How accurate are they in communicating with a spirit, and are there negative side effects so to speak? I could use the insight!!

Also, this place has helped a lot, and I absolutely love the time I've spent here!!

Thank you

I don't use them. But I think they are like the ouija board. If you are trying to contact spirits and you invite them to connect, you need to understand that you might encourage something you won't like.

Lower level spirits are drawn to this type of activity.

I agree with Gizmo. Lower entities and prankster types tend to be attracted to that type of activity, which ends meaning that a negative can come through and the answers given are often lies.

Of course, it also depends somewhat on intention. If you go in asking for anything to come through, well, you'll probably get anything, including negative entities and generally nasty spirits.

If you go into with protection in place and asking for only positive entities, this is less likely to happen but I still wouldn't recommend using a pendulum (or anything similar) unless you really know what you're doing and are willing to accept all possible consequences that might occur.

I used a pendulum once trying to contact a spirit guide and got some results, but half way through something else came through that claimed it wasn't human. It may or may not have been true, but I put away the pendulum and haven't used it since. I'm not willing to take that kind of chance; it's not worth it for me.

Raven is a wise woman. If you INVITE casual contact with whatever is passing by, you invite negative attachments.

Protection apparently doesn't work unless you know what you are doing, and can sustain it. If you're open psychically, or compromised in some way (like having a drink or using drugs), you are REALLY open for problems. If a strong enough negative entity is attracted, you could become fair game. Not nice. Not fun. Not easy to get rid of.

I'm not implying you would drink or use drugs at all. I'm just telling you what I'm learning generally about certain risky behaviors.

The biggest thing to understand, when you are using things like water circles, witch circles, pendulums and ouija boards, is that when using these things you need to be very specific on your intent and not allow anything in the questions to be open ended.
Also, you should never ask something like 'Is there anybody in this room'. Instead the question should be more along the lines of 'Who/what is in this room'. Usually, you'll get a response from what it is you are inquiring.

Other good things to know is that it is always best to do such things in a room that has been salted, or have the activity placed in a salt circle. It's best to specifically state what it is you are looking for and what you will allow in the area that has been blocked. Most importantly, never allow yourself to be open for other entities to draw energy off of you. The best way to avoid this is to wear or place copper around your physical space.

Also, other good things to note is that it is always best to use a pendulum comprised of crystal, copper and silver. Crystals can reflect/deflect energy, silver draws and copper displaces, as well as balances.

Overall, I would suggest using a tarot deck. Tarot is a lot harder for spirits/entities to manipulate because of the fact that a tarot deck uses your energies to build it's own and because a deck of shuffled cards is a lot more randomized. You have a higher chance of getting a direct answer and if anything comes to you that is ill willed, the tarot will warn you...

But that's just my opinion on the matter.

How exactly do you go about using the tarot to do this?