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 Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 4:33 pm
Aludra Yvette... "nothing from me Professor, I understand it all alright." Aludra said with a satisfied tone. She straightened up her notes and sat paciently waiting for further instruction. ...6th Year Slytherin
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 1:24 pm
 Professor Kain
"There are many many forms of divination and many mediums that can be used to broaden the mind in order to see into the past, present, and future. However, I must also inform you of dangerous kinds of mediums. For example, the ouija board also known as a spirit board. Though, it had been advertise as a harmless game, it indeed is dangerous because it could open up the door of a very angry dog. I will speak a bit about it, the practices involving a spirit board in divination, and of course, the dangers.
A Ouija board (possibly from the French and German words for "yes", oui and ja, and usually pronounced /ˈwiːdʒiː/ in English), also known as a spirit board or talking board, is a flat board marked with letters, numbers, and other symbols, supposedly used to communicate with any spirits. It uses a planchette (small heart-shaped piece of wood) or movable indicator to indicate the spirit's message by spelling it out on the board during a séance. The fingers of the séance participants are placed on the planchette, which then moves about the board to spell out words or become physically manifest.
Ouija is a trademark for a talking board currently sold by Parker Brothers. It has become a trademark that is often used generically to refer to any talking board.
Following its commercial introduction by businessman Elijah Bond in the late 1890s, the Ouija board was regarded as a harmless parlor game unrelated to the occult until American Spiritualist Pearl Curran popularized its use as a divining tool during World War I. Mainstream Christian religions and some occultists have associated use of the Ouija board with the threat of demonic possession and some have cautioned their followers not to use Ouija boards.
While Ouija believers feel the paranormal or supernatural is responsible for Ouija's action, it may be more parsimoniously explained by unconscious movements of those controlling the pointer, a psychological phenomenon known as the ideomotor effect. Despite being debunked by the efforts of the scientific community, Ouija remains popular among many young people.
One of the first mentions of the automatic writing method used in the Ouija board is found in China around 1100 BC, and it is first recorded in historical documents of the Song Dynasty. The method was known as fuji 扶乩 "planchette writing". The use of planchette writing as a means of ostensibly contacting the dead and the spirit-world continued, and, albeit under special rituals and supervisions, was a central practice of the Quanzhen School, until it was forbidden by the Qing Dynasty. Several entire scriptures of the Daozang are supposedly works of automatic planchette writing. Similar methods of mediumistic spirit writing have been widely practiced in Ancient India, Greece, Rome and medieval Europe.
During the late 19th century, planchettes were widely sold as a novelty. The businessmen Elijah Bond and Charles Kennard had the idea to patent a planchette sold with a board on which the alphabet was printed. The patentees filed on May 28, 1890 for patent protection and thus had invented the first Ouija board. Issue date on the patent was February 10, 1891. They received U.S. Patent 446,054. Bond was an attorney and was an inventor of other objects in addition to this device. An employee of Kennard, William Fuld took over the talking board production and in 1901, he started production of his own boards under the name "Ouija". Kennard claimed he learned the name "Ouija" from using the board and that it was an ancient Egyptian word meaning "good luck." When Fuld took over production of the boards, he popularized the more widely accepted etymology, that the name came from a combination of the French and German words for "yes". The Fuld name would become synonymous with the Ouija board, as Fuld reinvented its history, claiming that he himself had invented it. The strange talk about the boards from Fuld's competitors flooded the market and all these boards enjoyed a heyday from the 1920s through the 1960s. Fuld sued many companies over the "Ouija" name and concept right up until his death in 1927. In 1966, Fuld's estate sold the entire business to Parker Brothers, who continues to hold all trademarks and patents. About ten brands of talking boards are sold today under various names."
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 1:32 pm
Professor Kain
"A séance (pronounced /ˈseɪ.ɑːns/) is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word "séance" comes from the French word for "seat," "session" or "sitting," from the Old French "seoir," "to sit." In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, speak of "une séance de cinéma" ("a movie session"). In English, however, the word came to be used specifically for a meeting of people who are gathered to receive messages from spirits or to listen to a spirit medium discourse with or relay messages from spirits; many people, including skeptics and non-believers, treat it as a form of entertainment. In modern English usage, participants need not be seated while engaged in a séance.
