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Planchette: An instrument designed for the purpose of communication with spirits. It consists of a thin-heartshaped piece of wood, mounted on two small wheel-castors and carrying a pencil, point downwards, for the third support. The hand is placed on the wood and the pencil writes automatically, or presumably by spirit control operating through the psychic force of the medium.
In 1853, a well-known French spiritualist, M. Planchette, invented this instrument to which he gave his name. For quite fifteen years it was used exclusively by French spiritualists. Then in the year 1868 a firm of toy-makers in America took up the idea and flooded the booksellers' shops with great numbers of planchettes. It became a popular mania, and the instrument sold in thousands there and in Great Britain. It was, and is, largely used simply as a toy and any results obtained that may be arresting and seemingly inexplicable are explained by Animal Magnetism or traced to the power of subconscious thought.
Amongst spiritualists it has been used for spirit communication. Automatic writing has often been developed by use of the planchette, some mediums publishing books which, they claimed, were written wholly by their spirit-controls through the use of planchettes. Dr. Ashburnes, in his Spiritualism Chemically Explained says that the human body is a condensation of gases, which constantly exude from the skin in invisible vapour—otherwise electricity; that the fingers coming in contact with the planchette transmit to it an "odic force," and thus set it in motion. He goes on to say that some people have phosphorous in excess in their system and the vapour "thus exuded forms a positively living, thinking, acting body, capable of directing a pencil." There are variations on the planchette form such as the dial-planchette which consists of a foundation of thick cardboard nine inches square on the face of which the alphabet is printed and also the numerals one to ten. There are the words "Yes," "No," "Goodbye" and "Don't know." These letters, words, and numerals are printed on the outer edge of a circle, the diameter of which is about seven inches. In the centre of this circle, and firmly affixed to the cardboard, is a block of wood three inches square. The upper surface of this block has a circular channel in it and in this run balls. Over the balls is placed a circular piece of hard wood, five inches in diameter, and attached to the outer edge of this a pointer. The upper piece of wood is attached to the lower by an ordinary screw, upon which the upper plate revolves when used for communication. Another form is the Ouija board on which in a convenient order the letters of the alphabet are printed and over which a pointer easily moves under the direction of the hand of the person or persons acting as mediums. It is stated that a form of this "mystic toy" was in use in the days of Pythagoras, about 540 B.C. In a French history of Pythagoras, the author describing his celebrated school of philosophy, asserts that the brotherhood held frequent seances or circles at which a mystic table, moving on wheels, moved towards signs inscribed on the surface of a stone slab on which the moving-table worked. The author states that probably Pythagoras, in his travels among the Eastern nations, observed some such apparatus in use amongst them and adapted his idea from them. Another trace of some such "communicating mechanism" is found in the legend told by the Scandinavian Blomsturvalla how the people of Jomsvikingia in the twelfth century had a high priest, one Volsunga, whose predictions were renowned for their accuracy throughout the length and breadth of the land. He had in his possession a little ivory doll that drew with "a pointed instrument" on parchment or "other substance," certain signs to which the priest had the key. The communications were in every case prophetic utterances, and it is said in every case came true. The writer who recounts the legend thought it probable that the priest had procured the doll in China. In the National Museum at Stockholm there is a doll of this description which is worked by mechanism, and when wound up walks round and round in circles and occasionally uses its right arm to make curious signs with a pointed instrument like a stylo which is held in the hand. Its origin and use have been connected with the legend recounted above.
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