Dowsing
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Yes, and yes - and I'm a bit of a sceptic. I've had it demonstrated by two people and tried it, and on both occasions was convinced it was working. On one occasion we were looking for underground water flows and on the other the routes to standing stones that were not visible.
I have no theories, cannot explain it, and fully understand why people would doubt it.
I have no theories, cannot explain it, and fully understand why people would doubt it.
Many years ago i worked with a chap who was deep into Lay Lines and the like and i didn't believe any of it, so one lunchtime he proposed an experiment, just down the road from where we worked was a church (Nyetimber for the locals to me), now before we went he sent me out of his office and he drew a map of the church and yard which he photocopied, on one copy he marked all of the lines he could remember on it, once done he locked it in his desk, the other copy being for me.
When we arrived at the church he gave me the other photocopy of the map he had drawn (minus his lay lines) and a set of divining rods, he explained their use and then to make things fair he stayed some distance from me so as to not influence me or my findings, then he just asked me to walk around and mark on the map where the rods crossed or swung outwards, so after about 30 - 40 minutes, we really did have to get back to the office, i kept the map with the lines i had drawn on it on my person so he could not tamper with it.
Once back at the office we went into his office and he unlocked his desk drawer and removed his copy of the map and laid it flat on the desk, i laid my copy alongside and was stunned as they were nigh on identical, I had missed some, but those i had found as indicated by the rods were near as damn it smack on exact, even to the point of laying one map on top of the other and then putting them up against the window so we could see both sets of drawn on lines, resulted in identical markings.
I was gobsmacked, it was a pretty convincing argument and although I'm not into happy clappy type stuff, from that day onward i have felt that there is something to the lay line phenonium.
One other thing we did with dowsing rods was looking for water at a site we were redeveloping into ponds, the site had a seasonal stream, but we wanted to see if there was permanent water source like a spring, the guy in charge had already been up and walked round with dowsing rods and had identified an area of interest, when the rest of us turned up to work, he got us to walk around the area individually and out of the sight of the others and asked each of us to note any changes as indicated by the rods, but not to say anything, so we all had a walk round and then gathered back by the vans in the car park, we then all went as a group and placed a stick on the sites of interest, all of us, put the sticks in near as damnit the exact same area.
Armed with this info we tracked the digger over and dug a gert big hole looking for water, did we find it, nope, nothing, all we found was a dirty great hole that went as deep as a 27 ton machine could dig, ok it could have a been a lay line again, but it was interesting nevertheless that all four of us there had the rods cross in exactly the same spot. What is really interesting though is just last year at the same site they installed a borehole, its 60m deep and hits a pocket of water, unbeknown to them or me at the time the borehole is within a few meters of where we had the rods indicate water all those years ago, no wonder we never found it with the machine.
Has to be something to it, what that is i don't know, but it sure is interesting.
When we arrived at the church he gave me the other photocopy of the map he had drawn (minus his lay lines) and a set of divining rods, he explained their use and then to make things fair he stayed some distance from me so as to not influence me or my findings, then he just asked me to walk around and mark on the map where the rods crossed or swung outwards, so after about 30 - 40 minutes, we really did have to get back to the office, i kept the map with the lines i had drawn on it on my person so he could not tamper with it.
Once back at the office we went into his office and he unlocked his desk drawer and removed his copy of the map and laid it flat on the desk, i laid my copy alongside and was stunned as they were nigh on identical, I had missed some, but those i had found as indicated by the rods were near as damn it smack on exact, even to the point of laying one map on top of the other and then putting them up against the window so we could see both sets of drawn on lines, resulted in identical markings.
I was gobsmacked, it was a pretty convincing argument and although I'm not into happy clappy type stuff, from that day onward i have felt that there is something to the lay line phenonium.
One other thing we did with dowsing rods was looking for water at a site we were redeveloping into ponds, the site had a seasonal stream, but we wanted to see if there was permanent water source like a spring, the guy in charge had already been up and walked round with dowsing rods and had identified an area of interest, when the rest of us turned up to work, he got us to walk around the area individually and out of the sight of the others and asked each of us to note any changes as indicated by the rods, but not to say anything, so we all had a walk round and then gathered back by the vans in the car park, we then all went as a group and placed a stick on the sites of interest, all of us, put the sticks in near as damnit the exact same area.
Armed with this info we tracked the digger over and dug a gert big hole looking for water, did we find it, nope, nothing, all we found was a dirty great hole that went as deep as a 27 ton machine could dig, ok it could have a been a lay line again, but it was interesting nevertheless that all four of us there had the rods cross in exactly the same spot. What is really interesting though is just last year at the same site they installed a borehole, its 60m deep and hits a pocket of water, unbeknown to them or me at the time the borehole is within a few meters of where we had the rods indicate water all those years ago, no wonder we never found it with the machine.
Has to be something to it, what that is i don't know, but it sure is interesting.
I'm with the others.
I have tried it.
It did work.
I haven't a clue why.
.....and for the record my degree is in Science. I too am a hearty sceptic, but the proof is in the pudding, and an awful lot of folks find water, etc., using dowsing rods. Some even make their living doing so.
I have tried it.
It did work.
I haven't a clue why.
.....and for the record my degree is in Science. I too am a hearty sceptic, but the proof is in the pudding, and an awful lot of folks find water, etc., using dowsing rods. Some even make their living doing so.
No, No and No.
Do people find water with the rods or just are tuned onto the lay of the land so to speak and subconsciously move the rods?
Do people find water with the rods or just are tuned onto the lay of the land so to speak and subconsciously move the rods?
No, definitely not. I'm a technologist, an engineer, and a sceptic for all things 'unnatural' but finding the direction to the next standing stone, then the next with eyes closed and no input from others was just weird.
