For a long time, the most common way to summon spirits was by turning. This method of establishing contact with ghosts was especially widespread in Europe.
Its essence lies in the fact that several participants in the session sit around the table, put their hands on it, palms down, and by common efforts begin to call one or another spirit. When the spirit appears, the table reacts to its presence by tapping the feet on the floor or rotating.
Then those who want to communicate with the spirit agree on the code with which they will "conduct conversations with it": for example, if the spirit's response is positive, the table under its influence should make two knocks, if negative - one. After this, "communication" begins, which boils down to the fact that the spiritualists ask questions, and the spirit answers them.
However, although table-turning became widespread in the West at sessions of spiritualism, nevertheless, it was not at all invented by Europeans.
And this is due to the fact that the ability of spirits to move material bodies has been known for a long time, moreover, to many peoples.
As for the role of Europeans in the invention of this method of communicating with spirits, the only Western innovation in this matter can be considered only a round table for playing cards. The very idea of contacts with spirits through various material objects has a long-standing origin and widespread distribution.
So, the Melanesian sorcerer uses bone, cowrie shell and a wand instead of a table. He sits down on the floor, utters the magic words he knows, and then begins to communicate with the spirit.
During this action, the sorcerer asks a specific question. After that, he performs a ritual known only to him: first, he alternately blows on the shell and the stick, then puts the shell on the floor, places the bone on it, and so that it is in an upright position, and then removes his hands.
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When the answer of the spirits to the question asked is yes, the bone will not move and will stand as if glued. Aboriginal people believe that the spirits of ancestors hold the bone in this "impossible" position.
If the answer is negative, the bone falls. Moreover, scientists observed in this "consultation" with the spirits an amazing phenomenon: the answers that the sorcerer receives from his ancestors to the questions asked are, for the most part, very accurate.
The sorcerers of the Kisi Negro tribe, which lives on the western coast of Africa, next to Liberia, communicate with the spirits a little differently. Representatives of this nationality conduct a “session of spiritualism” with the help of human figures installed on the graves of the leaders.
To get the answer of the spirits to the question asked, the sorcerer of the tribe places a board on the heads of two people and places a statuette on it. Then comes a specific question. If after this question the figure remains motionless, then the answer of the ancestor is negative. But if the figurine makes rhythmic back and forth movements, it is assumed that the spirits gave a positive answer.
European spiritualists, as noted above, usually used the table. For example, the famous spirit Allan Kardek describes the use of this method when communicating with spirits in The Book of Spirits: “If society wants to make such an experience, then everyone should sit around the table and put their hands on it carefully, without any effort. The only rule that must be strictly observed is concentration of thoughts, perfect silence and, in particular, patience, if the phenomenon is not soon discovered. It can show up immediately or delay half an hour or even an hour. It depends on the mediumship of the persons involved.
When the phenomenon begins to manifest itself, a certain knock is often heard on the table, a shudder is felt, as it were, which is a harbinger of movement. The table seems to make an effort to get out of the state of rest, then a circular motion is detected; this movement is intensified or accelerated sometimes to such an extent that the participants can hardly manage to follow the table.
When the movement continues, then you can move away from the table, and without touching it, it will continue to move in different directions. Sometimes the table rises and stands on one or the other leg, then quietly lowers and assumes its natural position. Sometimes it sways, imitating the pitching or rolling motion of the ship. Sometimes, but for this it is necessary to have an extraordinary power of mediumistic ability, he completely separates from the floor and is kept in equilibrium in the air without any point of support, sometimes rising to the very ceiling so that you can pass under it.
Then it slowly descends, swaying like a falling sheet of paper, or falls suddenly, breaks into pieces, which very clearly shows that this is not an optical illusion, not a play of imagination.
Another phenomenon is often detected: bumps are heard in the table, inside the tree itself, without any movement of the table. These blows, sometimes weak, sometimes strong, are sometimes also heard in other furniture in the room, or in the door, in the wall or in the ceiling. When these blows are heard in the table, they produce a very sensitive shock to the fingers, and it is especially noticeable if you put your ear to the table."
In his discourses on spiritualism, Allan Kardek emphasizes the fact that the presence of mediums is necessary for contact with spirits. Some spiritualists speak of a special "collective mediumship" that arises as a result of the creation of a "magic chain" or "magic circle".
This point of view, apparently, also has a right to exist, since cases of successful table-turning by groups of people have been repeatedly noted, none of which had the abilities of a medium.
Communication with spirits using a table that reproduced certain knocks was used by European mediums for quite a long time. But then, with someone's suggestion, they began to use cards with letters for these purposes.
Then, at the sessions of spiritualism, they began to use a saucer on which an arrow was drawn: it was she who had to indicate a certain letter called by the spirit. Finally, the latest invention of the Spiritualists was the magic roulette Ouija, which gained immense popularity in the 20th century. Its design was fairly simple. This type of magic roulette was a circle made of cardboard or plastic, on which certain letters were applied, as well as the words "yes" and "no" in several languages.
In the center of the circle, on a thin needle, a movable and practically weightless arrow was fixed, which began to rotate at the slightest impact on it. The spirits were positioned around the table, on which they laid their hands, palms down. If it was not possible to establish contact with the spirit, then the arrow began to make feverish, absolutely unsystematic movements, pointing to a variety of letters, from which it was impossible to compose at least some meaningful phrase. But if contact was established, then the letters pointed to by the arrow easily folded into words.
It should also be noted that Ouija's roulette wheel had a number of other features, thanks to which it became widespread among mediums. First, it had a relatively simple design and at the same time was highly efficient. And besides, it was possible to work with her alone.
In connection with the conversation about table-turning, a completely logical question arises: are some otherworldly forces called spirits really rotating the table or the arrow of Ouij's roulette wheel? Or maybe clever tricks or self-hypnosis make the participants of the session "see" the rotation of the arrow, the movement of the figurine, or the "dead pose" of the bone on the shell?
There can be only one answer in this case: if the predictions obtained using these methods come true, then it is hardly as important as with whose help they were obtained. If not, then again it does not really matter either.
Bernatsky Anatoly