Is using a pendulum like a ouija board?

[tamxxx]

So I have buyed a pendulum along with a "pendulum" board which consists of letters, numbers and the usual yes or No. I just kind of want to put it to the test.

But first I want to know if I use a pendulum board, isnt it similar to a ouija board? meaning it could be dangerous?

First of all skeptics say the ouija board and pendulums work with the ideomotor effect and using a planchette and pendulum is the same thing but are just different tools.

So why is there so much worry/horror regarding ouija boards?

But not with pendulums

Edited November 25, 2009 by tamxxx

[Superman]

My sister has a side job of handing making pendulums, and selling them in various shops in the state she lives in - as well as giving them away as gifts.

There are a few ways I've seen her use these. With a chain wrapped between her fingers, and dangling it over a 'mat' (similar to a Ouija board. OH THE HORROR!), having it suspended by a 'tripod' like structure, (removing the chance of ideomotor effect) and having it suspended over a circular 'answer board', that she has printed out.

Sometimes the answers these things 'give' can be pretty accurate. And no, "Satan" or some "Demon" hasn't come to claim her soul cause she used something that could be considered a distant cousin of the malicious Ouija boards, that have ruined millions of peoples lives.

[sinewave]

So I have buyed a pendulum along with a "pendulum" board which consists of letters, numbers and the usual yes or No. I just kind of want to put it to the test.

But first I want to know if I use a pendulum board, isnt it similar to a ouija board? meaning it could be dangerous?

First of all skeptics say the ouija board and pendulums work with the ideomotor effect and using a planchette and pendulum is the same thing but are just different tools.

So why is there so much worry/horror regarding ouija boards?

But not with pendulums

That is a good question. Perhaps if in The Exorcist, Regen used a pendulum instead of a Ouija board the pendulum would have more of a dark reputation today. Pop culture shapes beliefs in an all too profound way sometimes.

Edited November 25, 2009 by sinewave

[randomhit10]

actually the problem lies in what you use it for...like fire....if you use it to cook and keep warm it is great....but if you decide your neighbor needs to go then it could be used in a less than appropiate way with troubling results....

randomhit10

[Pauly Dangerously]

actually the problem lies in what you use it for...like fire....if you use it to cook and keep warm it is great....but if you decide your neighbor needs to go then it could be used in a less than appropiate way with troubling results....

randomhit10

Well, yeah. If you use the pendulum for divining, it's harmless. If you use it to brain someone, then it's bad. I thought this went without saying...?

[bLu3 de 3n3rgy]

So why is there so much worry/horror regarding ouija boards?

It's a solid point to make. Personally I don't even see the need or point for a ouija board if a person can use themselves as the tool. But that's another story.

I would imagine that the ouija board gets the limelight for horror stories because it's a group experience. So based on that, people are going to react to one another and to 'whatever' activity, in all manner of ways. Coupled with that, people within a group can egg each other on regarding same or opposing beliefs and through their interpretation of anything that happens.

It's hugely psychological and there is the idea that if the minds of the physical and non physical can meet, then surely the minds between the living can meet too ? The most dominant mindset in a group working this way, could become the mindset of the collective group. It doesn't necessarily mean that the most dominant or 'loudest' mind is the most knowledgeable or balanced, but it might have the most influence over how something should be interpreted.

Edited November 26, 2009 by SupeRgirl

[hoosier girl]

Well, yeah. If you use the pendulum for divining, it's harmless. If you use it to brain someone, then it's bad. I thought this went without saying...?

Alright, I guess I'm dumb... But what do you mean by "brain someone"?

[Paranormalcy]

Clobber in the head. Bludgeon.

Even though I don't believe any paranormal or occult device or divining method (pendulum, Tarot, Ouija, runes, dowsing, etc) is dangerous, I think pendulums would stay at the low end even if you worried about that stuff. Although they do have ideomotor activity as their base stimulus, they just work a little different than Ouija, it's single person, it's mostly yes/no questions, it's personalized results and interpretation (clockwise, counter, etc), there is no seeming "package" - its not a box and a board and a plastic thing - it's just a weight on a chain or string, you can't get more basic than that.

I tried to get into the pendulum thing but it was too frustrating and I couldn't tell what it was spelling and it would change the direction it spun - I just got fed up with it. I tried fortune telling by dice too, I'm a fan of dice, but that's pretty limited.

[kiddglock]

So I have buyed a pendulum along with a "pendulum" board which consists of letters, numbers and the usual yes or No. I just kind of want to put it to the test.

But first I want to know if I use a pendulum board, isnt it similar to a ouija board? meaning it could be dangerous?

First of all skeptics say the ouija board and pendulums work with the ideomotor effect and using a planchette and pendulum is the same thing but are just different tools.

So why is there so much worry/horror regarding ouija boards?

But not with pendulums

They are both tools of divination, a practice which is condemned by God in the Bible. IMO they are both dangerous. That said, human experience seems to indicate that the pendulum doesn't produce the dire results that the Ouija Board does.

[kiddglock]

The reason for the worry/horror is twofold. The Ouija is well-publicized. Also, the Ouija has a history of having bad events surround its usage. Perhaps the Ouija is more popular as well. It certainly seems so. The Pendulum could be just as dangerous, but said danger not as well-known.

[CausticGnostic]

Right, Ouija boards are like cars or guns. They have a history of bad things happening around them and they're dangerous, so we should all just stay away from the infernal things. I'm sure the same argument was made by some conscientious caveman when the first stick was used as a club. ("Bludgeon": good one, Paranormalcy, but don't forget "cudgel." Clearly, judging by the plethora of terms for it, "braining" has been a popular pastime, despite the inherent danger of blunt objects lying about all over the place.)

[Render]

I don't really think any form of material matters when trying to contact some other form of (past)life.

You could use a blackboard or a cheesescraper and could get the same results (namely: reaching contact). Just because your senses are extra sharp when you focus on a task. So when you take out a Ouija board it's a bit like placebo I think. You'll subconciously be more aware of everything around you and because you want to contact something and ppl say it could turn cold, or you'll feel wind or whatever..the slightest thing that changes in your environment you'll feel and interpret as a form a contact.

Until you stop trying and couple minutes later your rational left brain kicks in and tries to explain it in logic terms. Which may or not be right.

[frodonet]

not sure if using the pendulum will reduce or increase the affects of using the outija board though, but i somewhat believe the emotional and psychological stand that you have when using it will play a big role.

even though i had one bad experience with ouija board before, i still don't entirely believe that the board can conjure up bad spirits, but who really knows?

[Pauly Dangerously]

Right, Ouija boards are like cars or guns. They have a history of bad things happening around them and they're dangerous, so we should all just stay away from the infernal things. I'm sure the same argument was made by some conscientious caveman when the first stick was used as a club. ("Bludgeon": good one, Paranormalcy, but don't forget "cudgel." Clearly, judging by the plethora of terms for it, "braining" has been a popular pastime, despite the inherent danger of blunt objects lying about all over the place.)

It's one of my favorites...

[cpjason]

Scrying may also be acted on by geomagnetic forces. Quartz and other crystals have Piezoelectric capability which means that they can hold an electric field or have electric potential.

I have never done any real tests with scrying crystal to see if they were acted on by geomagnetism or EMF, but it is possible that external forces other than the ideomotor effect could be at play when using them.

Quartz mixed with other minerals and water are also a major cause of hauntings. Quartz is basically a natural battery that can store a charge, and that is believed to be a source of energy for ghosts to manifest.

Get your EMF meter out next time you use one.

Edited November 28, 2009 by cpjason