Dowsing is a general term used to describe the art of discovering things that are hidden. It is also known as water witching. A water witch uses a forked stick or a rod to find water located underground. A pendulum can also be used for this purpose.
Diving Rod
A forked twig is the instrument normally used to find underground water. Most practitioners of the art of dowsing use a stick taken from a willow tree for this purpose. The reason is simple: willows are thought to be attracted to water. They require a moist environment to grow properly. The theory is that there is some element in the twig that acts in conjunction with the diviner to find the underground water.
Ancient Practice
Images of people holding tools in a forked shape have been found in artwork from ancient Egypt and China. This may indicate that dowsing was practiced by these people. The Bible contains an account of Moses using a rod to find water (Numbers 20:11).
During the Middle Ages, dowsing was used to find coal deposits. Martin Luther referred to the practice as "the work of the devil." The term "water witch" is derived from this comment.
How Does It Work?
One theory about dowsing is that the dowser establishes a connection on a psychic level with the substance or object being sought. Another idea put forward about dowsing is that all things are surrounded by a type of energy field. The dowser has the ability to locate and zero in on the vibrations given off by whatever object or substance he or she has been asked to find.
The act of picking up on these vibrations or energy causes the dowsing rod or pendulum to move. The pendulum or diving rod moves in response to the diviner's questions or thoughts. A rod will pull down when the diviner comes close to an underground source of water.
Another piece to the puzzle is that the diviner may have a heightened ability to interpret clues contained in his or her physical environment. This ability may well be something the diviner is not consciously aware of.
Albert Einstein on Divining
While skeptics argue that dowsing doesn't work because it is impossible to measure its success in controlled conditions, Albert Einstein believed that dowsing was legitimate. He felt that the dowsing rod was a tool that could demonstrate the human body's nervous system's reaction to certain as-yet-unexplained factors.
To learn more about divining, check out: Divining Using a Pendulum
