Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Welcome to Cryptic Chronicles, the podcast that delves deep into
the mysteries and lore of the unknown. Today, on the show,
we're embarking on a journey through the enigmatic history of
the wija board and the spirit boards that preceded it.
Spirit Boards have always been considered a tool, a tool
that has fascinated and frightened generations, from its intriguing origins
(00:39):
in the nineteenth century spiritualist movement, where people sought soulas
and answers from the spirit world, to its rise as
a popular and often controversial instrument for communicating with the supernatural.
The wija boards story is as captivating as it is complex.
So join me and we'll uncover the board its early days,
(01:01):
from its invention and commercialization by curious minds eager to
tap into the beyond, to its peak popularity during the
times of societal uncertainty. Will explore how it became a
household name and the subject of both fascination and fear.
There are also a variety of spirit boards will cover
and the lore attached to them. Of course, along the way,
(01:24):
will delve into the darker chapters of its history, examining
the religious condemnations chilling pales of malevolent spirits and the
impact of horror culture, most notably the nineteen seventy three
film The Exorcist, which forever linked the wijaboard with demonic
possession in the public imagination. In modern times, there is
(01:47):
even an ineffable demon named Zozo who has been specifically
attached to the Wigi board in modern day lore. But
it's not all about the supernatural. We'll also look at
the scientific perspective, explaining theories of the psychological phenomena behind
the board's of movements and how our own minds can
create the illusion of otherworldly communication. Despite these explanations, though
(02:11):
everybody hates that lame, mainstream garbage, we want the weird stuff,
So the wija board's mystique persists a testament to our
enduring fascination with the unknown. So, whether you're a skeptic,
a believer, or just curious, join me as we unravel
the mysterious history of the wija board, exploring how it
(02:35):
became an enduring symbol of humanity's quest to understand the
mysteries of existence. I'm your host, Tim Hacker, and today
we're lifting the veil on the wag aboard. This is
(02:59):
the way, this is the way you black.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
The wisest see these, these entities, they would conqueror armory rip.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
The wija board, often regarded as a tool for communicating
with the supernatural, has fascinated and terrified people for over
a century. Personally, I grew up calling it a Wiji board,
which is kind of silly because I guess, yeah, it's
pronounced the wija board. That's just the way that they
pronounce things where I grew up. And this board has
(04:02):
gained quite a reputation for itself, to say the least.
Its origins lie in the spiritualist movements of the nineteenth century,
and its journey through history reflects broader societal trends and
shifting cultural attitudes towards mysticism and the unknown. Even now
in modern times, there are people so spooped out by
(04:23):
the board that they won't go anywhere near one, or
even allowing in their home for that matter. The superstition
against wigiboards is still pretty prominent in the cultural zeitgeist
of the West. Despite our supposed modern, secular world based
on science and facts, the neo folklore surrounding the board
is still seen as a powerful doorway into the beyond
(04:46):
by many people out there. With tales such as Zozo
the wija board Demon, there's no shortage of creepy tales
associated with the board in modern times. Offering bold souls
a doorway into mystery and the uncanny, and documenting frightening
paranormal encounters with wija boards is a beloved pastime of
Internet culture, such as the following from castleo Chaos dot com.
(05:12):
In high school, a couple of friends, my friend's mom
and myself were talking about a local building being haunted
soil conditioners that sell dirt, bark and other landscaping goods
rumored to be the location of a murder years before.
The mom worked there, so we decided to break out
(05:33):
the board and give it a shot. I had never
used one before, so I was skeptical from the jump.
This place is essentially a large warehouse with tall metal
racks think Costco or home depot, stacked with bags of dirt, manure, bark,
and other things like large ceramic flower pots. The board
(05:56):
was glowing the dark, so we kept all the lights off.
Once we got going, it started moving around and I
was freaking out already. We asked if something was there
to let us know, and there was a loud bang
that seemed to come from the rafters on the other
side of the warehouse. Every question that followed was met
(06:17):
with a similar bang from various locations in the warehouse,
sometimes close and sometimes far. The last question was if
it meant to harm us, and the thingy already on
the answer no answer did not move. The question was
repeated and immediately followed by the closest noise yet seemed
(06:41):
right on top of us, so we decided to get out.
As we were rushing out, we flipped on our flashlights
and saw one of two large pots fall from the
racks and heard what we would later find to be
forty pound bags of bark dropping to the ground. There
was also a slow, low grinding noise that, when my
(07:02):
friends returned the next day, was a sledgehammer that had
been dragged through the dirt and covered cement floor, standing
straight up in the air with drag marks but no
footprints near. I pretty much believe in ghosts now and
slept with the lights on for a week.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
End.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Quote these tales are a diamond dozen on the internet, so,
like I said, an audacious pastime of online culture. In
modern times, some brave paranormal investigators even use wijaboards in
their investigations. They go to haunted locations and try to
contact local spirits through the board. The investigators who employ
(07:46):
the wijaboard have a plethora of terrifying tales using this
technique that are as unsettling as they are hypnotic. I
really like reading them, but they usually seem like a
bad idea like afterward. Wigiboards offer a direct communication to
a world of shadows and possibly even danger, where each
movement of the plan chet could be the influence of
(08:09):
a deceased human or an inhuman spirit. But there are
also those who say it is a direct way to
communicate with the subconscious or even the quote unquote shadow
in Yungian psychology terms. In any case, the wija board
promises a journey into the unknown and possibly the macabre.
(08:33):
Despite the wijaboard being relatively young, Historically, occult tools analogous
to the board go back to the dawn of humanity,
But the wijiboard as we know it emerged in the
context of the American spiritualist movement sometimes called spiritism sometimes
called spiritualism, which gained popularity in the nineteenth century. Spiritualism,
(08:56):
which posited that the living could communicate with the spirits
of the dead, captivated many people, particularly in the wake
of the Civil War, which left countless families grieving for
lost loved ones. Seances, spirit photography, and other forms of
spirit communication became very popular in widespread forms of entertainment
(09:19):
as well as spiritual paradigm.
Speaker 4 (09:23):
I guess.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
In the eighteen forties, the seed of what would become
spiritism grew in Upstate New York, the United States. This
region saw the rise of many oddball spiritual beliefs in
the eighteen hundreds, such as Millerism and even Mormonism. There
was also the Great Awakening, a Protestant revival that went
nuts all across the United States. However, none of these
(09:51):
spiritual paradigms have anything to do with spiritism. The point
is just that the area was a hotspot for spirituality
of an alternative nature, which was being cultivated by a
furnace of yearning to know the beyond. The earliest forms
of spiritism were formed by people who believed one could
(10:13):
have direct contact with angels, spirits, or even God itself.
There was no need for a priest or anything like that,
which kind of sounds like Protestantism, but it's not the
same thing. Trust me, this is like a beyond that
to a vast degree, way out of the dogma. Even
(10:34):
Protestants didn't think you could just literally do something to
communicate directly with angels. This is a whole different ballpark.
These people would basically be the Hippies of those times.
In an analogous view, this fascination with direct communication with
beyond would unite groups of people to explore the unknown themselves.
(10:57):
They were heavily influenced by the writings of a man
Annual Swedenborg and France Mesmer, who were essential and laying
the foundation for spiritism. Swedenborg laid out entire structures to
contact spirits, allegedly through his own experiences. He even documented
how the spirit world was categorized and structured. One of
(11:20):
the main things that the early spiritualists really liked about
Swedenborg's work was his description of many heavens and hells,
not just singular realms. He also wrote that spirits acted
as intermediaries between angels, deities, and God itself. Oddly, Swedenborg
actually said not to seek out spirit contact, but allowed
(11:43):
the divine to communicate through spirits of its own accord.
