The Ouija Board® the mystifying oracle, the talking board, the witch board. They are now called “Talking Boards” or spirit boards because a famous game company trademarked the original name.In the late 1800’s the talking board created a revolution in the spiritualist world because it the first time a medium or channel was not needed to communicate with the spirit realm. Anyone who could afford the modest price of the board could talk to the spirits of the dead or other entities.The talking board speaks, at times with uncanny accuracy. It works via spirit moving a pointer or planchette, around the board. One or two people can use it at a time. How does the planchette of a talking board move apparently of its on accord? This phenomenon is known as automatism.Automatism is where the subconscious mind of the operators produces involuntary movement of a message indicator without the operator’s awareness in response to his questions. In essence it is the subconscious mind communicating to the conscious mind through the board. The real question is where does the subconscious mind get the information it reveals to the conscious mind? In the case of the talking board the most common theory is that it comes from the spirit realm and the messengers are spirits, demons and angels.What is known is that the board behaves in accordance with theories and beliefs of the operators. In other word if an operator believes that angels speak through the board then that’s how the board behaves. It seems that what one believes can became manifest through the board. This is why it is good practice to work with a partner and not alone. No two operators will have the same set of beliefs and expectations so one operator acts as a filter for the other, helping to screen out false beliefs and expectations. Another good practice is to make use of a statement of intent that expresses what can and cannot be manifest through the broad.Over the century and a half that talking boards have been in use there have been many stories told and retold leading to the creation of a large body of legends and superstitions surrounding the boards. Most are due to people treating the talking board as a toy or misunderstanding the limitations of the board. Some of the beliefs about talking boards appear strange, others seem to make sense, but all of them reflect the nature of the people who have made use of the talking board in the last one hundred fifty years.Many of the superstitions and beliefs are concerned with some form of evil escaping through the board. Others deal with the management of spirits speaking and still others deal with the nature of questions asked through the board. But all ultimately reveal the talking board is a mirror of the soul of the user. Maybe that is its greatest revelation.