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WATER DOWSING TECHNIQUES

ASSIGNMENT

SABA SAIF

01-161102-065

Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Bahria University Islamabad

Table of Contents

WATER DOWSING TECHNIQUES................................................................................... 1

INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................. 1

OBJECTIVE........................................................................................................................... 1

WHAT IS WATER DOWSING?......................................................................................... 2

HISTORY............................................................................................................................... 2

DOWSING RODS.................................................................................................................. 4

TYPES OF DOWSING.......................................................................................................... 5

OTHER EQUIPMENT USED FOR DOWSING.................................................................5

WHAT DO DOWSERS BELIEVE ABOUT GROUND WATER?...................................6

HOW DOES GROUND WATER OCCUR?........................................................................6

WHAT DOES SCIENCE SAY ABOUT DOWSING?.........................................................7

CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................... 8

BIBLIOGRAPHY.................................................................................................................. 9

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WATER DOWSING TECHNIQUES

“It's an ancient art used for finding water, buried treasure and even missing

people. Here's what it is, how it works, the methods and tools - and how you can

learn to dowse”

INTRODUCTION

“Dowsing is a type of divination employed in attempts to locate ground water,

buried metals or ores, gemstones, oil, gravesites, and many other objects and

materials, as well as so-called currents of earth radiation (ley lines), without the use of

scientific apparatus. Dowsing is also known as divining (especially in reference to

interpretation of results), doodle bugging (particularly in the United States, in

searching for petroleum or (when searching specifically for water) water finding,

water witching or water dowsing. There is no scientific evidence that dowsing is

effective”.

“A Y- or L-shaped twig or rod, called a dowsing rod, divining rod (Latin:

virgula divina or baculus divinatorius), a "vining rod" or witching rod is sometimes

used during dowsing, although some dowsers use other equipment or no equipment at

all. Dowsing appears to have arisen in the context of Renaissance magic in Germany,

and it remains popular among believers in Forteana or radiesthesia”.

(Wikipedia.org/wiki/dowsing, 2013)

OBJECTIVE

According to many books and dowsing experts, dowsing has a robust history.

The objective of my assignment is to explain the various processes of water dowsing

and its techniques that are being used worldwide. To explain the concept of what

science says about these dowsing techniques. Its scope in the technological world is

how it helps in locating ground water, its success rate, failure and the truth behind it.

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WHAT IS WATER DOWSING?

"Water dowsing" refers in general to the practice of using a forked stick, rod,

pendulum, or similar device to locate underground water, minerals, or other hidden or

lost substances, and has been a subject of discussion and controversy for hundreds, if

not thousands, of years”.

“Although tools and methods vary widely, most dowsers (also called diviners

or water witches) probably still use the traditional forked stick, which may come from

a variety of trees, including the willow, peach, and witch-hazel. Other dowsers may

use keys, wire coat hangers, pliers, wire rods, pendulums, or various kinds of

elaborate boxes and electrical instruments”.

“In the classic method of using a forked stick, one fork is held in each hand

with the palms upward. The bottom or butt end of the "Y" is pointed skyward at an

angle of about 45 degrees. The dowser then walks back and forth over the area to be

tested. When she/he passes over a source of water, the butt end of the stick is

supposed to rotate or be attracted downward”.

“Water dowsers practice mainly in rural or suburban communities where

residents are uncertain as to how to locate the best and cheapest supply of

groundwater. Because the drilling and development of a well often costs more than a

thousand dollars, homeowners are understandably reluctant to gamble on a dry hole

and turn to the water dowser for advice”.

(http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/dowsing.html, 2013)

HISTORY

Cave paintings in north-western Africa that are 6,000-8,000 years old are

believed to show a water dowser at work. The exact origin of the divining rod in

Europe is not known. The device was introduced into England during the reign of

Elizabeth I (1558-1603) to locate mineral deposits, and soon afterward it was adopted

as a waterfinder throughout Europe. Water dowsing seems to be a mainly European

cultural phenomenon; it was carried across the Atlantic to America by some of the

earliest settlers from England and Germany.

