Wow, interesting experience with the ouija board, J. I have not had an ouija board experience. I once tried the psychic circle (which is just another type of ouija board), but nothing happened. However, I didn't really pursue it after that because one night as I lay thinking about a question I had in mind, I thought, Oh, I can use the psychic circle to ask about this question. At which point I actually received a very clear female voice clairaudiently that said something along the lines of this device just being a hurdle to receiving the info I need. In essence, I could just ask and listen for an answer. So that's what I do now. And the answers manifest as song lyrics, telepathic concepts, scryed images, dreams, and at times, pure clairaudience.

I must admit that I have an aversion to using an ouija board anyway. Maybe it is because of all of the negative stories about it that I've read and heard first hand. But by the same token, Jane Roberts first got in touch with "Seth" through using a ouija board. And if I look to an outside source as guru, it is the Seth channelings.

Thus, logically, I believe that ouija boards are merely symbolic devices that bring through subconscious and extradimensional messages in a similar way as a radio picks up radio waves. How the messages are reacted to also flavors the experience. Like in your case, you received apparently accurate information about a profound future event. But it was an event that felt bad and unsavory, so it colored your feelings about the messenger (ouija board).

I think the point of all divining devices is to find a way to open the mind to the many frequencies that exist outside of our current parameters. For example tarot cards...I picked up a deck about 20 years ago. I didn't have a well-developed spiritual belief at that time, and I suppose I thought they might be magic, and I just got brave enough to see what they were about. I bought a book about reading tarot at the same time. And what I found was that even in the first few simple spreads I learned, the information was quite accurate and gave me some strong feelings of synchronicity.

What I've come to believe about tarot cards are that they are just another way of listening, opening the mind, scrying. How I interpret a card will pertain to the messages wanting to get through to me. Someone else might interpret the same spread quite differently. It's all about symbology. And symbols are a more pure form of information (above the use of words). As such, they hold many more possible meanings, thus provide a greater view of truth (which is "all" meanings at once).

As for pendulums, these are just another divining device. You can buy or make a pendulum (just as you can buy or make a deck of tarot or a ouija board). A pendulum is a weight (of any sort) suspended from the end of a string (of any sort). When you hold a pendulum it will begin to move (or not ) and then you interpret/choose what the meaning of the movement is. You either determine or glean from a book or another diviner what the movements mean. You may determine that a clockwise means "yes, and counter-clockwise means "no", or a vertical movement means yes, and a horizontal swing means "no". In actuality, what matters is that you let allow the messages to speak to you through the device. There are no set rules as to interpretation, that is the beauty of divination. You allow for your own personal interpretation. In a sense, it is your higher self, or selves that is talking to you and relaying messages.

And the messages aren't always accurate, or so it seems. Why? Because interpretation is subjective and prone to error based on fears and desires (if you want something to happen, you may easily interpret an answer to accommodate that what you want will occur). Also, there are boundaries as to what you are allowed to know in the present moment. I have been told before, This is all that you can know for now. The future must unfold like a flower - the petals aren't meant to be wrenched open.

Can demons latch onto users or participants? My take on this is that it can seem so. If a person opens up a channel to information that they are afraid of, then they may experience fearful things. And once that channel is open, a person may not be able to close the door again. I read a book once about a lady who was haunted by a demon. After years of experiencing this, she came to believe it was a part of her dimensional self, but she still remained at odds with it. I truly believe that all we experience are parts of ourself, even if we think it is a ghost. But I digress. Yes, there is a risk of frightening experiences when you open up doorways that have been shut. It doesn't mean that this is because of evil, but because it is fear of the unknown and is experienced through reaction rather than understanding.

Nothing has ever hurt me or truly threatened me. I have received some shocking messages, but I often find that when I realize what the messages really mean, they are either benign, misinterpreted by me, or are not meant to assault, but are harsh truths that and are not easily assimilated.

Excellent thread, Julianne. I enjoyed thinking about it and explaining my