One of the earliest books on the subject of communication amongst deceased persons was Communitation With the Other Side by George, First Baron Lyttelton, published in England in 1760. Among the notable spirits quoted in this volume are Peter the Great, Pericles, a "North-American Savage," William Penn, and Christina Queen of Sweden. The popularity of séances grew dramatically with the founding of the religion of Spiritualism in the mid-nineteenth century. Perhaps the best-known series of séances conducted at that time were those of Mary Todd Lincoln who, grieving the loss of her son, organized Spiritualist séances in the White House, which were attended by her husband, President Abraham Lincoln, and other prominent members of society. The 1887 Seybert Commission report marred the credibility of Spiritualism at the height of its popularity by publishing exposures of fraud and showmanship among secular séance leaders. Modern séances continue to be a part of the religious services of Spiritualist, Spiritist, and Espiritismo churches today, where a greater emphasis is placed on spiritual values versus showmanship.
In the religion of Spiritualism, it is generally a part of services to communicate with the dead. The term "séance" is not often used to describe this, except by outsiders; a preferred term is "receiving messages." In these sessions, which generally take place in well lit Spiritualist churches or outdoors at Spiritualist camps (such as Lily Dale in upstate New York or Camp Cassadaga in Florida), an ordained minister or gifted contact medium will relate messages from the dead to the living. Generally Spiritualist "message services" or "demonstrations of the continuity of life" are open to the public. Sometimes the medium stands to receive messages and only the sitter is seated; in some churches, the message service is preceded by a "healing service" involving some form of faith healing.
In addition to communicating with the spirits of people who have a personal relationship to congregants, some Spiritual Churches also deal with spirits who may have a specific relationship to the medium or a historic relationship to the body of the church. An example of the latter is the spirit of Black Hawk, a Native American warrior of the Fox tribe who lived during the 19th century. Black Hawk was a spirit who was often contacted by the Spiritualist medium Leafy Anderson and he remains the central focus of special services in the African American Spiritual Churches that she founded.
In the Latin American religion of Espiritismo, which somewhat resembles Spiritualism, séance sessions in which congregants communicate with spirits are called misas (literally "masses"). The spirits contacted in Espiritismo are often those of ancestors or Catholic saints.
Mediums who contact spirits of the dead or other spirits while on a stage, with audience members seated before them, are not literally holding a "séance", because they themselves are not seated; however, the term "séance" has been applied to their activities. One of the foremost early practitioners of this type of contact with the dead was Paschal Beverly Randolph, who worked with the spirits of the relatives of audience members, but was also famed for his ability to contact and deliver messages from ancient seers and philosophers, such as Plato.
Leader-assisted séances are generally conducted by small groups of people, with participants seated around a table in a dark or semi-dark room. The leader is typically asserted to be a medium and he or she may go into a trance that theoretically allows the spirits to communicate through his or her body, conveying messages to the other participants. Other modes of communication may also be attempted, including psychography or automatic writing, numbered raps, levitation of the table or of spirit trumpets, apports, or even smell.
This is the type of séance that is most often the subject of shock and scandal when it turns out that the leader is practicing some form of stage magic illusion or using mentalism tricks to defraud clients.
Among those with an interest in the occult, a tradition has grown up of conducting séances outside of any religious context and without a leader. Sometimes only two or three people are involved, and, if they are young, they may be using the séance as a way to test their understanding of the boundaries between reality and the paranormal. It is in such small séances that the planchette and ouija board are most often utilized.
Mediumship is the term used to describe an act where the practitioner attempts to receive messages from spirits of the dead and other spirits that the practitioner believes exist. Some self-ordained mediums are fully conscious and awake while functioning as contacts; others may slip into a partial or full trance or an altered state of consciousness. These self called 'trance-mediums' often state that, when they emerge from the trance state, they have no recollection of the messages they conveyed; it is customary for such practitioners to work with an assistant who writes down or otherwise records their words.