The practitioners of spiritism wholly disregarded this aspect of his teachings,
but they did like all the other stuff that Swedenborg
had to say. France. Mesmer also heavily influenced early spiritism.
He's the one who came up with hypnotism, which is
(12:03):
still popular in modern times. And in my opinion, is
it's a real thing. Like it's real. It's just some
people are harder to hypnotize than others, and some people
are wholly immune to hypnotization, but at the same time
there are many people who are vulnerable to being hypnotized. Anyway,
you will notice that his name Mesmer sounds a lot
(12:25):
like Mesmerize, which is where the name came from. It
means to hypnotize. Basically, Mesmer was not spiritual or religious himself,
but others discovered that one could induce trance states through hypnotization,
which would allow people to communicate with the spirit world
and lead to all kinds of interesting spiritual encounters or situations,
(12:51):
sometimes with visions or astral travel, or just weird spiritual
encounters in general. Through these states, these altered states, and
this would be a key aspect of seances conducted in spiritism,
as well as a plethora of other techniques to interact
with the paranormal. Knowing how to put yourself into a
(13:12):
trance to mesmerize yourself is essential for any medium in spiritism.
Speaker 4 (13:27):
A couple of the.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Most prominent people who are responsible for the rise of
spiritism are the Fox sisters, Maggie, Kate, and Leah. The
Fox family allegedly lived in a haunted house when they
were young, and they all experienced pronounced paranormal phenomena. People
of the time and modern historians can directly connect this
house back to the sisters, so their story cannot just
(13:49):
be dismissed out of hand. You know that they're just
liars and Charlottean's they really did live at this house.
When Kate was merely an eleven year old girl, she
confronted this spirit that was haunting their home. She told
the spirit to make a knock when she snapped her
fingers and guess what the spirit did.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
So.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
She then told the spirit to knock a certain amount
of times for yes or no questions, and the spirit
also complied. Others in the community came together and they
created a code with the sisters that the girls could
use to communicate with the spirit. It had the whole
guess or no, of course, but also letters associated with
(14:35):
certain numbers of knocks, so the spirit could spell out
full sentences if it wanted to. Sounds a lot like
the wigiaboord huh, except this version of the wija word
was all auditory. Kate originally called the spirit mister split Foot,
which was an old timey slang word for the devil,
(14:56):
so why she would actually name the spirit in the
house the devil is weird. But later the spirit elucidated
its true identity. It said that it was a man
named Charles b Rosna who was once a peddler until
he was murdered. He was actually buried in the cellar
of that house before the Fox family moved there, And yeah,
(15:17):
they have it. That's one of the most legendary early
spiritism stories. But it's not over yet. Amy and Isaac Post,
well known Progressive Quakers, witnessed an example of Kate interacting
with the spirit through the code that they developed. They
essentially adopted the girls and took them into their home
in Rochester, and this is like the whole area where
(15:42):
spiritism was forming, where the moonmoon is from. So all
around them were the other spiritualists, and when they told
them all the story about the little girls, it kind
of drove them all into a frenzy of excitement. This
was the proto spiritism, people, and from here it would
just bloom into something very popular. On November fourteenth, eighteen
(16:07):
forty nine, the Sisters held the first public demonstration of
their ability to tread the depths of the unknown. It
took place in Corinthium Hall in Rochester and it's considered
the genesis of spiritism as we know it. All of
a sudden, mediumship displays became the eighteen hundred's basically Game
of Thrones, and everyone was tuning in to watch. These
(16:32):
displays were all forms of mediumship two. So it wasn't
just like a one time show where you saw everything
kind of a deal. It was all kinds of different
shows with specific themes and examples of mediumship and spiritism.
The Fox Sisters would go on to commit many demonstrations
(16:54):
of seances and other medium ship abilities that brought them
a lot of attention fame. Spiritism attracted many well known
and high class people, but it also inspired a ton
of fakers just trying to make some cash off the naive.
The phonies left a bad taste in many people's mouths
and stained the name of spiritism for all time. However,
(17:20):
Kate and Margaretta still blew people's minds with their other
worldly gifts, and despite the naysayers, there was a growing
group of believers in spiritism that was seemingly unstoppable. The
Sisters performed seances with hundreds of people in attendance and
passed all tests of fakery, and their displays of seances
(17:42):
birthed the boom of interest in the topic, not only
across the United States, but across Europe and beyond. The
entire Commonwealth was all interested in this. Horace Greeley, a
famous publisher and politician, openly supported the Fox Sisters, which
took these low born peasants and placed them into the
(18:03):
halls of the elite. Their fame and what not bloomed
into full blown celebrity status, easily recognizable by the general public,
and for the eighteen hundreds, that was way bigger of
a deal than it is now in our modern times.
These people didn't have TV and stuff, so they were
walking in high class circles, which was like trying to
(18:25):
walk barefoot through a pit of vipers. But they seemed
to tread lightly enough not to sink for the time being,
at least for a little while, you know what I mean.
Because it wasn't all fun and games for the sisters.
As they grew older, they became alcoholics. In eighteen eighty eight,
(18:46):
there was a fight between the Fox sisters and other
high ranking spiritualists because Kate seemed unable to take care
of her newborn child because she was so drunk all
the time. This caused tons of drama. Leah seemed to
be the source of the fighting, and it really pissed
off the other sisters to the point that they wanted revenge.
(19:06):
There's a lot more to this story, but my summary
is good enough to get the point across. I think
conflict among the sisters had been growing for some time,
so it was only a matter of time before it
reached a boiling point and kind of spilled over. In
New York City, a reporter offered them a bribe of
one thy five hundred bucks, a lot of money back
(19:27):
then if they'd exposed their con methods that they used
to trick people about summoning spirits and give him the
whole story, an exclusive story. I should say. Well, Marguerite
a bit and gave an example of how she could
throw sound cracking her toe knuckles, and she did this
for a demonstration. So there was hundreds of people there,
(19:49):
with of course this reporter getting the exclusive front row
seats for the story. She almost immediately regretted it and
recounted everything that she said to the reporter, but it
was too late. The press went to town, running the
sister's name through the mud like they love to do
(20:11):
to anyone that they can. Sadly, this was a quick
and sudden spiral that led to two of the sisters
being dead within five years after succumbing to utter poverty.
Their career was just gone. It's pretty nuts to think
how they rose and how quickly they fell. Basically, two
of them just dined, sick and destitute. You'd think this
(20:34):
would insinuate the death of spiritism, but no way. Margherita
had only given away a tiny trick and bullshitted to
the reporter, specifically trying to get revenge on her sister.
So there were still tons of other bizarre phenomena that
the sisters performed that remained undebunked. In fact, spiritism only
grew in popularity after this. As the decades went on,
(21:06):
tons of public displays of automatic writing, mediumship, and seances
were conducted by the devotees of spiritism. Even renowned occultiest
Helena Bovotsky was among the zeitgeist and allegedly very good
at it. Well, we'll go over her and her influence
in spiritism in a little bit later in this episode.
(21:29):
But spiritualism became the totem of the era and was
not only popular for its entertainment value, but also for
its deeply resonating spiritual teachings to many people. Spiritism particularly
resonated with people who struggled with moving on after the
loss of a loved one. Got to remember that this
is the eighteen hundreds, So people dit a lot, and
(21:52):
often the people of the era were forced to witness
and face death on a scale unbelievable to modern tolerances.