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Dowsing as practiced today may have originated in

Germany during the 15th century, when it was used in attempts

to find metals. As early as 1518 Martin Luther listed dowsing

for metals as an act that broke the first commandment (i.e., as

occultism).The 1550 edition of Sebastian Munster’s

Cosmography contains a woodcut of a dowser with forked rod

in hand walking over a cutaway image of a mining operation.

The rod is labeled "Virgula Divina – Glück rüt" (Latin: divine

rod; German. "Wünschelrute": fortune rod or stick), but there

is no text accompanying the woodcut. By 1556 Georgius

Agricola's treatment of mining and smelting of ore, De Re

Metallica, included a detailed description of dowsing for metal

ore.

In 1662 dowsing was declared to be "superstitious, or rather satanic" by a

Jesuit, Gaspar Schott, though he later noted that he wasn't sure that the devil was

always responsible for the movement of the rod. In the South of France in the 17th

Century it was used in tracking criminals and heretics. Its abuse led to a decree of the

inquisition in 1701, forbidding its employment for purposes of justice.

An epigram by Samuel Sheppard, from Epigrams theological, philosophical,

and romantick (1651) runs thus:

Virgula divina:

"Some Sorcerers do boast they have a Rod,

Gather'd with Vowes and Sacrifice,

And (borne about) will strangely nod

To hidden Treasure where it lies,

Mankind is (sure) that Rod divine,

For to the Wealthiest (ever) they incline."

Dowsing was conducted in South Dakota in the late nineteenth and early

twentieth centuries to help homesteaders, farmers, and ranchers located water wells

on their property.

Figure 1. A dowser, from an 18th century

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In the late 1960s during the Vietnam War, some United States Marines used

dowsing to attempt to locate weapons and tunnels. As late as in 1986, when 31

soldiers were taken by an avalanche during an operation in the NATO drill Anchor

Express in Vassdalen, Norway, the Norwegian army attempted to locate soldiers

buried in the avalanche using dowsing as search method.16 soldiers died.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowsing, 2013)

DOWSING RODS

Traditionally, the most common dowsing rod

is a forked (Y-shaped) branch from a tree or bush.

Some dowsers prefer branches from particular trees,

and some prefer the branches to be freshly cut. Hazel

twigs in Europe and witch-hazel in the United States

are traditionally commonly chosen, as are

branches from willow or peach trees.

The two ends on the forked side are held one

in each hand with the third (the stem of the "Y")

pointing straight ahead. Often the branches are

grasped palms down [citation needed]. The dowser then walks slowly over the places

where he suspects the target (for example, minerals or water) may be, and the

dowsing rod supposedly dips, inclines or twitches when a discovery is made. This

method is sometimes known as "Willow Witching".

Many dowsers today use a pair of simple L-shaped metal rods. One rod is held

in each hand, with the short arm of the L held upright, and the long arm pointing

forward. When something is found, the rods cross over one another making an "X"

over the found object. If the object is long and straight, such as a water pipe, the rods

will point in opposite directions, showing its orientation. The rods are sometimes

fashioned from wire coat hangers, and glass or plastic rods have also been accepted.

Straight rods are also sometimes used for the same purposes, and were not uncommon

in early 19th century New England. In all cases, the device is in a state of unstable

equilibrium from which slight movements may be amplified.

Figure 2: Two L-shaped metal wire rods

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TYPES OF DOWSING

“There are several types or methods of dowsing:

a. Forked stick: The most traditional method uses a small Y-shaped tree

branch (most often from a willow). The dowser holds the branch parallel to

the ground by the top of the Y shape, then walks over the area to be probed.

When the dowser passes over the sought object, the end of the branch is

drawn down, pointing to the spot at which the object can be found.

b. Rods: An alternate method uses two L-shaped metal rods, one held in each

hand parallel to the ground and parallel to each other. In this case, when the

dowser passes over the sought object, the rods either swing apart or cross

each other. You can easily make dowsing rods from wire coat hangers.

c. Map dowsing: Some dowsers don't even have to visit the location to be

dowsed. For them, a map of the area is sufficient over which they hold a

pendulum. They know they have located the target area when the pendulum

begins to move in a circle or back and forth.

Y-rods, L-rods, pendulums and other dowsing equipment’s are also used”.

