The common definition for this term is any flat board which has letters and numbers or other symbols printed on it, on which users will touch a planchette or pointer. The users will ask questions and the planchette will move about spelling out the answers. Also known as talking boards and witch boards.
Is it just a game or is there more to it?
The controversy over this "toy" has been raging for quite some time.
Skeptics claim that the users of the talking board will move the planchette themselves, either consciously or subconciously. Believers say they are communing with the spirit realm. LPI says this is a potentially dangerous object that should never be toyed with.
The problem comes with the concept of how the "game" is supposed to work. The general consensus is that anytime you surrender your will or control of your body to something besides your own mind, You are opening a door. The problem with that is that you have no way of knowing what is going to come through that door. It's kind of like a convenience store in the middle of the business district in the middle of the night. You don't know if the next customer is going to be a professional businessman or a robber. Now place a sign on the building that says, "Open 24/7 no attendant, no surveilance, no alarm!!!" That is the position you have placed yourself in when you surrender control of any part of you to any unseen force.
This type of activity can lead to human spirits attaching themselves to a person. It can lead to the forming of a familiar spirit. It can even lead to demonic oppression, or even possession if the person is vulnerable enough or can be made vulnerable enough.
LPI's official position is that no one should use a talking board of any sort. It is just too risky.
But, this isn't the only risky business that one can get into by doing something that seems harmless at the start. Any activity that requires a person to relenquish their will or use of their body in order to gain contact with the "spirit realm" is very risky. This includes activities like dowsing rods, seances, automatic writing or any other kind of channeling just to name a few. There may be people out there that are able to do some of these things safely, but as a general rule, LPI does not recomend it for anyone.