So spiritism became a source of ease in a dark
and unpredictable world. Many families during the American Civil War
and World War One lost tons of loved ones, sometimes
(22:14):
all their children, out of an entire family as a whole,
and this caused many to turn to spiritism to ease
their tortured minds and maybe kind of heal their broken
hearts a little bit. But what's also important to note
specifically about this time in history is this was an
era that was also the start of widespread photography use,
(22:37):
so all the death and destruction were enhanced by being
trapped still in time and a picture unchanging and visceral
for all to see. The families looked at the grotesque
photographs of war and saw firsthand the hell that their
loved ones perished in and the nightmarish nature of their deaths.
(23:01):
And it's time for a quick break. We'll be right back.
You are listening to cryptic chronicles.
Speaker 5 (24:44):
You know.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
I recently came across this supplement that has just been amazing.
It's called Magic Mind, and it has definitely changed the
game and how I do my podcasting, how I get
everything together, and just my workflow, everything is just much
more productive. Not to mention it really helps with meditation
(25:04):
made from askwaganda called the Prints of Herbs, You're gonna
be more focused and clear minded that you've ever been
as a podcaster, I have to think of a lot
of stuff to say off the fly, and it really
has helped me focus and be more articulate than I
normally am. This supplement is made from an ancient herb
that boasts countless benefits. For thousands of years, Bashwa Ganda
(25:27):
has been used to relieve stress, increase energy levels, and
improve concentration. It's classify as an adaptogen, a substance that
helps the body cope with anxiety by managing certain proteins.
It's also been to help with getting a good night's
sleep as well. And I got to say, I've been
using this legit. They sent me a whole case Magic
Mind did, and I accepted to take their sponsorship because
(25:51):
I took the whole thing before I even started to
think about what I'd say for a promotion for them.
I love it. I'm gonna keep taking it. You should
try it. One hundred percent of order by Crypto Chronicles.
So no matter what you got to do, your business person,
if you have a stressful work environment, if you're a podcaster,
if you're a gamer, if you're just somebody who enjoys
(26:13):
relaxation and meditation, Magic Mind is definitely the supplement for you.
It also contains Rodeola rose, which is known for its
unique distressing properties. Each time you take Magic Mind, you'll
reap the benefits of this concentration boosting recipe while enjoy
the soothing power of this ancient root. You ever heard
(26:34):
of that flow state from Taoism? While through Magic Mind,
that's one way to reach it, I know from experience.
You can either purchase it normally or you can subscribe
to it and save up to forty five percent on
every order. Plus you'll get free shipping, twenty four to
seven support, and limited edition merch Through this science back
to blend a thirteen active ingredients designed to boost our
(26:57):
energy levels while reducing your stress levels and have your focus,
improve your mood, and increase your overall productivity. You will
know what the flow state is. Not only that, but
it has an amazingly smooth, subtly sweet taste. So get
energized and feel the flow today. Just click on the
special link to support crypto chronicles and the details of
(27:18):
this episode, or go to magicmind dot com unlock fifty
percent off and claim free gifts. Go get it today.
You will not regret it. So yeah, as I was
(27:42):
saying this was the era that pictures really started to bloom.
You've actually probably seen many pictures from this era, such
as circles of seance attendees, you know, like a circle
around a circular table, all with their hands on the table,
or an amorphous cloud of ectoplasm erupting from their mouths.
(28:06):
These pictures are iconic of eighteen hundred spiritism. There are
also alleged photos of spirits actually captured, and photos like
right beside the living person in the photo that back
then sent shivers down the spines of anyone who saw it,
making instant believers in many people. But this was an
era long before photoshop, so it's important to note though
(28:30):
that's photography was in its infancy back then. The altering
of photos to appear supernatural was crude, but still possible.
There was actually a lot of famous tricks that people
would do to make things look off in these old
school photos. It's like early day special effects. So whether
(28:50):
these old timey pictures of you know, seance stuff are
real or not, it's irrelevant because their legacy endors regardless.
(29:12):
Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of President Abraham Lincoln, was
a renowned spiritualist who conducted seances in the White House.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
Yeah, she was a medium.
Speaker 6 (29:24):
With alleged notable talent in building.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
A bridge between our world in the world of the dead.
Mary famously had premonitions of Lincoln's coming assassination and even
tried to warn him about it, but the President ignored,
leading to his untimely demise in that theater. And before
his death, Abraham Lincoln even joined in one of his
(29:50):
wife's seances been conducted in the White House. This was
after the death of their son. So the popularity of
spiritism was so great it was even being conducted in
the White House by the President and it wasn't seen
as a scandal. That should tell you a lot right there.
(30:11):
It seemed like spiritism might even replace all other religions.
It's like a new neo religion for the coming millennia.
It was so prominent across the US and beyond that,
you know, even in the colonial provinces of Europe as
well as the Commonwealth, everything, all the English speaking nations
(30:33):
as well as many not English speaking nations across the world.
Spiritism was a well known paradigm. However, despite Spiritualism's rise
into prominence, like any rising new religion or spiritual tradition.
It was subject to much scrutiny and skepticism, and it
had a lot of scandals that mirrored its reputation beyond
(30:57):
repair to many onlookers. As I said earlier, the popularity
of spiritism launched public displays of mediumship, but it also
sparked the rise of many many con artists pretending to
be psychics, a problem that persists even now, and it
likely has always been a thing throughout human history. The
(31:18):
Charlatan spiritualists caused a lot of harm to the spiritism
community and left the permanent scar on its reputation. Heated
debates about the legitimacy of their conduct often left the
Charlatans wanting and looking like predatory assholes. However, despite this,
spiritism still endured, and it spread like wildfire across the
(31:42):
whole world in the eighteen hundreds, and its impact on
society is undeniable, weaving its way into the legacy of
the nineteenth century and influencing Western esoteric traditions over the
entire coming century to a great degree. Many of the
famous occultists who would rise to prominence to in the
nineteenth century were heavily influenced by spiritism and its undeniable
(32:05):
aura of mystery, so many have found too interesting to ignore.
Spiritism directly planted the roots that would grow into the
wija board. However, it would still be some time before
the board would materialize into the board that we're familiar
with in these days, like you know. In fact, as
(32:25):
already stated, some form of analogous quality to the wija
board has likely existed since humanity first learned to speak intelligently.
So let's go over the precursors to the wija board,
shall we. The board's most direct and closest relative is
(32:50):
the talking boards or the talking board, which appeared in
the late eighteen hundreds. These boards vary greatly, but the
more mainstream ones are what passed for mainstream back then.
The more common ones were simple wooden devices with letters,
(33:11):
numbers and a plant chet, a small heart shaped piece
of wood or plastic used to spell out messages. It
was developed by the Fox Sisters Code you know that
I talked about earlier that was developed to talk with
the spirit that haunted their childhood home. Users placed their
fingers on the plant sheet, which then would move under
the influence of the spirits to spell out words or
(33:35):
yes or no answers, and going back further to the precursors.
The board is associated with an esoteric technique called automatic
writing or spirit writing. It's when another worldly influence guides
the hand of a living person to write what it wills.
(33:55):
This is also called channeling in other circumstances and circles,
though can also just be vocally induced and not necessarily
through physical manipulation of a person's hand. It has also
been called psychography, a psychic ability to write without any
conscious control or knowledge of what's being written. In the
(34:16):
days of spiritism in the eighteen hundreds, sensitives would allow
spirits to manipulate their hands to write down a plethora
of different topics. There are even planned chets for this,
which are directly known for being a tool for wigiboards,
but these plant chets were specifically designed for automatic writing. Still,
many times people just simply used a pen and paper,
(34:39):
or later on in the eighteen hundreds, even primitive typewriters.
