Planchette

Uncommon card · No. 182496

A planchette ( or ), from the French for "little plank", is a small, usually heart-shaped flat piece of wood, equipped with two wheeled casters and a pencil-holding aperture pointing downwards, used to facilitate automatic writing. The use of planchettes to produce mysterious written messages gave rise to the belief that the devices foster communication with spirits as a form of mediumship. The devices became popular in séances during the Victorian era, before their eventual evolution into the simpler, non-writing pointing devices for ouija boards that eclipsed the popularity of their original form. Scientists explain that the motion is due to the ideomotor effect, but paranormal advocates believe that the planchette is moved by the presence of spirits or by some form of subtle energy. Planchettes took on a variety of forms during the height of their popularity. American planchettes were traditionally heart- or shield-shaped, but manufacturers produced a wide range of shapes and sizes...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Brandon Hodge, CC BY-SA 3.0