"Channeling" is a modern term for mediumship and is found most often in descriptions of stage mediums and leader-assisted séances who convey messages from spirits who are thought to be teachers of wisdom. Channeling is a process by which the medium allows a spirit limited use of his or her physical body to communicate with the sitters present. This is distinct from the concept of possession, which is considered to be the complete, non-consensual takeover of a living being by a spirit. Channeling, on the other hand, is assumed to offer opportunities for more positive and mutually respectful interaction between the living medium and the spirit.
Spirit boards, also known as talking boards, or Ouija boards (after a well known brand name) are flat tablets, typically made of wood, Masonite, chipboard, or plastic. On the board are a number of symbols, pictures, letters, numbers and/or words. The board is accompanied by a planchette (French for "little table"), which can take the form of a pointer on three legs or magnifying glass on legs; home made boards may employ a shot glass as a planchette. A most basic Ouija board would contain simply the alphabet of whatever country the board is being used in, although it is not uncommon for whole words to be added.
The board is used as follows: One to all of the participants in the séance place one or two fingers on the planchette which is in the middle of the board. The appointed medium asks questions of the spirit(s) with whom they are attempting to communicate."
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 1:38 pm
Professor Kain
"Obsession is one of the cornerstones of the religious activity within Spiritism. It is defined by Allan Kardec as the interference of a subjugating spirit on a weaker one and, although usually taken for granted as meaning the negative influence of the spirit of an evil deceased person on the mind of another one that is alive, can occur either way.
It is discussed by Spiritists as the major danger that the unprepared medium will have to face and is believed to be one of the most frequent causes of mental diseases and criminal behaviour. It is "treated" at Spiritist Centres by means of praying and teaching.
Technically, "obsession" is any unwanted influence of a spirit, when it alters or suppresses the normal manifestation of the personality of the subject. It can occur when:
* a spirit influences a living person,
* a living person influences someone else,
* a living person influences a spirit,
* a spirit influences another spirit.
In the first case the victim suffers but does not know whence his suffering comes. The obsessed may be lead to behave abnormally without apparent reason and will not be able to explain his deeds/crimes.
In the second case the victim knows he is being influenced and usually reacts, but is unable to resist the will of the obsessor. The victim may resort to violence.
The third case mostly occurs when the spirit of a deceased person is not able to break his bonds with the living and hangs around, suffering as they suffer.
The fourth case is mostly like the second.
Kardec proposed a classification of obsessions into three levels (of severity):
1. Simple : the spirit(s) influencing the medium cannot disguise his presence: the medium knows that he is being obsessed and, therefore, can resist it easier. This type of obsession disturbs greatly, especially because the medium may let slip random sentences due to influence of the obsessor(s), much to the surprise of those present. Uncontrolled, may cause the medium to be seen as mental and will at least ridicule him and destroy his self-esteem.
2. Fascination : the spirit influencing the medium do not bother to disguise (or intentionally reveals himself), but subjugates the medium by cunning and ardilous means, so that the victim will see whatever the spirit dictates as the purest expression of truth. The obsessing spirit will stop communications from any other sources, so that the medium depends solely on him and will produce a large output of communication, mostly worthless.
3. Subjugation : the spirit overcomes the medium's will to the extent of controlling his body as his own. During the obsession crisis, the victim will not act as himself and will pursue whatever agenda the obsessor has in mind. After the crisis the victim may not remember anything, or remember everything with great regret.
Obsession has the same kinds of motivation argued by criminals in any terrene crime (envy, revenge, prejudice, sadism) plus some new ones, specific to each type.
* The lust for pleasures that the spirit, without a body of its own, cannot experience will lead him to obsess a living person to share her emotions, eventually leading her to do things so that the spirit can partake on her feelings.
* The unconscious desire to punish or cause suffering to someone one hates or envies may lead the spirit of a living person to use its relative freedom during sleep to attempt to obsess.
* The prolonged grief for the deceased loved ones may keep strong bonds between the living and the dead, preventing the later from leaving the world and going on with their missions.