So I guess if you wanted to listener, you could
try to do automatic writing even with your laptop or
your desktop computer. If you really wanted to don't do
it though we want me. Do it if you want to,
but don't blame me if you get possessed by demons.
Heih above all these people. Though out of this era,
(35:05):
Helena Blavatsky is probably the most famous medium and one
of the key figures in the development of modern theosophy,
an occult tradition that heavily influenced all the other traditions
throughout the nineteenth century and beyond. It's still heavily prominent
even now, and she famously authored several important texts through
(35:26):
automatic writing. Although she did not specifically attribute her writings
to automatic writing, the way that she describes it is
basically automatic writing receiving information through mystical means. Yeah, it
was just basically automatic writing techniques employed by all mediums
(35:48):
and psychics of the era. Here's a more detailed look
at her major works in the context of her creations
through automatic writing Isis Unveiled eighteen seventy seven. This two
volume work critiques both contemporary science and religion, arguing that
both have misunderstood the deeper, esoteric truths of the ancient world.
(36:13):
The Secret Doctrine eighteen eighty eight. This is perhaps her
most famous and influential work. I actually tried to read
this once and I just, oh, my gosh, yeah, it's
really it was just hard for me to get into.
But comprising it basically was two main volumes titled Cosmogenesis
(36:36):
and Anthropogenesis. The Key to Theosophy eighteen eighty nine. This
is a concise introduction to the principles of theosophy, presented
in a question and answer format. The Voice of Silence
eighteen eighty nine. This book is a co aduction of
(37:00):
spiritual aphorisms and teachings that Blavatsky claimed to have translated
from a fragment of an ancient Eastern text that was
lost to history. Lavotsky often mentioned her automatic writing was
a form of connection with the Masters or Mahatma's advanced
(37:21):
spiritual beings who she believed communicated with her telepathically were
through clairvoyant visions and automatic writing. Obviously, so she was
not really about doing her automatic writing communicating with just
like dead people's spirits or just common spirits, but from
a much higher spiritual authority backed by cosmic wisdom. Her
(37:44):
claims inspired a lot of controversy because she seemed to
be drowning in delusions of grandeur too many onlookers. Most
critics heavily scathed her with derogatory accusations, such as her
work being plagiarization of texts that already exis, and that
all her sources were fabricated without any evidence. You know
(38:04):
such people as Blovotsky, They're always closely followed by controversy
no matter what. Basically. However, despite this, her following was
strong and still remains so even now, long after her death.
Many believed her psychic abilities to be genuine and her
teachings authentic and empowering. Blavotsky has had a profound and
(38:30):
everlasting influence on the Western esoteric traditions, including spiritism. Her
paradigm theosophy is still studied and followed by many devotees worldwide,
and she may be the most powerful automatic writer whoever existed.
But automatic writing has a long history in human cultures,
(38:55):
going back beyond any reliable historical narrative. In China, practice
of automatic writing is documented going back all the way
to the Song Dynasty back in eleven hundred a d.
Deities and spirits would communicate through these ancient Chinese mediums.
They even had their own specialized plant chet called a fuji.
(39:18):
It could also be used for necromancy, allowing the mediums
to communicate with the dead for various reasons. In the
Quenzhen school of Taoism, there is also a long tradition
of automatic writing. It became a key aspect of their
school and all students became masters of communicating with the
beyond through their methods. However, it was later banned in China,
(39:43):
but still kind of lived on under the radar despite
like a heavy oppression, even spreading the Japanese zen Obaku monks,
who allegedly communicated with the legendary Daoists age credited in
history with creating the kung fu martial arts. Automatic writings
in Asia also led to many Chinese salvationist religions. These
(40:06):
religions focused on moral fulfillment as well as individual and
group salvation. The Arkans and other tribes in West Africa
used Kiswahili boards I hope I pronounce that right, and
these boards were used for divination, moral teachings, and communication
(40:28):
with various African deities and spirits of the dead. They
are considered immense sources of wisdom embedded with gifts of
wisdom from the ancestors in the depictions on the board
and were widely respected and revered as a potent spiritual
tool with great power. The African boards remind us that
(40:50):
the human fascination to explore the worlds beyond our understanding
is a unique and all encompassing trait that humans share,
and that are obsession with the spirit world and the
afterlife is universal throughout our history. This fascination with the
unknown is quite simply part of the human experience in
(41:12):
nothing New, which elucidates humanity's profound connection to the incomprehensible.
Despite living in a supposed modern civilized age. While we
fear the unknown more than anything, think of Lovecraft, the
desire to explore its obfuscating folds is actually intrinsic to
our very existence in our human nature. It's just we
(41:34):
gotta do it. That's why we find all these different
methods of precursors to the modern Wigi aboard and basically
every single human civilization in one way or another. In
Norse culture, they used ancient runes to divinate and communicate
with spirits. Ruined divination was actually a significant part of
(41:59):
Viking culture and spirituality. The Viking ruins were an ancient
alphabet used to communicate with the gods, seek guidance, and
gain insight into the future. The power of the ruins
was treated with the utmost reverence by the Norse, and
the letters were considered powerful sources of magical energy that
(42:19):
was channeled through all midguard and beyond into all the
realms of existence. And if you didn't know what midguard is,
it's Earth. The Vikings would cast ruins onto a surface,
often a cloth or wooden board, and they basically interpret
the patterns and symbols that formed. This practice was believed
(42:42):
to connect the individual with the gods and the universe,
allowing for a deeper understanding of both the present and
the future. However, it's important to note that some weird
ones they used bones for these purposes as well, but
the ruins are largely regarded as the Viking's main source
of divination and spiritual communication. Each room had a specific meaning,
(43:08):
and the Vikings would use these meanings to interpret the
patterns and symbols that appeared during the casting. The ruines
were believed to hold the power of the gods, and
the interpretations were thought to be a form of guidance
or prophecy, as well as direct communication with spirits and
other worldly forces. Roon divination was an essential part of
(43:32):
Viking culture and spirituality. The beautiful language comes in two forms,
elder futh arch and younger futh arch, which both were
at one point or another used heavily to communicate with
the beyond. While the practice of rune divination evault over time,
(43:54):
its significance and importance in Viking culture remained unchanged, although
to the point where it was at the very end
of its heyday. Ruins were also used to recorded messages,
communicate with others, and even create poetry and stories. This
powerful form of divination and spiritual communication was gifted to
(44:17):
humanity by the master of runes, Odin, the All Father himself,
And if we wanted to, we could literally talk about
ancient culture's forms of spirit communication all day long. But
let's get back to the more western types of precursors
(44:38):
for the Ouija board, such as the sixteenth century and
Nokian language, famous by occultist John d I've talked about
him before on the show Go Check it out. Allegedly,
the Innokian language is the language of angels and was
given to humanity directly through automatic writing John D and
(45:03):
Edward Kelly, who spent tons of time interacting with the
Inochian angels. John D himself would also refer to the
language as celestial speech on occasion in his diaries and
or I mean his like journals. But the language received
from this automatic writing became an essential aspect of Western
ceremonial magic and is still prominent in many occult traditions
(45:24):
to this very day, and even played a huge part
in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and Occult Order. Famously,
once attended by the notorious Alistair Crowley, deemed the wickedest
man in the world by the global press. And it
is this Inochian stuff that supposed it would be when
he defeated the demon quran Zan. This is like an
(45:47):
Enochian ritual he was doing the Demon of the Abyss,
but an Okian magic. It involves the invocation and commanding
of various spirits and entities. It's said to an enhance
the speed of enlightenment, you know, instead of taking decades
to maybe a whole lifetime through other methods like being
(46:08):
a monk or something. Through an Okian magic, you can
gain enlightenment in I don't know years instead of a lifetime.
