So I’m pretty happy with how my homemade spirit board turned out. First time using a woodburner so there were a few fuck-ups along the way but thankfully they were more or less salvageable. I used oak for both the board and planchette (densely grained wood seems to house spiritual energies well) and after staining & finishing it glides like butter.
Overall I can definitely tell an energetic difference between the store-bought boards and the ones I’ve made myself. I think anything can be used as a board (I’ve heard of people using scrabble tiles and even bits of paper successfully, not to mention the classic Hasbro cardboard version), but for some reason taking the time and energy to build something yourself from scratch (and particularly out of wood) seems to be exceedingly effective. Perhaps it’s just the placebo effect because I believe it’ll be more powerful, or maybe it’s my directed intent during the crafting of the tool that is syncing up with and changing the spiritual vibration of the board. I’ll get back to y’all when I figure out a way to test this.
Anyway, ended up using it last night with the girlfriend to successfully contact our (recently) deceased kitty which was emotional but ultimately cathartic for us. I’d never talked to a dead animal before (although I’d heard that it was possible) so intellectually it was quite an interesting experience. Not very complex vocabulary but strong emotions and an overwhelming sense/repeated affirmations of love (the planchette kept going to the Sun almost as a symbol of life-affirming warmth and connection).
Just a little moment of bittersweet happiness I figured I’d share from my spirit board pathworking.
We are immortal volunteers
Living in the sensation of being everything
And the certitude of being nothing.
We are just an outline.
–Paul Valéry