Automatic writing in the context of Occult

Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of a magic ritual or practice. Using various methods, throughout history, diviners have been providing answers to querents by reading signs, events, or omens, often receiving insight through supernatural agencies such as spirits, gods, god-like-beings or the "will of the universe".

Divination can be seen as an attempt to organize what appears to be random, so that it provides insight into a problem or issue at hand. Some practices of divination include astrology, Tarot card reading, rune casting, tea-leaf reading, Ouija boards, automatic writing, water scrying, numerology, pendulum divination and countless more. If a distinction is made between divination and fortune-telling, divination has a more formal or ritualistic element and often contains a more social character, usually in a religious context, as seen in traditional African medicine. Fortune-telling, on the other hand, is a more everyday practice for personal purposes. Particular divination methods vary by culture and religion.

The ideomotor phenomenon is a psychological phenomenon wherein a subject makes motions unconsciously. Also called ideomotor response (or ideomotor reflex) and abbreviated to IMR, it is a concept in hypnosis and psychological research. It is derived from the terms "ideo" (idea, or mental representation) and "motor" (muscular action). The phrase is most commonly used in reference to the process whereby a thought or mental image brings about a seemingly "reflexive" or automatic muscular reaction, often of minuscule degree, and potentially outside of the awareness of the subject. As in responses to pain, the body sometimes reacts reflexively with an ideomotor effect to ideas alone without the person consciously deciding to take action. The effects of automatic writing, dowsing, facilitated communication, applied kinesiology, and ouija boards have been attributed to the phenomenon.

The associated term "ideo-dynamic response" (or "reflex") applies to a wider domain, and extends to the description of all bodily reactions (including ideo-motor and ideo-sensory responses) caused in a similar manner by certain ideas, e.g., the salivation often caused by imagining sucking a lemon, which is a secretory response. The notion of an ideo-dynamic response contributed to James Braid's first neuropsychological explanation of the principle through which suggestion operated in hypnotism.

Fuji (Chinese: 扶乩; pinyin: fújī or 扶箕), often referred to as "planchette writing" or "spirit writing," is a religious practice in Chinese religions where messages from deities, ancestors, or spirits, are conveyed through a wooden or metal stylus guided by a medium or a group of participants. Fuji is a form of automatic writing that often uses a suspended sieve or tray called a planchette, which is filled with sand or incense ash where characters are written using a pen or stylus. The practice is documented as early as the Song dynasty, and serves as a method for connecting individuals or communities assembled at an altar with a particular deity. This practice aims to fulfill personal requests, promote healing, provide moral guidance on individual or societal matters, and, in some cases, assist in the pursuit of loftier spiritual goals.

During the fuji session, the deity communicates by descending into a medium's body and dictating responses—ranging from brief messages to extensive scriptures—using various writing utensils on paper, sand, or ashes. When inscribing on sand, attendants read the words aloud and transcribe them. Occasionally, the deity is said to directly manipulate the writing tool without requiring a human medium. The resulting messages are shared with individuals or the wider community. Distributing and printing these scriptures is an integral part of the practice, fostering merit and legitimacy for the community while reinforcing its connection to the deity. Spirit-writing often transcends affiliation with a single religious tradition, incorporating diverse ritual elements and divine figures.

A planchette ( /plɑːnˈʃɛt/ or /plænˈʃɛt/), from the French for "little plank", is a small, usually heart-shaped flat piece of wood equipped with two wheeled casters and a pencil-holding aperture pointing downwards, used to facilitate automatic writing. The use of planchettes to produce mysterious written messages gave rise to the belief that the devices foster communication with spirits as a form of mediumship. The devices were popular in séances during the Victorian era, before their eventual evolution into the simpler, non-writing pointing devices for ouija boards that eclipsed the popularity of their original form. Scientists explain the motion is due to the ideomotor effect, but paranormal advocates believe the planchette is moved by the presence of spirits or some form of subtle energy.

Planchettes took on a variety of forms during the height of their popularity. American planchettes were traditionally heart- or shield-shaped, but manufacturers produced a wide range of shapes and sizes hoping to distinguish themselves in the highly competitive and profitable market of the devices' late-1860s heyday. Manufacturers espoused the wonders and benefits of different materials (including various hardwoods, India rubber, and even glass), insulated casters, and various attachments meant to "charge" the devices or insulate the user from malevolent spirits. In Great Britain, planchettes took on the classical shapes popularized in early illustrations and newspaper depictions, with round, blunt noses and flat backs. Regardless of their shape or country of origin, almost all planchettes were equipped with brass casters and small wheels of bone or plastic, and their sometimes lavishly illustrated boxes were often packed with blank parchment, pencils, ouija-like folding letter sheets, and esoteric instructions espousing the mysterious communicative powers of the items.

Philippe Soupault (2 August 1897 – 12 March 1990) was a French writer and poet, novelist, critic, and political activist. He was active in Dadaism and later was instrumental in founding the Surrealist movement with André Breton. Soupault initiated the periodical Littérature together with writers Breton and Louis Aragon in Paris in 1919, which, for many, marks the beginnings of Surrealism. The first book of automatic writing, Les Champs magnétiques (1920), was co-authored by Soupault and Breton.