Some occultists believe that by using devices like the Ouija board, one can develop psychic talents - that the board can help unlock these talents. They're almost like rechargeable psychic batteries. Psychic energies build up while you're using the board. These energies help you communicate with spirits. Normally, you are in complete control of these energies, but sometimes they burst out, popping like an overinflated balloon.
Sometimes these psychic energy manifestations can be misinterpreted as encounters with hostile spirits. The planchette may fly across the room, a breeze may blow inside the room, etc., and the user fears that they have aroused a bad spirit. In your case, the wine glass may have been filled with so much pyschic energy that it shattered from the strong vibrations. Of course, proving whether or not an event like that is caused by psychic engergy is, well, kind of hard.
The "psychic battery" theory seems credible to me. I experienced heightened psychic perceptions after I began using a Ouija as a child. I have read about others who have gained clairvoyance and other extrasensory perceptions as a result of their using such devices.
I also believe that in some cases, the user may be psychically controlling the board instead of a spirit. In that scenario, the subconscious mind moves the planchette with psychokinetic energy. The conscious mind is not aware of the psychokinetic output and thinks a spirit is at work. Usually, when this happens, the person using the Ouija board has not approached the device with a clear mind and steady emotions. There is a conflict inside the person that's just screaming to get out.
The same psychokinetic theory is also sometimes applied to cases of alleged poltergeist activity. The subconscious mind of a person is in turmoil and fires off bursts of psychokinetic energy which are mistaken for poltergeists. Objects fly across rooms, objects on shelves shake, doors slam on their own. A trained parapsychologist with the right equipment can tell if a poltergeist event is really a haunting or the work of a troubled mind.
In cases of subconscious psychokinetic reactions from troubled minds, the person in question is often a teenager, mostly female. When a girl goes through puberty, her body and mind energies are both very strong and very unstable as they go through the transformation. Add to this a distressing conflict - say, her parents' pending divorce - and you have a recipe for subconscious psychokinetic reaction. Take away the distressing conflict, and the subconscious manifestations cease.
Devices like Ouija boards should be studied thoroughly, scientifically, and with an open mind. But scientists are reluctant to do such studies because the paranormal invites ridicule from their colleagues and hostility from religious groups who consider such studies a sin. The fact that religious leaders and conservatives hate things like Ouija boards and tarot cards comes as no surprise when you think about it. In the Bible's book of Genesis, the tree that grows the forbidden apples is called the Tree of Knowledge.
Ignorance is bliss.
- Eric
