explains Why

Oct 09, 2018 by apost team

Thinking back to your childhood, you may remember late-night sleepovers with your friends. You may even have tried out an Ouija board.

That spooky feeling of placing your hands on the planchette along with your friends and waiting from a message from the spirit world might stick with you to this day.

Back then, the Ouija board could give us messages from beyond answering all our questions. From the silly (schoolmate crushes) to the profound (answers from the departed, predictions for the future). The Ouija board was our connection to the supernatural.

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But how does an Ouija board give us these messages? It’s hard to believe we’re really speaking with spirits or ghosts, right? But if it’s not supernatural, that means someone is moving the planchette. And no one ever fesses up.

If you want to continue to believe that Ouija boards are a gateway to the supernatural, here’s some bad news: Scientists have investigated the Ouija phenomenon and come up with an explanation for how the planchette gives answers without anyone seeming to move it.

They have identified something they call the ideomotor effect. In essence, the ideomotor effect involves the body doing things without the conscious mind being aware of it. So, when it comes to Ouija, your subconscious mind may be moving the planchette without your knowledge or direction.

While this may seem totally bizarre, it’s not without precedent. After all, we’re able to pump blood through our veins, blink our eyes and breathe without telling our bodies to do those things. So we know that our bodies are capable of actions without the conscious mind directing it. The ideomotor effect is simply an extension of this idea.

When you’re touching the Ouija planchette, your mind is actively considering the question you’ve asked. That’s as far as the conscious mind goes. But meanwhile, your brain is telling your fingers to move below the surface of your conscious. While to your conscious mind the planchette is moving on its own, you’re really the cause of it.

Interestingly, this phenomenon is similar to the little jerks your body gives sometimes as you fall asleep. In this case, the movements you make are far less noticeable.

Your subconscious brain is considering the question you asked the Ouija board and is directing your body to move the planchette to the answers matching what you want them to be. The process gets even more complicated because other people are also moving the planchette through to the ideomotor effect.

The way that scientists helped proved the explanation is fascinating: They blindfolded participants, resulting in almost unreadable answers. When participants couldn’t see the board, the answers’ spelling declined significantly, showing that the answers were coming from people rather than spirits.

The funny thing about the ideomotor effect and Ouija boards is that it might actually be a good way to get in touch with your own secret desires. The answers you give will reflect the answers your own subconscious mind most wants.

For many people, getting in touch with their true wants and their unconscious wishes is a difficult process. This means that an Ouija board might offer an unlikely outlet for getting in touch with the subconscious mind.

Ouija boards might not allow you to speak with spirits of the dearly departed. But you might be speaking to something even more useful – Your own inner thoughts and desires.

If this article made you think, feel free to pass this along to anyone else you know who might find it interesting. Have you ever tried contacting the spirits? Let us know in the comments!