Simple Obsession is usually the result of the action of low spirits devoted to evil that take pleasure from the suffering imposed on the medium. This type of obsession is usually linked to revenge (the spirit wants the victim to know who he is and why he is doing so).
Fascination maybe plotted to destroy someone's life or as an instrument to spread worthless theories that will hinder the progress of mankind. Some spirits also take pleasure from seeing the nonsensical things the mediums will do and preach following their advice.
Subjugation, however, is of utmost danger because it reveals murderous designs on the part of the obsessor. The victim is often used as instrument to inflict pain on others or commit crimes. Sometimes the obsessor wants do destroy the victim's life, but it maybe the case that the victim is merely the instrument of revenge against the real target of the obsessor.
Not all mental perturbations have spiritual origin. It is necessary to rule out any psychological or psychiatric causes prior to any spiritual treatment. "To hear voices" may be a case of obsession, but is usually a simple case of psychosis.
Prevention of obsession is achieved by means of three precautions:
* Learning and developing one's mediumship, if it is strong enough to be used as an instrument by obsessors (one may want to develop his mediumship for other reasons as well).
* Living according to the commandments of God so that one's moral stature can act as a wall between him and the "inferior" would-be obsessors.
* Praying for God's protection and guidance whenever one's will is weakened.
The cure is a lengthy process that involves all of the above, but also:
* Participation on mediunic meetings to assess the reasons why the obsessor is acting.
* Forgiving and asking forgiveness by means of praying the Lord's Prayer.
* Befriend the obsessors (with the help of a Spiritist Centre) so that he understands his condition and how his behaviour is hampering his progress towards his own happiness.
In overall, the solution to problem of obsession is threefold:
* Learning the doctrine of the law of cause and effect
* Living according to the doctrine of Christ (Faith, Hope and Charity)
* Loving each other as Christ taught, forgiving and asking forgiveness
The proceedings used to treat obsession are termed disobsession in Kardecist spiritism and involve mostly the principles mentioned above.
Though, the religious things really depends on your religious stance and is your own personal business if that's how you keep it."
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 1:43 pm
Professor Kain
"Spirit possession is the paranormal/supernatural event in which, allegedly, spirits, gods, demons, animas, extraterrestrials, or other disincarnate or extraterrestrial entities take control of a human body, resulting in noticeable changes in health and behaviour. The term can also describe a similar action of taking residence in an inanimate object, possibly giving it animation. The concept of spiritual possession exists in many religions, including Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Haitian voodoo, Wiccan, and Southeast Asian and African traditions. Possession may be voluntary or involuntary and may be considered to have beneficial or detrimental effects.
Those who profess a belief in demonic possession have sometimes ascribed symptoms similar to those associated with mental illnesses such as psychosis, hysteria, mania, Tourette's syndrome, epilepsy, schizophrenia or dissociative identity disorder. A constant feature of possession is involuntary, uncensored behavior, and an extra-human, extra-social aspect to the individual's actions. He is dehumanized, bereft of normal powers of recognition and reaction, and his speech and movements are distant from the societal norm. In the cases of animal possession, the individuals deportment suggests that of an animal.
According to the Indian medical literature and Tantric Buddhist scriptures, most of the "seizers," or those that threaten the lives of young children, appear in animal form: cow, lion, fox, monkey, horse, dog, pig, cat, crow, pheasant, owl, and snake. But apart from these "nightmare shapes," the impersonation or incarnation of animals could in some circumstances also be highly beneficial, according to Michel Strickmann.
Ch'i Chung-fu, a Chinese gynecologist writing early in the thirteenth century, for example, wrote that in addition to five sorts of falling frenzy classified according to their causative factors, there were also four types of other frenzies distinguished by the sounds and movements given off by the victim during his seizure: cow, horse, pig, and dog frenzies.
