As in finding water or other things . I think I know how it works and when it works, but not why it works, if you now what I mean. 
Has anyone here studied dowsing / witching ?
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Hilary has been studying Witching for her whole miserable life.
In my experience my father taught me how to do it when I was a little boy. I have found that some people have the "feel" for it and others don't. I can't explain how it works only that it dose.
I am quite good at finding whiskey...
I did that once to locate a water line to my house. My cousin owns an excavation company and used two pieces of bent coat hanger. It worked even for me having never even tried it before. I can't explain why either but I've seen it work.
[QUOTE="Sharpshooter3, post: 7511365, member: I have found that some people have the "feel" for it. [/QUOTE]
Please define "it"
Moving of the rods is caused by what's known as ideomotor action. It's the dowser that is making the rods move even though he/she is unaware of it. If I were to tell you there is a water line in a certain place and asked you to verify that for me, I guarantee your rods will give a big yes at the exact spot............... Even if there is nothing there
Please define "it"
Moving of the rods is caused by what's known as ideomotor action. It's the dowser that is making the rods move even though he/she is unaware of it. If I were to tell you there is a water line in a certain place and asked you to verify that for me, I guarantee your rods will give a big yes at the exact spot............... Even if there is nothing there
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I’m from a very rural farming community. I have seen the old timers locate a water line with two bent pieces of bailing wire many times. No idea what causes them to cross but it happens.
I just explained it.
The problem with dowsing, and what makes I difficult to explain is that several things are going on at the same time... The rods crossing means nothing if you are told to check something, a water main for example. The rods will cross were you expect them to. That's because the rods will cross on expectation.That is not real dowsing. Real dowsing is when they cross when you don't expect them to
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My buddy "Bob the builder", about ten years my senior showed me how to do it.......Piece of cake with 2 pieces of bent coathanger. I used to think it was bullshit Ouija board stuff, then he showed me how to do it. It's Stupid simple. I've shown other people how to do it, who were even more skeptical than I was.
When attempting to locate underground water lines, you have to cross them in a perpendicular pattern (pipe vs your direction of travel). If you are running with the length of the pipe, you're wasting your time. In other words, run a grid, alternating between N/S & E/W. If you're not finding anything, turn 90 degrees and make a new sweep in the same area.
I believe it works because of some level of mineral content (iron ?) in the water, setting up/accomodating natural magnetic field strength along the length of the water in the pipe that couples into the coathangers.
The first time you successfully locate a water line, it's a bit of a trip. You'll be laughing. There is no mistaking when the coathangers align with the waterpipe. You can stand above the waterline and move 6" to 12" to either side of it and the damn coathangers will straighten out, then run parallel to each other.
When attempting to locate underground water lines, you have to cross them in a perpendicular pattern (pipe vs your direction of travel). If you are running with the length of the pipe, you're wasting your time. In other words, run a grid, alternating between N/S & E/W. If you're not finding anything, turn 90 degrees and make a new sweep in the same area.
I believe it works because of some level of mineral content (iron ?) in the water, setting up/accomodating natural magnetic field strength along the length of the water in the pipe that couples into the coathangers.
The first time you successfully locate a water line, it's a bit of a trip. You'll be laughing. There is no mistaking when the coathangers align with the waterpipe. You can stand above the waterline and move 6" to 12" to either side of it and the damn coathangers will straighten out, then run parallel to each other.
Please define "it"
Moving of the rods is caused by what's known as ideomotor action. It's the dowser that is making the rods move even though he/she is unaware of it. If I were to tell you there is a water line in a certain place and asked you to verify that for me, I guarantee your rods will give a big yes at the exact spot............... Even if there is nothing there
[/QUOTE]I guess by "it" i mean some people can get the wires to cross and some can not. I find alot of field tile by just using two flags bent at a 90 degree angle, sounds weird but I have better luck if my hands are moist/wet sure saves alot of probing my back gets sore enough running a shovel
. I would disagree if you told me that there was a water line some where and asked me to witch it that i would hit it if there was nothing there.
