A slate was a small chalk board, often about the size of a sheet of writing paper, that was used by children in school during Victorian times. During seances, spirits would supposedly write messages on one or more slates via paranormal means. Although quite outdated, they are still sometimes used by fake mediums and mentalists.
Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Sandra Kynes, author of several books, including The Herb Gardener's Essential Guide, Plant Magic, and the new Witches' Encyclopedia of Magical Plants, among many others.
Although a few old books...