But it's also thought of as highly dangerous and not
to be taken lightly or played with by dabblers. Like
a lot of people allegedly who mess with an Okian magic,
(46:30):
their lives are ruined because of it, so don't mess
with it. But even older than that, we got the
good old pendulum, which is an object held at the
end of a chain or a string. Like the talking
boards and automatic writing, it is said that other worldly
forces manipulate pendulums. This is basically in a subtle way,
(46:54):
just like how the plant shed has moved on a
Wiji board. It can give yes or no answers, as
well as more complex forms of communication by holding the
pendulum over a board, similar to how like a Ouiji
board looks, they have numbers and letters. But most of
the time pendulum communication is done just by spinning left
or right, up, down, left, right, and that's the basis
(47:18):
of its communication with most people, just very basic questions
and answers as the pendulum swings. The answers are guided
by spiritual forces acting through the subconscious that naturally manipulates
the body so that the pendulum is moved in the
way the spirit wants it to be. But pendulum techniques
(47:40):
are even more useful because they can be used to
communicate with spiritual communication as well as communicating with the
subconscious directly, which is how you gain insight into the
shadow self. Knowledge of the shadow is obfuscated to the
waking mind, and pendulums are another tool to harvest the
out of gifts hidden beneath the surface of our conscious selves.
(48:05):
The pendulum is another classic method for mediums and psychics
to communicate with the spirits from beyond. Like I said,
it can communicate with entities or our subconscious minds, making
pendulums an essential precursor to the wijaboard, which does essentially
the same thing. Another alternative precursor to the wija board
(48:27):
is the which board. These were crafted specifically with occult
aesthetics and empowered through ritual and invocation that brings in
energies of the cosmos putting it into the board. Moon
and star symbols were heavily featured, and other occult symbols
like pentagrams and the like. Just use your imagination, it's
(48:50):
on there. Witch boards were particularly popular with the practitioners
of the occult fulk magic, and sometimes even spiritism. They
were they're rare in comparison to the other types of
spirit boards. They're called witchboards, so they're going to be
used in witchcraft. They were used for magical guidance on
(49:12):
a path of spiritual growth and personal empowerment. They were
also brimming with psychic energy that was channeled into them
by the user, which, if the stories are true, made
witchboards particularly cursed to those who are not their original owners.
You know, since they were used for rituals in magic,
(49:33):
there could also be many spirits attached to the boards
that continued to linger long after the original owner was deceased.
So if you ever come across a witchboard, you should
probably leave it alone and absolutely not take it home
with you. These things got jiuju on them that is
(49:53):
usually unwanted. I think in a lot of paranormal horror stories,
people have mistaken witchd to be wija boards and not
much of it until the weird stuff starts happening, you know.
Like later in the show, I'm going to talk about
the Zozo demon. He's the official quote unquote wija board demon,
(50:14):
and I personally think that the wija board that Darren
Evans discovered that summoned the demon was probably actually a
witchboard and not just a normal wija board, but we'll
get into that later. Stay tuned. In contrast to the witchboard,
(50:35):
we have another alternative called the angel board. These boards,
as the name suggests, were designed to specifically communicate with
angels and not spirits or anything like that, just the
angelic host of the pleroma. They're the opposite of the witchboard,
(50:56):
but still the same type of psychic energy is channeled
into them, given them a spiritual charge. The designs of
angel boards are obviously angelic and uplifting, so you're not
going to find any of that occult symbolism that you
find on the witchboards. They're more angelic and holy. Historically,
(51:16):
they appealed more towards Christian mystics and Rosicrucians, you know,
and like those type of people as so terrorisists with
the Christian leaning, so which actually many of the most
prominent occult paradigms and orders throughout history have subscribed to.
You know, a lot of people when they first try
to study the occult, they're like, Oh, where's all the dark,
(51:39):
spooky stuff? But they open up the books and they're like,
why is this guy like trying to talk to all
the angels? And you know, it's all about all the
different names of God and whatnot. Like even the occultists
were totally on board with all this stuff. So angel
boards definitely have their place. I guess they offer protection
(51:59):
and guidance in contrast with what the other spirit boards
were used for, and they are thought to be a
direct connection to communication with the divine realms. You know,
I was reassuring to those interested in the paranormal yet
not necessarily wanting to delve into the darker aspects for
one reason or another. Who's to blame them, But yeah,
(52:22):
that's basically a nice little overview of the precursors to
the wijaboard. But the wija board would also never have
been possible without the generic talking board. We'll be back
after a quick break. I'm your host, Tim Hacker, and
you're listening to Cryptic Chronicles.
Speaker 5 (53:40):
Its one thing you can invest in that does not
(54:27):
lose value is gold and silver. There is no better
place to go for financial security than gold co rated
A plus by the Better Business Bureau. Get the free
twenty twenty three Gold IRA Kit Americans are using to
protect their retirement savings. Get your free twenty twenty three
Gold IRA Kit at Goldcocoldkit dot com. Gold Co is
(54:50):
a leader in the precious metals industry. From Precious Metals
IRA to direct purchases of precious metal coins and bars.
We partner with individuals seeking to diversify and safely grow
their retirement portfolios. Allow goal code to make your gold
and silver investments easy, seamless, and secure. Our investment is
in good hands.
Speaker 7 (55:11):
Chuck Norrith, What oh I'm recording thirty dollars off weed
with Code podcast? Did someone say thirty dollars off weed
with Code podcast? Amuse delivers over five hundred high quality
cannabis products from the Bay Area brands you love at
every day low prices. You can also rest assured that
(55:32):
everything will be up to your high standards. So what
are you waiting for? Start shopping now at amuse dot com.
Use promo Code podcast to say thirty bucks off your
next order. That's amusee dot com.
Speaker 3 (55:53):
Is your brain always hungry? Do you have a mental
appetite that often goes unstated? You may be suffering from
himengry brain syndrome, a debilitating and sometimes life threatening condition
experienced by humans who require double, sometimes even quadruple the
amount of mental nutrition needed to sustain the general population.
But now there's help. For years, our dedicated team of
(56:14):
world class researchers have been developing a thicker, more nutrient
dense podcasts specifically for sufferers of hungry brain syndrome, and
now we want to share it with you. All you
have to do is search for our podcast, The Whole
Rabbit in your podcast player of choice and select from
one of our delicious flavors like Slovenian Succubi, narcissism or
Ancient Egypt. It's no wonder The Whole Rabbit is the
most recommended treatment for hungary brain syndrome on the market,
(56:37):
So what are you waiting for? Try The Whole Rabbit today.
Do not listen with deep sea diving. Side effects may
include eating carrots and shooting lasers.
Speaker 6 (56:58):
Hello Jannis, have you ever had a paranormal experience, a
spiritual or esoteric experience? Have you ever seen a UFO
or something that you could not explain? Have you ever
witnessed anomalous activity that defies reality? Have you ever experienced
unexplained mysteries of existence. If you have your own cryptic
tale and would like to have it shared on the podcast,
(57:20):
then call one eight hundred seven five seven six zero
four nine and leave the message of your experience. If
it's what Cryptic Chronicles is all about, then it will
be shared on the show. Just make sure you've thought
about what you will say ahead of time and give
a clear and concise account. Also make sure to leave
your name, where you're firm, or any information that will
assist in making a clear picture to portray it to
(57:42):
listeners of Cryptic Chronicles. Once again, call one eight hundred
seven five seven six zero four nine. That's one, eight
hundred seven five seven six zero four nine. We look
forward to hearing from you. A quiet little town changed
(58:10):
forever when folks started seeing things, weird, scary things.
