What Is Dowsing

Dowsing is the art of finding hidden things. This is accomplished with the aid of a dowsing stick, rods or a pendulum. Water witching and doodle bugging are other names for dowsing. Dowsing is scientifically known as radioesthesia. It is the interaction of the mind of the dowser and the energy of the object of interest. Most dowsing is used to find water and minerals. It has been used to find lost objects and even people. It can be used to dowse the subtle energy field surrounding objects, plants, animals and people.

Dowsing is an ancient practice whose origins are lost in forgotten history. It is thought to date back at least 8,000 years. Wall murals, estimated to be about 8,000 years old, discovered in the Tassili Caves of North Africa show tribesmen surrounding a man with a forked stick who is possibly dowsing for water. Artwork from ancient China and Egypt seem to show people using forked tools in what might have been dowsing activities. Dowsing may have been mentioned in the Bible although not by name when Moses and Aaron used a "rod" to locate water. The first unambiguous written accounts of dowsing came from the Middle Ages when dowsers in Europe used it to find coal deposits. During the 15th and 16th centuries, dowsers were often denounced as practitioners of evil. As it was deemed the devils work, this is where the term water witching comes from. In more modern times, dowsing has been used to find water for wells, mineral deposits, oil, buried treasure, archaeological artefacts and even missing people. How the dowsing technique was first discovered is unknown. Those who practice it are unwavering in their affirmations that it works.

How Does Dowsing Work?
The quick answer is that no one really knows how Dowsing Works. Not even experienced dowsers. Some believe there is a psychic connection established between the dowser and the sought object. All things, living and inanimate, the theory possess an energy force. By concentrating on the hidden object the dowser is able to tune in to the energy force or vibration of the object which. It can be used to dowse the subtle energy field surrounding objects, plants, animals, and people. This forces the dowsing rod or stick to move. The dowsing tool may act as a form of amplifier or antenna for tuning into the energy. If we are doing energy healing, one can dowse the body of a patient before and after treatment and observe any energy changes. If the results are quantified we can reach conclusions about the efficiency of techniques. Sceptics claim that dowsing doesn't work at all. Dowsers who seem to have a track record for success are either lucky, have good instincts or trained knowledge for where water, minerals etc can be found. For believer or sceptic, there's no definitive proof either way. Albert Einstein was convinced of the authenticity of dowsing. He said, "I know very well that many scientists consider dowsing as they do astrology, as a type of ancient superstition. According to my conviction this is, however, unjustified. The dowsing rod is a simple instrument which shows the reaction of the human nervous system to certain factors which are unknown to us at this time." The ability to find people, artefacts or substances by use of maps, pictures or physically being in a place are currently the most popular applications of Dowsing. Most dowsers use two dowsing rods and/or a pendulum. The rods are commonly known as 'Wishing Rods'. They are formed into an L shape and are usually made of copper although the oldest known material was wood and usually forked Hazel branches along with Apple, Beech and Alder. It is also said that metal coat hangers work well too. One rod is held in each hand and when you have located what it is you are looking for the rods will cross. When using a pendulum most people weight the line with a crystal or heavy weight. The important thing seems to be the length of the line which the pendulum swings on. One thing that does seem a mystery is how diviners can dowse over a map to find people or substances when the focus of the search can be many kilometres away. This does imply some form of psychic activity.

Dowsing is reported to date back around 7000 years but origins are still unknown. It is accepted that the Egyptians used images of forked rods in some of their artwork as did the Ancient Chinese kings. In Europe dowsing was used in the Middle Ages to find coal deposits. Since this time people have dowsed for many things from lost objects to missing people. Some of them are reported to be very accurate although the scientific community have yet to decide if they support this ability or not. Some people earn money by advising mining companies before they carry out test drilling. In 1930's there was a lot of activity in Europe with the formation of 'The British Society of Dowsers'. The term Rasiesthesia was coined by French priest Abbé Mermet based on the Latin words for 'radiation' and 'perception', although the term dowsing has stood the test of time. In 1986 American dowsers argued that there was a connection between dowsing and astrological links with the element Fire.