One way that those who participate or practice Haitian Vodou and related traditions can have a spiritual experience is by being possessed by the lwa (or Loa). When the lwa descends upon a practitioner, the practitioner's body is being used by the spirit, according to the tradition. Some spirits are believed to be able to give prophecies of upcoming events or situations pertaining to the possessed one, also called Chwal or the "Horse of the Spirit." Practitioners experience this as being a beautiful but very tiring experience. Most people who are possessed by the spirit get a feeling of blackness or energy flowing through their body as if they were being electrocuted. According to Vodou believers, when this occurs, it is a sign that a possession is in the works.
The practitioner has no recollection of the possession and in fact when the possessing spirit leaves the body, the possessed one is tired and wonders what has happened during the possession. Not all practitioners have the ability to become possessed, but practitioners who do generally prefer not to make excessive use of it because it drains immense energy from them. It is said that only the lwa can choose who it wants to possess, for the spirit may have a mission that it can carry out spiritually. It is believed that those possessed by the lwa probably are at a very high spiritual level such that their soul is mature and at an advanced level.
It is also believed that there are those who feign possessions because they want attention or a feeling of importance, because those who are possessed carry a high importance in ceremony. Often, a chwal will undergo some form of trial or testing to make sure that the possession is indeed genuine. As an example, someone possessed by one of the Guédé spirits may be offered piment, a liqueur made by steeping twenty-one chili peppers in kleren, a potent alcoholic beverage. If the chwal consumes the piment without showing any evidence of pain or discomfort, the possession is regarded as genuine.
In Sudan and certain other East African cultures exists the Zār Cult, an ethnomedical healing ceremony involving possession typically of Muslim women by a Zār spirit.
In Christian orthodoxy, angels have bodies and cannot fill a human body. Cast-down angels, or demons, are disembodied angels and are able to "demonically possess" individuals. Christians believe that there are many spirits in the world, but only the Holy Spirit is considered pure and trustworthy. They see the human body as having been created to be a temple to the living God. They also believe Jesus came to the earth to fill all things with His Holy Spirit, which is the fullness of God literally living inside of a believer.
The animist traditions of the island of Bali (Indonesia) include a practice called sanghyang, induction of voluntary possession trance states for specific purposes. Roughly similar to voluntary possession in Vaudon (Voodoo), sanghyang is a sacred state in which deities or helpful spirits temporarily inhabit the bodies of participants. The purpose of sanghyang is to cleanse people and places of evil influences and restore spiritual balance. Thus, it is often referred to as an exorcism ceremony.
Wiccans believe in voluntary possession by the Goddess, connected with the sacred ceremony of Drawing Down the Moon. The high priestess solicits the Goddess to possess her and speak through her."
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 1:45 pm
*Quickly takes notes thinking this is a very interesting topic*
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Sparrow Puppy Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 1:51 pm
Professor Kain
"Though, there will be no test on this, I did want to inform you that not all mediums are harmless. Every person I have met in my life who came across the spirit board told me that they had strange and scary experiences. I will never touch one because for one, it's not a very useful form of divination and two, you never know if you are talking to a curious soul or a vengeful spirit.
I cannot tell you not to do it, but I can give you a warning and tell you to be cautious if you use a spirit board."
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 2:06 pm
 Liviana's eyes widened at the large volume of notes. She took her quill out and began copying down the words. 'I'm going to be needing more ink soon,' she thought.
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 2:15 pm
Professor Kain
Chuckles "Sorry about that."
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 2:24 pm
*After reading more thoroughly she believes this could be quite a scary topic*
Im not sure if i would want to try this...think I might take your suggestion and just research it Professor
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Sparrow Puppy Vice Captain
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Sparrow Puppy Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2010 1:30 pm
Ah I think I have one here Tsuki one minute.
*After Rummaging though her bag she hands Tsuki a quill*
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Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2010 3:36 pm
Aludra Yvette... Aludra smirked as she copied down the notes in as much detail as she could without compromising time. "I actually wouldnt mind trying it. If I have some friends with me of course." ...6th Year Slytherin
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Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2010 5:47 pm
*Rapidly scribbles the notes on a spare bit of parchment and shoots hand in the air* Professor, is this spirit board like the muggle Ouija board? I am practiced with the use of those, I have discovered many things through them.
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