Kardecist spiritism

systematizer of Spiritism (1804–1869)

spiritist doctrine codified in the 19th century by Allan Kardec

thumb|An original Ouija board created thumb|Norman Rockwell cover of the May 1, 1920 issue of The Saturday Evening Post, showing a Ouija board in use

A séance or seance (; ) is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word séance comes from the French word for "session", from the Old French , "to sit". In French, the word's meaning is quite general and mundane: one may, for example, speak of "" (). In English, however, the word came to be used specifically for a meeting of people who are gathered to receive messages from ghosts or to listen to a spirit medium discourse with or relay messages from spirits. In modern English usage, participants need not be seated while engaged in a séance.

paranormal phenomenon

Romanian writer and philologist (1838–1907)

spiritualist and philanthropist from Brazil (1910-2002)

Brazilian poet, playwright and painter (1806-1879)

spiritist philosopher (1846–1927)

world or realm inhabited by spirits

Table-turning (also known as table-tapping, table-tipping or table-tilting) is a type of séance in which participants sit around a table, place their hands on it, and wait for rotations. The table was purportedly made to serve as a means of communicating with the spirits; the alphabet would be slowly spoken aloud and the table would tilt at the appropriate letter, thus spelling out words and sentences. The process is similar to that of a Ouija board. Scientists and skeptics consider table-turning to be the result of the ideomotor effect, or of conscious trickery.

book published by Allan Kardec in 1857

French spiritist, psychical researcher, writer, and electrical engineer (1857–1926)

book by Allan Kardec

Romanian literary critic (1848-1899)

Romanian poet, playwright and translator (1873-1920)

Allan Kardec's wife (1795-1883)

In Spiritism, perispirit or perisprit is the subtle body that is used by the spirit to connect with the perceptions created by the brain. The term is found among the extensive terminology originally devised by Allan Kardec in his books about Spiritism. Its first use was in a commentary (by Kardec) to the answer given by the spirits to the 93rd question of The Spirits Book:

Swedish writer (1868-1943)