Dowsing Methods
There are hundreds of ways to dowse. The most popular way is using L-rods. These are bent wires which can be pointed in the direction of the area of interest. You can make a simple set of L-rods by getting two metal coat hangers and cutting off the long wires at the bottoms. Bend one end of each at about four inches into a 90 degree L shape. The small end is the handle and the long end is the pointer. Take a plastic straw and cut it in half. Place one piece over the smaller end of each L-rod. This will be the sleeve of the handle which will enable the L-rod to swivel freely without being affected by the muscles of the hand. Hold one L-rod in each hand pointing towards the object to be measured. Make sure the L-rod is horizontal to the ground. If you want to measure the energy field of a person make sure they are not holding or wearing any crystals or jewellery. Step back about three paces and then turn and face them. Hold the L-rods parallel to the ground pointing towards your subject. In your mind, or out loud tell yourself what the L-rods are measuring. This is very important. Your mind is very precise. It will measure exactly what you tell it to. Say or think that you are measuring the reserve bio energy field of this body. Focus your attention only on this person. Do not let your mind wander and think of anyone or anything else as this will affect the results. Walk towards the person, slowly, keeping the L-rods straight and level. When you enter the energy field the wires will open wide the left wire will swing to the left and the right hand wire will swing to the right. Measure the distance between the wires and the body. To create the healing change, dowse the body. Step back eight paces, turn and walk toward the body, L-rods parallel and pointing towards the subject. When you reach the energy field of the body the wires will swing open. Measure the distance and compare between this effort and the first effort. The difference is the change you made by the healing. You can use this method to see if your crystals or jewellery have any effect on an energy field. Measure the subject wearing no jewellery and then add your object and measure again.

The History of Dowsing
It is claimed that the act of dowsing is an instinct within all humans and that we have forgotten in the main how to use. The ancient art of Rhabdomancy, as dowsing was originally known, has been practised since time immemorial. At one time, people used intuition to determine where objects and influences were coming from. It appears that as mankind evolved this inner sense has diminished. While the inner knowledge or skill may have diminished, the art of dowsing using implements such as pendulums and rods has evolved from this time. Ever since written records have been kept the art of dowsing has been recorded. Ancient Egyptians and Babylonians dowsed using split reeds. The early Chinese Emperor Kwang Sung (circa 2200 BCE) was known to have dowsed. The Chinese art of feng shui, sacred geomancy or building, evolved from a theory linking geomancy with rhabdomancy. The Romans and Greeks dowsed using many forms of oracles. The early Jews used dowsing for their own benefits and recorded the act in the Old Testament. A number of scholars made themselves seem foolish by attributing unnecessary complications to the skill of dowsing. Precise descriptions of how to look for gold and other precious metals were developed, demanding elaborate and ritualistic preparations including the acquisition of expensive gold and silver divining rods to ensure success. The fact that village dowsers achieved the same results with a bit of twig showed the worthlessness of the scholars' detailed methods.

During the Middle Ages and beyond, dowsing was very much kept quiet as it was associated with the mystical unknown and the occult. Talk of witchcraft and the Spanish Inquisition on the European continent meant that keeping dowsing and any other form of divination low key seemed to be the best policy.

In the 15th Century the British Isles were famed throughout the known world as a centre of excellence for magical and esoteric arts. German dowsers came to the West Country, bringing their tin divining skills to England. The Germans then travelled down to Cornwall where they located veins of tin which allowed new tin mines to be established for the Cornish landowners. In France, dowsing was very much in vogue in the 17th Century. This was largely due to the mineralogists Baron and Baroness De Beausoleil who together established a mineral company through their successful use of dowsing. Sadly, the two lost all their money locating mines and died in the Bastille after being accused of witchcraft.

Science speaks
Later theories on dowsing emerged and the scientists often came to the conclusion that dowsing and electricity were linked, perhaps with a bit of mesmerism added for good measure. A massive treatise into dowsing, La Physique Occulte ou Traite de la Baguette Divinitoire, was written and published by the Abbé De Vallemont. Though it was given backing by the Catholic Church, the Church decided to backtrack after the treatise's publication. After conducting a deep and meaningful investigation into the phenomenon in 1853, the Church declared that dowsing worked because it was the devil his very self that pulled and twisted the dowsing rod to give the accurate results This was immediately challenged in Catholic France by Michel Eugène Chevreul in his book, De La Baguette Divinatoire, published in 1854 and this paved the way for more studies to be conducted. In England dowsing was part of folk culture like many other activities such as spell-casting and divination by stones and it was claimed to work. There was every need to continue its use and not dismiss it as a work of the devil. Dowsing attracted many characters to it, including WS Lawrence from Bristol, who was born in 1810 and for 70 years of his life dowsed in a semi-professional capacity. Lawrence was a stonemason. For dowsing, Lawrence used a steel wire bent like a horseshoe for finding minerals and a large forked hazel twig for water. Upon finding what it was he dowsed for Lawrence would suffer muscular spasms that were debilitating and energy sapping. This reinforced the mystery about his work to onlookers which re-emphasised the magical aspect of dowsing. Mr Child of Somerset wrote one of the first popular books on dowsing, Water Finding, published by the East Anglia Daily Times in 1902. Mr Child and his family were amazed to discover that he had the ability to dowse after he imitated another dowser at work. With the use of something as simple as a watch-spring he realised that he could find water. Another English mason who became a fulltime dowser was John Mullins. Mullins picked up the art from another dowser who visited the Wiltshire estate on which Mullins worked in 1859. Twenty three years later, John Mullins established himself as a fulltime dowser. He would only charge his fee if he was successful in his findings and he frequently was. As the business grew it was taken over by his two sons. John Mullins was another advocate of the forked hazel twig and he insisted on a new stick being used for each job being undertaken. The stick also had to be taken from the locality of the work to be commenced.

