Samhain's Sirens , Day 21, October 24

Thursday is here already, can you believe it?

We have a lot of fun in store for you today! First, let's check out this day in history:

1632 - Scientist Anthony van Leeuwenhoek was born in Delft, Holland. He created the first microscope lenses that were powerful enough to observe single-celled animals. 

1788 - Poet Sarah Joseph Hale was born. She wrote the poem "Mary Had A Little Lamb." 

1830 - Belva
 Lockwood was born. She was the first woman formally nominated for the U.S. Presidency.

1836 - Alonzo D. Phillips received a patent for the phosphorous friction safety match.


1861 - The first transcontinental telegraph message was sent when Justice Stephen J. Field of California transmitted a telegram to U.S. President Lincoln.

1940 - In the U.S., the 40-hour workweek went into effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

Don't forget! Serena is here to help. Email her or use the contact form at the top of the page and she'll be happy to respond.

Now, on to today's festivities!!

Today, we honor Michael Hutchence from INXS

Spirit Communication: The Spirit Board

by Loren Morris

My favorite form of spirit communication is the spirit board. The spirit board has several names. It is also known as talking board, witchboard, and the Ouija board. The Ouija board is a brand, but many people will use the word Ouija to describe every spirit board.

The talking board itself has been has been popular since the latter half of the 1800's. The predecessor to the talking board was the planchette. The planchette was just that. A planchette with a place for a writing tool and it enabled the user to employ automatic writing as a form of spirit communication.

The Ouija board itself can be found in most board game aisles at your local store. I, myself, have let my children use the board. My oldest and my youngest have expressed interest and used them when I had company over and we already had the board out. I've found that if you just let them try it and guide them, they usually lose interest pretty quickly. Many people fear the board, or even think that children are too young and shouldn't use it. However, I don't feel this way, but each household should do as they see fit. The evil stigma that seems to surround the board only began with the Exorcist movie. Spirit boards were once popular and there was no fear surrounding them. There is an episode of Lassie where the Sunday School is setting up for a carnival. Timmy sets up a fortune telling tent and uses a Ouija board. Obviously, if the board were seen as an evil tool, then it would have definitely NOT been used by a 9-year-old boy during a SUNDAY SCHOOL carnival for family TV programming.


Some early books that are about spirit communications are:

1868 Planchette's Diary; Kate Fields

1919 Voices from the Void: Six Years Experience in Automatic Communications; Hester Travers Smith

1920 Our Unseen Guest; Darby and Joan

Beginning in 1913 Patience Worth, a 17th century entity,  communicated through the Ouija (and Pearl Curran) and wrote several novels and a book of poetry. Some of the novels are: The Sorry Tale: A Story of the Time of Christ, Hope Trueblood, Telka, An Idyl of Medieval England and The Pot Upon the Wheel. The title of the book of poetry is: Light from Beyond

You can read more about Patience here.

Another spiritualist that began on a Ouija was Jane Roberts. Jane began experimenting with a Ouija for a study on extra sensory perception and during this time a spirit known as Seth began speaking to her through the board. Not long after, Jane said that she could hear the messages in her head and she was able to stop using the board. She would thereafter go into a trance, channel Seth, and dictate to her husband in Seth's "voice". Several books were written, including: Seth Speaks, The Seth Material, The Unknown Reality Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, and The Coming of Seth.

Roberts passed on in 1984 but she still has a great following. You can read more here.

In 1972, Flight 401 crashed in the Everglades. The ghosts of the flight attendants, pilot, and the co-pilot were all being seen by other airline employees. The author, John G. Fuller took a Ouija and contacted the spirits. The result is The Ghost of Flight 401.

William Butler Yeats' wife practiced automatic writing. He used her ability to write his book A Vision, which is a metaphysical masterpiece.

Bill Wilson, the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, used the Ouija to help create the famous program's 12 steps. The spirit that aided in the writing? A monk named Boniface.

You can read more http://www.orange-papers.org/forum/node/518


Some good sites to visit for more information:

The Mysterious Planchette

The Mysterious Planchette Blog

My own blog

Museum of Talking Boards


Brightest Blessings and I hope you enjoyed the tidbits of information about spirit boards,

Loren (Saga)

Autumn Tossed Salad
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 bunch romaine, torn
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese
1 cup unsalted cashews
1 medium apple, chopped
1 medium pear, chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries


In a blender, combine the lemon juice, sugar, onion, mustard and salt. While processing, gradually add oil in a steady stream. Stir in poppy seeds. Transfer to a small pitcher or bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until chilled.
In a large salad bowl, combine the romaine, cheese, cashews, apple, pear and cranberries. Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat. Makes 10 servings

Blessings

Autumn Earthsong

You can visit Autumn's blog at My Moonlit Path and her shop at Verbena Lane Botanicals!

Today's Giveaway is from Loren at Saga's Cottage!

The lucky winner will receive a one-of-a-kind spirit board and matching planchette designed and custom-made by Loren. The motif: The midnight crow resting on a pumpkin, surveying the foggy Samhain night. "The Spirit of Halloween" Spirit Board.

This is a hand painted masterpiece on a 14" x 11 1/2" pinewood board with a matching clay pumpkin planchette, also crafted by Loren. 

With 3 thick coats of protection, this board is made to last. The design cannot be worn away with regular use.
This will come numbered and with a Certificate of Authentication.

The planchette has three legs molded of clay so that it can slide easily across the board.

This is an heirloom piece for any spirit-minded household, whether a serious collector or amateur spiritualist.

In 2001, I met my own Spirit Guide, Orion, through a talking board. Using Reiki and a technique called "whitewashing" I "open" my created Spirit Boards before they are mailed to the new owner. This helps the new owner become connected with their board and meet their own Spirit Guide.

Here’s how to enter: 

You have until 6am EDT tomorrow to enter.
Drawing is held by random number generation and winner will be notified in email (that's why you have to have an email address listed).
Announcement will be made on the October 25th blog post at 9am EDT.

Note: These giveaways are open to the U.S., Canada and where allowable. Void where prohibited.

Canadian residents, please pay close attention as by law, you have to use a different set of rules. Not to worry, we have you covered :)

You MUST provide a valid email address to enter the contest.

1. Go to the Vendor page:Saga's Cottage Etsy Shop Find your favorite item, come back here, and tell us about it in the comment section. (1 entry)

2. Like Saga's Cottage on Facebook. Let us know you did in the comments here. (1 entry)

3.  Blog about this giveaway (make sure you link back here), come back and leave us a link to your blog. (1 entry)

4. Tweet about this giveaway (link to us, please), come back, and leave us a link to your tweet (1 entry)

5. Be a follower of this blog. Let us know you are in the comments. (1 entry)

6. Like Samhain's Sirens Facebook page. Let us know you do in the comments section here. (1 entry)

Note: If you want your entries to count as separate entries, you must post them separately. If you post 1 comment with all of these on it, it will only count as 1 entry.

Canadian residents, by law, instead of the above, you must answer the following question to be eligible:

What is 11+1?

What's cool about being a Canadian? You automatically get 6 entries per giveaway for just answering 1 question!  You still have to give us an email address :)

Good luck!!

The winner from the October 23 giveaway from Sandi's Enchanted Gardens is:

Amy (innocence and magic)

The winner from the October 23 giveaway from Paws Out Pet Boutique and Bakery is:

Loren Morris

Remember, every time you give us a valid entry, you are automatically entered into the grand prize giveaway at the end of the month. See you tomorrow for our final Crafty Witches Friday!