Many years I attended a dowsing workshop whilst at a caving symposium in the Forest of Dean. Started off with wire rods and then onto a forked stick, so very, very strange when the stick flips over in your hands!
A lot of people up round my way have boreholes sunk for water, I’ve not known a drilling company to even start unless a dowser had checked the area!
How it works, I’ve not a clue, just go with it.
A lot of people up round my way have boreholes sunk for water, I’ve not known a drilling company to even start unless a dowser had checked the area!
How it works, I’ve not a clue, just go with it.
The only attempts at a controlled experiment on it that I’ve seen or read of, are those by James Randi with a significant prize offered if the dowser was to succeed.
I remain deeply sceptical.
I remain deeply sceptical.
Seems I'm the same as a few others.
Very sceptical, but have done it myself and it has worked. Never had it demonstrated but tried it myself in my engineering workshop with a pair of bent welding rods. Even used two empty biro cases to try and stop subconscious influence.
I have no idea how it works and I'm not sure I really 'believe' in it as such, but I do think there is something in it.
Very sceptical, but have done it myself and it has worked. Never had it demonstrated but tried it myself in my engineering workshop with a pair of bent welding rods. Even used two empty biro cases to try and stop subconscious influence.
I have no idea how it works and I'm not sure I really 'believe' in it as such, but I do think there is something in it.
Have done a lot of dowsing and even made some money doing so.
My take on the workings:
At least some of the 'equipment' used amplifies tiny reactions from within the doswer themselves. The dowser has acute senses to hidden things, but not necessarily the capacity to interpret without some help. When the dowser senses the presence of something they are looking for, their body reacts enough for the rods/pendulum etc to amplify it in a visible way, confirming what the dowser can sense.
Not wacky at all, just like other animals we are sensitive to variations in magnetism, gravity, atmospheric pressure, solar radiation and much much more. We don't have highly developed processing power to deal with a lot of this, as we don't use it for e.g. navigation like birds and insects. We often need a helping hand to bring out these sensitivities.
There is an awful lot we don't know and understand, and possibly never will. I personally keep an eye on 'science', but don't take it too seriously as it is dead and cold and frankly a bit dull. It also strikes me as something of a religion, possibly now the most popular worldwide- a way of explaining things we don't understand by giving them names, and claiming it is the work of invisible forces which can't be proven or disproven...
My take on the workings:
At least some of the 'equipment' used amplifies tiny reactions from within the doswer themselves. The dowser has acute senses to hidden things, but not necessarily the capacity to interpret without some help. When the dowser senses the presence of something they are looking for, their body reacts enough for the rods/pendulum etc to amplify it in a visible way, confirming what the dowser can sense.
Not wacky at all, just like other animals we are sensitive to variations in magnetism, gravity, atmospheric pressure, solar radiation and much much more. We don't have highly developed processing power to deal with a lot of this, as we don't use it for e.g. navigation like birds and insects. We often need a helping hand to bring out these sensitivities.
There is an awful lot we don't know and understand, and possibly never will. I personally keep an eye on 'science', but don't take it too seriously as it is dead and cold and frankly a bit dull. It also strikes me as something of a religion, possibly now the most popular worldwide- a way of explaining things we don't understand by giving them names, and claiming it is the work of invisible forces which can't be proven or disproven...
I once had to find a drain beneath a tennis court (at Tredegar House, Newport, Gwent). I called in Technical Services. Instead of the fancy equipment that I expected an engineer brought two rusty bits of wire. He defined a line on the tarmac and a branch.
I was sceptical. My client was paying for the excavator and reparations. The engine was spot on. I was later told that in the 60’s a pair of rods was standard equipment for the Water Board engineers.
I have since been successful finding pipes underground.
Some Indigenous Australian dowsers make a good living finding wells without equipment. They just hold out a hand flat in front of them.
I was sceptical. My client was paying for the excavator and reparations. The engine was spot on. I was later told that in the 60’s a pair of rods was standard equipment for the Water Board engineers.
I have since been successful finding pipes underground.
In my opinion rods, pendulums and flexible sticks are all amplifying micro-movements of the holder.
Some Indigenous Australian dowsers make a good living finding wells without equipment. They just hold out a hand flat in front of them.
Mate of mine was a chartered surveyor, could and still can find where the mains water comes across to buildings. He’s an ex-city man, about as straight as they come, but he’s always been able to dowse.
I’ve got a superb google maps overlay of the Michael and Mary lines that cross east/west in the south of England. I’ll post it up if anyone wants a look? They do interesting things at Glastonbury, twisting and crossing over Chalice Well. Strangely, I met the dowser on the Tor though he wasn’t dowsing at the time and he sent me the link.
There’s a lot we can’t see that’s amplified for us to be aware of by equipment, like infra red cameras or magnetic compasses.
I’ve got a superb google maps overlay of the Michael and Mary lines that cross east/west in the south of England. I’ll post it up if anyone wants a look? They do interesting things at Glastonbury, twisting and crossing over Chalice Well. Strangely, I met the dowser on the Tor though he wasn’t dowsing at the time and he sent me the link.
There’s a lot we can’t see that’s amplified for us to be aware of by equipment, like infra red cameras or magnetic compasses.
● once unsuccessful (and without any instructions)
● a friend found his water source this way
● as usual i'm clueless
● a friend found his water source this way
● as usual i'm clueless
I met a Danish dowser too.
And....I've just googled trying to find him, but instead I tripped across this. A thesis on dowsing which was defended at the University of Copenhagen in 1740
And....I've just googled trying to find him, but instead I tripped across this. A thesis on dowsing which was defended at the University of Copenhagen in 1740
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