Speaker 4 (58:17):
I know that's something.
Speaker 2 (58:18):
What it was, I don't know?
Speaker 5 (58:19):
It was big?
Speaker 1 (58:20):
What didn't knowhing I've ever seen?
Speaker 5 (58:22):
I knew he was Maria, whatever he was.
Speaker 2 (58:28):
The summer of nineteen seventy three, the town of Gehenna,
Wisconsin is wrecked with natural disasters. One family is chosen
by the math Met to stay safe. But why then,
why aren't they allowed to die. The Mathman of Gahennah,
Wisconsin now available on ebook and paperback.
Speaker 4 (58:47):
Find it on Amazon today.
Speaker 1 (59:00):
Come back And this brings me to commercialization and popularity.
In eighteen fifty six, papers across the country were fervently
talking about the latest craze, the talking board that was
gaining insane popularity in the state of Ohio and looked
very similar to the Fox Sisters code technique that they
(59:23):
used to communicate with the spirit that haunted their childhood home.
The board was even printed in the newspapers so readers
could even like have a little mini version of it
if they wanted to try and communicate with the beyond
from their own homes through the paper, you know, if
they were so inclined to the shot. And considering how
(59:43):
mundane and like sterilized modern media is, like a mainstream
reporting and stuff like that, it's pretty insane to think
that these outlets were actually talking about spirit boards out
and they open like this back in the day. But
this is before manufacturing, so the boards were often customized
and sometimes even like eerie with mystical symbols and imagery
(01:00:08):
artistically engraved upon them to allegedly enhance their ability to
open a doorway to the beyond. No two boards were
usually alike. Some even held great value, you know, from
their elegant craftsmanship and couldself for a small fortune to
the right buyer. And one of the main things that
(01:00:29):
was going off in the public zeitgeist was allegedly some
predictions made by users of the board. They gained global
renown because they seemingly came true, embedding spirit boards and
the cultural consciousness even deeper. The predictions coming true helped
to transcend to the board as a mere tool for
(01:00:51):
entertainment and you know, communication with other worldly forces and
elevated to a source to see future events before they happen,
like a reliable form of divination, a preview of the future.
People really went on about this back then, and there's
a decent amount of examples of this happening, and I'll
(01:01:14):
cover a few here, such as't let Me Grab It,
Norman Rockwell's Moving In. In nineteen fifty seven, the famous
artist Norman Rockwell painted Moving In, which depicted an African
American family moving into a predominantly white neighborhood. Allegedly, Rockwell's
(01:01:39):
daughter Barbara used a Wiji board which predicted the sale
of the painting for ten thousand dollars. A year later,
the painting was sold for exactly that amount. Weird. Then
there's William Fuld and the rise of the Wuiji board.
William Fauld, an early manufacturer of wija boards, flamed that
(01:02:02):
the board itself had suggested him the name Wuija, which
it purportedly told him meant good luck. Bald credited the
Wija board for predicting his business success, and indeed his
company became highly successful in producing and selling these boards
as we know today. Obviously, next to his Pearl Quran
(01:02:26):
and Patience Worth. In the early twentieth century, Pearl Koran
claimed to communicate with the spirit named Patience Worth through
a Ouiji board. Koran produced to numerous poems, novels, and
plays that she attributed to Patience Worth. Some of these
(01:02:47):
works were considered critical successes and extremely popular at the time,
leading many to believe that the communication with the beyond
to create these things was authentic. Next is the murder
of Michael macgough and Darlene Ferron. This is one of
(01:03:08):
the more chilling stories involves the Zodiac killer case. In
the late nineteen sixties, a woman claimed that a wija
board session predicted the murder of Michael McGough and Darlene
Ferron in Valeo, California by the Zodiac Killer. However, these
claims are anecdotal and have not been substantiated by concrete evidence.
(01:03:32):
I still included it in here because well, listener, you know,
I am a sucker for the Zodiac Killer stuff. The
entire thing basically took place in my hometown or all
the cities that I've either lived in or been associated
with over my life. Next up is the Titan submersible incident.
(01:03:55):
A more recent anecdote involves a woman named Dennis Antun,
who claimed in ju You twenty twenty three that a
wija board predicted the tragic fate of the Titan submersible,
which went missing during an expedition to go check out
the Titanic erect site at the bottom of the Ocean.
I think that you probably remember this. It was a
big deal for a wild listener, and a lot of
(01:04:15):
people were making fun of it because it was a
bunch of like millionaire billionaire people who went down in
a sub submarine that was controlled by a video game
controller or something, and it was just kind of ridiculous.
But this story goes that Antune stated that the board
spelled out Titanic and all dead, predicting the submersible's fate.
(01:04:40):
This incident drew considerable attention, but remains a matter of
personal testimony without verification. However, it is definitely fascinating. There's
actually a lot of these. I could go on and
on about predictions that seemingly came true made by wija
board sessions, and a lot of them even like big
(01:05:02):
deals like world changing. Let's move on. For around twenty years,
the talking board was incredibly popular and made haphazardly by
random peddlers as entertainment with no really solid source of production. However,
(01:05:26):
it was only a matter of time before the popularity
of the board cut the eye of some entrepreneur with ambitions,
you know what I mean. And it did eventually happen.
Somebody came across like how popular the board was, obviously
and thought, wow, this has immense potential to make a
lot of money. So this leads us to the wija
(01:05:49):
board as we know it today. The name of this
entrepreneur was Elijah Bond, and he commercialized it back in
eighteen ninety. Elijah was a lawyer and inventor who patented
the board and the plant jet design. It was soon
marketed by Charles Kennard of Baltimore, Maryland, who founded the
Kennard Novelty Company to produce the boards. William Fald, who
(01:06:15):
I already mentioned previously, very very briefly, an employee of Kennard,
eventually took over production and is often credited with popularizing
the Wija board. Under Falt's management, the Wija board became
a household name. The name Wuija itself is said to
(01:06:36):
have come directly from the board during one of these
early sessions, as I said, allegedly meaning good luck in
ancient Egyptian, a claim that has no basis in reality.
It is still creepy, though. If the story is true
that the board named itself to its creator during a
session definitely adds to the mysterious aura of the origin
(01:07:02):
of the board. Another explanation is that the name is
a combination of the French and German words for it,
yes and we and yeah, which I think makes the
most sense. But regardless of its true etymology, the name
stuck and added to the board's a mystical legacy, and
(01:07:24):
like I said, where I grew up, we all called
it Wuiji board, not Wija board. So there's even like
unique local cultural aspects depending on where you're from. I'll
never forget that after I made the Zozo that was
like all about the Zozo story and that's it. Back
in the day after I made that episode, I'll never
(01:07:46):
forget all the emails I got from this lady that
was so mad at me. She was like, why do
you keep saying Ouiji? Is that wigi? Like she was
not happy about how I pronounced ouija. That was the like,
I don't know. It kind of blew me away a
little bit. Here's a nice lady though.
Speaker 4 (01:08:05):
Other than that.
Speaker 1 (01:08:07):
But bizarrely, this alleged tool for necromancy was entirely marketed
as a family friendly game for children, not only children,
but also just for social gatherings such as dating, like
a lot of the images had a young man and
woman both holding the plant chet on a date or something,
(01:08:28):
as well as like family get togethers on images. A
lot of the art shows images of the kids just
going at it with the parents looking on in amusement.