(Paranormal.about.com/od/dowsing/a/All-about-Dowsing 2.htm, 2013)

OTHER EQUIPMENT USED FOR DOWSING

“A pendulum of crystal, metal or other materials suspended on a chain is

sometimes used in divination and dowsing. In one approach the user first determines

which direction (left-right, up-down) will indicate "yes" and which "no" before

proceeding to ask the pendulum specific questions, or else another person may pose

questions to the person holding the pendulum. The pendulum may also be used over a

pad or cloth with "yes" and "no" written on it and perhaps other words written in a

circle. The person holding the pendulum aims to hold it as steadily as possible over

the centre and its movements are held to indicate answers to the questions. In the

practice of radiesthesia, a pendulum is used for medical diagnosis”.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowsing,2013)

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WHAT DO DOWSERS BELIEVE ABOUT GROUND WATER?

“Some dowsers seem to believe that water occurs in veins resembling the

veins of one's body. According to Henry Gross, one of the best-known modern

practitioners, underground water flows upward from great depths, forming "domes."

He believes such domes to be the source of water for underground veins that flow in

various directions. Three domes supposedly on top of Mount Washington, N. H., were

said to be coming from a depth of 57,000 feet.

Most dowsers attempt only to locate the positions of the so-called water veins.

But many of their clients ask: How deep will I have to drill, and how much water will

I get? Some dowsers, therefore, do attempt to estimate the quantity of and the depth to

water.

If the well driller does not find water at the indicated spot, the failure may be

blamed on interference of hills with the dowsing, a short circuit of "current," incorrect

drilling, or the crushing or deflection of the delicate water veins by the driller”.

(http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/water_dowsing/pdf/water_dowsing.pdf, 2013)

HOW DOES GROUND WATER OCCUR?

“Contrary to the belief of dowsers, ground water does not commonly flow in

veins, domes, or underground rivers. Ground water is the water, which fills pores or

cracks in underground rocks. It is replenished by nature according to the local climate

and geology and is variable in both amount and quality.

When rail falls, the plants and soil take up water. Some of the excess water

runs off to streams, and some percolates down into the pores or cracks in the

subsurface rocks. A well that extends into the saturated zone will fill with water to the

level of the water table the top of the zone in which all the openings of the rocks are

filled with water”.

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“It is important to know whether water will flow into the well fast enough to

make it useful for man's purposes. A "tight" rock such as clay or solid granite, with

tiny pores or only a few narrow cracks, may give up water so slowly that it is not

useful. If the openings in the rock are large enough to let water flow freely, however,

water in useful amounts can be taken out.

Several water-bearing rock layers may lie beneath the surface, separated by

layers of rock less capable of carrying water. This geologic configuration may give

rise to artesian conditions, where water levels in wells that penetrate the deeper layers

of water-carrying rock rise under pressure and in some instances rise so high as to

create flowing wells”.

WHAT DOES SCIENCE SAY ABOUT DOWSING?

“Case histories and demonstrations of dowsers may seem convincing, but

when dowsing is exposed to scientific examination, it presents a very different

picture. The natural explanation of "successful" water dowsing is that in many areas

underground water is so prevalent close to the land surface that it would be hard to

drill a well and not find water. In a region of adequate rainfall and favorable geology,

it is difficult not to drill and find water!

Some water exists under the Earth's surface almost everywhere. This explains

why many dowsers appear to be successful. To locate groundwater accurately,

however, as to depth, quantity, and quality, a number of techniques must be used.

Hydrologic, geologic, and geophysical knowledge is needed to determine the depths

and extent of the different water-bearing strata and the quantity and quality of water

found in each. The area must be thoroughly tested and studied to determine these

facts”. (http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/dowsing.html, 2013)

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CONCLUSION

Dowsing has a long, illustrious and checker history. Because it accesses the

realm of intuition, however, it is often sneered at in these rational times. But in fact,

most people are using their 'dowsing response' constantly - they just call it something

else, like 'a hunch', a 'gut feeling', a 'sixth sense', 'first impression' and so on. A

dowsing response is simply a kind of self-registering biofeedback.

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Bibliography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowsing

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/dowsing.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowsing

http://paranormal.about.com/od/dowsing/a/All-About-Dowsing_2.htm

http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/water_dowsing/pdf/water_dowsing.pdf

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/dowsing.html