Modern Dowsing
In 1959, Verne Cameron, a professional Californian dowser, contacted the United States Navy and told them he would locate the entire submarine fleet using only a map and a pendulum. The Navy accepted the challenge and Cameron located the US submarines as well as the position of Russian submarines around the world. In the early 20th Century, a French priest, Abbé Mermet, proved his belief that if it was possible to divine the location and state of an underground stream, it should be equally possible to use dowsing to find out about the human bloodstream. The Abbé used a pendulum for his dowsing and he coined the word radiesthesia to refer to the use of dowsing in medicine. A field of practice called radionics was also developed during the early 20th Century. This is where practitioners aim to tune into the energy wavelengths of individuals. As well as the dowsing technique, radionics also frequently uses a special dialled instrument for detailed diagnosis and treatment. The Christian Church at one time generated a lot of superstitious nonsense with their witching laws because religious leaders believed that dowsing was a form of witchcraft. Even the British Army's Royal Electrician and Mechanical Engineer regiment (or sappers) used to train their regiment on how to dowse for water. The US Army went further than and trained soldiers in Vietnam to dowse for unexploded bombs and landmines. It is not known how many lives, both military and civilian, that this technique has saved in its use in clearing minefields. Whether a scientific or a psychic phenomenon, started by miners looking for metals, developed by civil engineers looking for water sources, condemned by the Church as evil, used by armies and medicinal personnel worldwide to save lives, dowsing is a phenomenon that has many applications far and above those which it first started to cater for.

Can anyone dowse?
It is reported that 80% of people have the ability to sense things not perceptible to others. Some of these people do not need any extra tools to do that as they just know where the best place to dig a well is or where something is hidden. Some people require a prosthesis that will help them to focus and read their body signals better. This is what dowsing rods are for. There are many different types of dowsing rods. There are classical, Y-shaped, Swiss rods and L shaped rods. Every dowser has his/her preference when it comes to this tool and the majority of them make their own unique rods that they believe will work better than any other.

Why would anyone bother to dowse? People believe that dowsing can be used for important purposes. Underground streams and rivers (groundwater) are thought to produce a type of unhealthy radiation that can cause cancer and other illnesses. People would be better off building a house in a place devoid of these underground streams.

Most of the castles, palaces, churches, hospitals and homes in the past were built after a dowser was consulted. The place to build a house was chosen carefully. If it was impossible to avoid building over underground sources of radiation different methods were used to neutralize it. A common practice was to add some organic material such as blood or eggs to the cement used for the construction.

How can you tell if you are sleeping or working in an unhealthy spot? Some people just don't sleep very well in places like that or they may wake up tired with a headache. Others need help from a dowser. If there are no dowsers available, your pets can help you. Their instincts are not numbed by civilization like ours so they can use them to pick safe places to rest. Dogs tend to choose healthy places to sleep while cats like to sleep in places unhealthy for people. Other animals and plants can be also used as guidance. For example ants like to build their hills over spots with high radiation levels and mistletoe grows exclusively over areas such as this.

You can also try to become a dowser yourself. Remember that 80% of us can do it. Try dowsing

STEP 1: Making your own dowsing rods
You will need two metal rods that are each about 50 cm (20 inches) in length. You can use an old clothes hanger as a source of wire. You need to bend the wire to obtain two identical rods with handles so that there is a straight angle (90 degrees) between the handle and the main part of the rod. The handles should be approx. 10 cm (4 in) long. The rods should look like ‘L’ shapes.

STEP 2: Holding your dowsing rods
It is crucial to hold the dowsing rods properly. You should place the handle of the dowsing rod in the middle of your palm and then close your hand. Do not squeeze the rods too tight or they will not move. Some people put some plastic straw over the handle so that the hand grip cannot affect how the rods move. Hold them in such a way that the main part of the rod is parallel to the ground and attempt to keep them in that position at all times.

STEP 3: Using your dowsing rods Start walking slowly along a straight line holding the rods as described above. You may notice that your rods move by themselves and cross over certain points. Remember the location of these points and walk over them again. If you get same results repeatedly you probably have talent for dowsing.