Vigilat Planchette (Classical edition) | Sterling silver pendant by Decimononic

Description

The piece

There is a long story behind this piece. The Vigilat Planchette idea gave us the opportunity to experiment with the magic of 3D technology and create a powerful symbol. You can enjoy it now.

Description

Sterling silver planchette with patina (there is a ‘Collector’s Edition’ limited to 50 units with bright and matte finish). It can be used for its original purpose (talking board pointer), but creative minds will find many other applications: pendant, keyring, bookmark…

Side 1: floral decoration and Decimononic logo | Side 2: inscription in relief ‘non sic dormit, sed vigilat‘ and cog with floral decoration.

Black, grey or red rattail satin cord with sterling silver lobster clasp included.

Dimensions and weight

• Length x width x height: 47x43x2.3 mm (1.85×1.69×0.09 in) approximately.
• Weight: 19 gr. (0.67 ounce)

Further info

The inspiration

This is our humble tribute to the golden age of Spiritualism in the 19th century. You have heard about talking -or ouija- boards, but have no idea about the use of a planchette? Learn about this reading ‘What is a planchette?’.

About the inscription

‘Non sic dormit, sed vigilat’ (sleeps not but is awake)

Martin Luther

This quote makes reference to the concept of intermediate state of the soul and it is extracted from the Exegetica opera Latina (Volumes 5–6) by Martin Luther [Christopf Stephan Elsperger (Gottlieb) p120]: ‘Differunt tamen somnus sive quies hujus vitae et futurae. Homo enim in hac vita defatigatus diurno labore, sub noctem intrat in cubiculum suum tanquam in pace, ut ibi dormiat, et ea nocte fruitur quiete, neque quicquam scit de ullo malo sive incendii, sive caedis. Anima autem non sic dormit, sed vigilat, et patitur visiones loquelas Angelorum et Dei. Ideo somnus in futura vita profundior est quam in hac vita et tamen anima coram Deo vivit. Hac similitudine, quam habeo a somno viventia.’

In Christian eschatology, the intermediate state refers to a person’s ‘intermediate’ existence between one’s death and the judgement before resurrection. Jürgen Moltmann (2000) concludes from this that ‘Luther conceived the state of the dead as a deep, dreamless sleep, removed from time and space, without consciousness and without feeling’. In any case, the concept of interim state exists in many non-christian religions such as Buddhism, Islam, Taoism…

Belief in conditional immortality and the annihilation of the unsaved became increasingly common during the 19th century. May the use of ouija boards and planchettes awake the asleep souls? It is quite an interesting idea… don’t you think?

And remember: if you like this planchette you will probably like The Singular Talking Board too.