The marketing claimed that the board could tell the past, present,
and future, as well as communicate with the spirits of
the dead. Pretty weird stuff to be marketing to kids, right,
(01:08:50):
but has a different time And though these rules or
guidelines i should say, have kind of existed for the
entire time of talking boards, automatic writing stuff like that,
we do get the official quote unquote rules for using
(01:09:10):
the board safely done on paper, you know, when the
Wuija board is released as an official game like manufactured.
These official guidelines said that if people use the board
as intended, nothing bad will happen. The rules slash guidelines
are the following preparation. Select participants carefully and sure everyone
(01:09:38):
involved is in a stable emotional and mental state. Choose
a quiet, comfortable setting. Minimize distractions and disturbances. Set an intention.
Clearly state the purpose of the session, whether it's to
seek answers, communicate, or explore. Plan Know what you want
(01:10:02):
to ask and how you'll end the session. During the session,
stay positive, maintain a positive, respectful attitude throughout the session.
Use a specific opening ritual. Open the session with the prayer, meditation,
or specific statement of intention. Appoint the leader, have one
(01:10:27):
person ask questions and lead the session to maintain order.
Be respectful, always be polite, and respectful to any entities
that you might contact. Avoid sensitive questions. Steer clear of
questions asking about death, illness, or other sensitive topics. Do
(01:10:51):
not use alone. It's advised to use the board with
others for safety and support. Never play alone, and most importantly,
end the session properly. Think any entities contacted, and say
goodbye through the plantchet to close the session. After the session, reflect,
(01:11:16):
take time to discuss and reflect on the experience with
your group. Cleanse the space. Some believe in spiritually cleansing
the space after using a wigiboard using methods like burning
sage or using crystals. Store the board safely. Store the
board and plant sheet together in a safe place. Additional
(01:11:41):
tips avoid weegiboards if you are feeling unwell. Do not
use the board. If you are feeling physically or emotionally unwell,
use common sense. If anything makes you uncomfortable, stop immediately.
Educate yourself. Be aware of the potential psychological effects and
(01:12:06):
this story surrounding wija board use, and that's it. According
to the manufacturers of the wija board, if one followed
the rules of the board, one did not have to
worry about being haunted by ghosts or demons or becoming
possessed or anything like that. Nothing dark was supposed to
happen if you followed the rules, which many people never
(01:12:30):
do or did. After its release and over the next decade,
the wija board became massively popular in the United States.
For an entire decade, an average of two thousand boards
were sold each week. William Fuld made millions and millions
(01:12:54):
in his manufacturing of the wija board. But it's kind
of a dark Some dark stuff or unfortunate things were
happening in the background. His brother Isaac originally was part
of the company and a big influence on wijiaboard stuff,
but had been kicked out of the company, which led
(01:13:16):
to a vindictive legal battle of bitter repugnancy. They hated
each other so much Isaac even had his dead daughter's
body exhumed from the family gravesite to be laid to
rest once again elsewhere. The two sides of the family
became enemies and didn't communicate for a century because of
this fallout concerning the wija board business, and gets even weirder. Allegedly,
(01:13:47):
a wija board session told Fault to construct a factory
in a specific location to manufacture the board in Harford
like this building the board told him to build it,
and in the same building that allegedly came from the
Luigi board instructing him. He tragically met an untimely demise
(01:14:10):
when an iron railing on the roof of the facility
mysteriously came unhinged, causing the man to fall to his death.
When investigated, there was no reason that this should have happened,
and all the other railing was perfectly up to par
with all safety standards and whatnot. There was literally no
(01:14:32):
reason why this one section would fall out, and none
of the others. It made no sense. This weird death
reminds me of a horror movie series where the main
characters escaped death through premonitions, you know, and then like
death hunts down everyone who was supposed to die by
killing them an incredibly bizarre, unlikely and increasingly creative ways.
(01:14:58):
It's almost like William Felt was cursed somehow for creating
the Wija board, and this bizarre, unlikely death seems like,
I don't want to say fate, but unnatural, I don't know.
Weird though. Four decades later, the Fault family sold the
(01:15:23):
wija board license to the Parker Brothers, which moved manufacturing
to the company's headquarters in Salem, Massachusetts, yes, the same
place infamous for the Salem Witch Trials, and business was
good for the Parker Brothers concerning the wija board. In
nineteen sixty seven, the new owners reported to have sold
to two million boards in just a short amount of
(01:15:45):
time of owning the license to produce and manufacture wija boards.
So wija was undoubtedly a sensation that could withstand the
test of time. It even became a popular tool a
famous occultists like Alister Crowley. The book Alistair Crowley and
(01:16:07):
the Ouija Board by J. Edward Cornelius is a comprehensive
examination of the infamous esotericist Aleister Crowley's relationship with the
wigi board. The book presents an in depth look at
how Crowley, a pretty significant figure in the occults and
esotera traditions of the twentieth century and the nineteenth century,
(01:16:28):
even utilized the wigiboard within his magical experiments. Book begins
with the detailed account of Aleister Crowley's life, praising his
journey from his early days to becoming one of the
most controversial and influential figures in modern occultism. Cornelius provides
(01:16:48):
a backdrop of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,
a period rich with interest in spiritualism and the occult,
set in the stage for Crowley's activities. It contains detailed
descriptions of Croley's experiments with wigiboards shoe casing how he
integrated this tool into his broader magical and mystical practices.
(01:17:12):
The author explains Croley's methodologies, his preparation rituals, and the
outcomes of his sessions with the wigiboard. Ster Crowley and
the Wigiboard delves into Croley's esoteric philosophies, particularly his belief
in Thelema, his own religion and spiritual system that revolves
(01:17:33):
around the principle of do what thou wilt. I'm sure
you've heard of it before. Cornelius connects Crowley's use of
the wigiboard to his wider magical theories and practices, illustrating
how it fits into his pursuit of spiritual enlightenment and
enhancements of personal power. The book also addresses the numerous
(01:17:55):
and their earn many controversies and myths surrounding and the
wija board, Separating fact from fiction. Cornelius explores how Croley's
notorious reputation has been both demonized and mythologized over time,
in turn influencing the public perception of the wijiborg. Because
(01:18:16):
you've got to remember, these people considered him the evilest
man in the world, at least according to the press,
so his use of the wija board also influenced the
way the public looked at it to a degree. The
influence of Croley's work with the wig aboard on contemporary
occult practices is examined within this book. And I don't
(01:18:39):
know if you should buy it, but I mean I
didn't buy it. I just read overviews of it and reviews.
But it's supposed to be decent if you're interested, I guess.
Cornelius discusses how Curley's methods and results have inspired modern
practitioners and shaped the current understanding and use of the
(01:19:00):
wigiboard and occult practices not necessarily normal people practices. And
to be honest, I had no idea that there were
occultists out there that actually used the wigiboard as a
tool in their magical stuff. And before researching this, I
had no idea that Crowley himself was into this. The
(01:19:21):
author includes personal anecdotes and interpretations, providing a unique perspective
on Curley's enigmatic personality and his obfuscated personal magical practices.
Cornelius also offers his own insights and experiences, adding depth
to the narrative and connecting historical events to modern day
(01:19:44):
o cult practices. Overall, Aleister Crowley and the Wigiboard is
a book that serves as both a historical account and
a practical guide, offering readers a comprehensive understanding of how
Crowley used the wigiboard within his own practices, I guess,
and through the author's meticulous research and engaging storytelling, J.
