Death is not extinguishing the light, it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come. – Rabindranath Tagore
And yet, some people are unable to let go of that lamp, desperately holding on to that little ray of hope. They do not care about science, or about the explanation that nothing lies beyond death. All they want to do is to get back in touch with their deceased, going at lengths to make it happen.
Here are some processes through which people supposedly get in touch with the dead.
1. Planchette
The word ‘planchette‘Â means ‘little plank’ in French. It is a small flat piece of wood that has two wheeled castors and a pencil holding aperture which the person conducting the connection would hold. The spirit, upon arrival, will make the pencil move on its own and answer questions through writing.
2. Mirror scrying
Scrying or the practice of looking into a transparent or reflective surface to communicate with the spirits has been there for ages. Earlier, people used to make use of clear water bodies or a bowl of liquid. Even now, mirror scrying is a popular method of connecting with the dead. The person making the contact would need to be seated in a dark room, completely focused on the spirit, with a mirror in front of him. When the spirit arrives, he will appear on the mirror.
3. The Ouija board
The ouija board is probably the easiest way to communicate with the spirits. This is a wooden board, kind of similar to carrom board, that has the English alphabets, numbers, and simple answers like ‘yes’, ‘no’, printed on it. It uses a small indicator (a piece of wood or even a pencil) on which the people conducting the session keep their hand or finger and the spirit communicates with them by moving the indicator.
4. Pentagram
The pentagram, a five-pointed star with an outer circle, has been an important symbol of paganism. A powerful sign believed to have magical properties, pentagram depicts the dominion of the spirit over the natural elements like earth, fire etc. So naturally, when it comes to spirit calling, the pentagram has a pivotal role to play. The pentagram needs to be drawn, to call a spirit. Based on the nature of the spirit, the drawing surface, and material changes.
5. Seance
Seance is a method through which a group of people calls a spirit together. Generally, people hold hands during a seance session and try to focus on the energy of the spirit to summon it. The spirit, upon arriving, communicates through a medium (a person who acts as the medium), who would conduct the communication between the living and the dead.
6. Digital connection
People often make use of digital devices to establish a connection with spirits and ghosts. People who believe in paranormal activities also believe that a simple tape recorder can record the voices of the spirits. And professional ghost hunters make use of devices that can measure the contents of a particular electromagnetic field to decipher whether or not that place contains any spirit.
7. Pendulum dowsing
Practitioners of occultism believe that crystal pendulums are extremely powerful, and can help establish a connection with a spirit. Though unlike other methods, the spirit can only convey monosyllabic answers through this method. After focusing and summoning the spirit, the crystal pendulum would need to be dowsed by being oscillated, and once the question to the spirit is asked, the answer would depend on the speed and the direction of the swaying.
8. Crystal gazing
‘Seers’ or crystal gazers can get visions that come after they go into a trance by gazing at a crystal or glass ball. Along with communicating with the spirits, these seers can apparently look into future or into a person’s life also. In fact, the practice of telling fortune as seen through the crystal ball has been a part of sorcery in most cultures of the world.
So in case you ever feel like chatting with a ghost, you can take your pick and get on with it. :/