(01:20:09):
Edward Cornelius is said to bring to life the complex
and fascinating world of Aleister Crowley and his enduring legacy
in the realm of the occult that's associated with wija boards.
So I'll probably have a link for you in the
show notes. Go check it out if it interests you.
But let's move on to the cultural legacy of the board.
(01:20:43):
Through past merchandising statistics, it's easy to see that the
wija board's popularity in sales increases during times of societal uncertainty,
such as wars or other times of random tragedies, either
man made or nature orientated. They sold really well during
(01:21:04):
World War One and the Great Depression, as people sought
solace and answers from the spirit world during these hard times. However,
its association with the supernatural also attracts controversy, as it
always does. Religious groups often condemned the wijaboard say that
it's a board, or I guess it's a tool of evil,
(01:21:27):
like of the devil, and I can definitely back this up.
All of the religious people I've ever met when talking
about wija boards and whatnot, they're like, it's anathema to them.
They say, it's just gonna get you possessed, or you're
just gonna contact sinister or malevolent spirits. You know the story.
But this like negative view of the wig aboard, while
(01:21:50):
always around, kind of went into overdrive and went nuclear
in nineteen seventy three with the release of the film
The Exorcist. This single movie significantly impacted the wija board's reputation.
In the movie, a young girl becomes possessed after using
(01:22:11):
a wija board, cementing the idea of the board as
a dangerous occult object in the public imagination. This portrayal
led to a sharp decline in the board's popularity among
mainstream audiences and increased its association with the darker aspects
of the supernatural, making people more fearful of it and
(01:22:32):
more inclined to just dismiss it out of hand. It
shifted from a party game slash spiritual tool to a
doorway for the demonic and malevolent entities seeking to harm
or even possess the living. The movie was based on
a book that in turn was based on alleged true
(01:22:53):
events of the nineteen forties. I really do need to
talk about exorcystem Malachi Martin at some point on the show,
but a lot of the events that inspired The Exorcist
are from Malachi Martin, a real life exorcist who has
a whole cascatting litany of demonic possession tales all his own,
(01:23:15):
probably one of the most legendary demon hunters, and he
is thought to have at least in part inspired many
demonic tales of possession, including the Exorcist movies. Many movies
are based off of his work. Very interesting man. Sadly,
over the later decades of the twentieth century and on
(01:23:38):
into the twentieth first century, this disdainful outlook upon wijaboards
only grew to the point it became far less common
at social gatherings and even far less common in the
closets of homeowners. Like there was a time where everybody
had a wijiboard. Not so much anymore, huh. It has
(01:24:01):
slowly become a niche fascination and more so looked at
with suspicion than wonder like it used to be. And
this is in no small part to the cultural legacy
of the board to all the movies that depict them.
Countless Hollywood movies have been made featuring wija boards, and
there are even a couple holy feature in the board
(01:24:22):
itself as the main feature of the film, like have
you ever heard of the movie Wija? I thought the
movie Wija was pretty good, even if I guess most
horror fans didn't like it. I like Schlock sometimes I
still recommend it regardless. Go watch it now after you
listen to this episode, not now if you're driving, but
(01:24:43):
you know what I mean. There's also a prequel, but eh,
prequels is not nearly as good. Still watchable, though, and
that's all for the free show. Sadly, in the extended
we're gonna talk more about the movies based on wija boards,
(01:25:03):
as well as the specific demon associated with wija boards, Zozo,
the z entity, and the modern day relevance and psychological
aspects of the board. So if you want to hang
out with me a little bit more, go to Patreon
dot com slash cryptic Chronicles, or go to cryptic Chronicles
(01:25:25):
dot com and at the top click on the Chroniclers Vault.
It'll be a link directly to Patreon. You can also
support us on PayPal or subscribe star any support whatsoever,
and you will have access to the full version of
this episode. So you know, don't let me down. I
want to want to talk about Zozo with you, obviously,
(01:25:46):
so I hope to see you over there.
Speaker 4 (01:25:49):
If not.
Speaker 1 (01:26:10):
A b that's all for today's episode. I hope you
(01:27:11):
enjoyed this history of the Ouiji board or Wigia board,
I mean. Cryptic Chronicles is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbeat, Spreaker, Stitcher,
Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Amazon Podcasts, and basically all podcast hubs.
You look for us and we're there if you can listener,
(01:27:35):
please make sure to like, comment, or review wherever you
hear this content. I appreciate all of the reviews that
you guys have given me on Spotify. It's really helped
the algorithm over there. I think I got like I
don't remember off the top of my head, but's a
lot of reviews over there. I'm at like four point
six stars, so that's pretty good. Thank you. My point
(01:27:59):
is just that the algorithm likes it when you interact
with episodes. So reviewing my show wherever you listen to it,
that's very helpful. Though the show is free to listen to,
the cost to produce it is substantial. By pleasing the
gods of the algorithm, you are doing more than your
share and support. The more you help me grow, the
(01:28:20):
more that I can focus on creating quality content on
weird stuff for you. So even if you can just
share this with your friends, share it on social media,
share it word of mouth, any way, you can, please
share the show. It really means a lot to me
and it's extremely helpful. But also if you really like
(01:28:43):
Cryptic Chronicles and you happen to be awesome, then please
support the show on Patreon, subscribe, star or PayPal for
just a dollar, you can unlock all of the full
uncensored shows, as well as extended episodes to get the
whole real episode, no ads or anything like that, be
(01:29:04):
able to listen to episodes along before the public. You'll
also get access to exclusive podcast episodes as well as,
depending on the pledge at they're cool stuff as well,
like guided meditations, choosing the topic for an entire episode,
or even coming on the show to co host with me.
You know, we have a lot of fun in the
discord channel, so you know you want to come and
(01:29:25):
hang out with me. Just go to Patreon dot com,
slash cryptic Chronicles or cryptochronicles dot com and on the
homepage click on the top on the Chronicler's Vault. It's
a link to Patreon, so you'll be good to go.
It really means a lot to me. Thank you, and
as always, I would like to thank some of my
(01:29:46):
current supporters. We got a lot of new ones recently,
so thank you Old Man Legit, Alex Glidwell, Dave Baxter,
Daddy Is Marath, chip Medean Gomez Not of app are Now, Glenna,
Isaiah yeat Boy, Diago Legarde, Lust of the Weird Blink,
(01:30:09):
Brilliam Darby Holcomb, Spencer lamb Din, Paul Winders Saying, Chad Summer,
Ryan Brandy Carter, Ozma, Young d'yal, Adams, Ashley Thompson, Matt Poland,
Alien X, Celestial Weavers, Adrian Angela de Laire, Lawrence Lee,
(01:30:30):
Patricia Goles, Kayla, Max Miyamoto, Musashi and all the other
I think this is like ninety three of you now.
Thank you all so much for supporting the show. You're
like totally the best thing ever in the history of stuff.
You keep the lights on. So yeah, thank you so
much because if you I get licensed music, I get
(01:30:52):
to have, like my websites, all the good stuff. You
guys are the ones that support it. All the bells
and whistles on this podcast is because of you, so
thank you so much, but most of all, thanks for listening.
And as one of the greatest minds and philosophers and
(01:31:14):
writers from old school Russia once said, a man who
lies to himself and believes his own lies becomes unable
to recognize the truth, either in himself or in anyone else,
and he ends up losing respect for himself and for others.
(01:31:37):
When he has no respect for anyone, he can no
longer love, And in order to divert himself, having no
love in him, he yields to his impulses, indulges in
the lowest forms of pleasure, and behaves in the end
like an animal. And it all comes from lying, lying
(01:32:00):
to others and to yourself.