My grandfather used to talk about a old timer that he knew when he was a kid. 50 years ago when they were digging wells on the farm for livestock the would go get this elderly gentlemen and carry him out to the pasture where they wanted a well. He would use a Y stick and wouldn't even have to walk around just point in different directions. He could tell a good vein of water from seep water and when he found a good vein of water his stick would bob as my grandfather tells it and the number of bobs would be how deep the vein of water would be 10ft for every bob. Grandpa said they dug several wells that way and the guy was always spot on.
It does not sound weird at all, it just goes to show that the rods are nothing more that an indicator of what you already know
Put it to the test and see for yourself
Q
QuickNDirty
Guest
We always used piece of a hardwood branch with a fork, kinda wishbone shaped. Loosely hold it out, and walk til it pointed downward.
Similar experience. I worked for a small field tiling operation during college and saw this work several times, without knowing where or even if there were old lines present. I'd prob still think it was BS if I hadn't seen it done repeatedly.
I have devised a way to demonstrate without doubt that dowsing works, it's by dowsing people being in a certain place at a precise moment. For demonstration purposes it works best if there are a few people to witness and take part in the demonstration.
First draw a line in the sand, or lay a broom stick or a shovel on the ground, a piece of string will work too. Anything that will define when a person is at that exact spot.
Get a volunteer. Ask him to cross the line at a normal walking pace and stop walking when told to stop.
Tell him that he can start walking when he wants, but to give you time to walk a distance away ( 20 - 50 yards is good enough), and have come to a stop facing in the opposite direction.
Walk away and stop, then watch the rods. As soon as they cross shout STOP ! and turn around, the person will be on top of the line... It works every time.
Next give someone else the rods and tell them there is a water pipe 'just over there", see if they find it, if they do,( and most people will ) you will know they can work the rods.
Get them to do the same trick as you just demonstrated . After that the majority will want to try for themselves.
This demonstration leaves disbelievers speechless, especially if they discover can do it too, and it will most often scare the shit out of religious people.
First draw a line in the sand, or lay a broom stick or a shovel on the ground, a piece of string will work too. Anything that will define when a person is at that exact spot.
Get a volunteer. Ask him to cross the line at a normal walking pace and stop walking when told to stop.
Tell him that he can start walking when he wants, but to give you time to walk a distance away ( 20 - 50 yards is good enough), and have come to a stop facing in the opposite direction.
Walk away and stop, then watch the rods. As soon as they cross shout STOP ! and turn around, the person will be on top of the line... It works every time.
Next give someone else the rods and tell them there is a water pipe 'just over there", see if they find it, if they do,( and most people will ) you will know they can work the rods.
Get them to do the same trick as you just demonstrated . After that the majority will want to try for themselves.
This demonstration leaves disbelievers speechless, especially if they discover can do it too, and it will most often scare the shit out of religious people.
Use anything or nothing, it's in your mind not the branch. I think you are tapping into a force of some description, most would describe it as intuition.
PS, I use those little wire flags that utility companies use to mark a gas and water lines etc... I just pull them up if I need new rods.
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[QUOTE="QuickNDirty, post: 7511446, member: A" e always used piece of a hardwood branch with a fork, kinda wishbone shaped. Loosely hold it out, and walk til it pointed downward.[/QUOTE]
Ive seen that done. Had a guy dowse for a well. He started with the metal welding rods and did a grid pattern, then went back with a heavy 'Y' shaped branch. If I hadnt seen it I wouldnt have believed it. The front of the oak stick dove towards the ground like it had been pulled...not just twitched...dove.
Ive seen that done. Had a guy dowse for a well. He started with the metal welding rods and did a grid pattern, then went back with a heavy 'Y' shaped branch. If I hadnt seen it I wouldnt have believed it. The front of the oak stick dove towards the ground like it had been pulled...not just twitched...dove.
A while ago I was asked to see if I could find a new water source on a farm not far from where I live. I got out of my truck and knew instantly that there was a good underground spring about 70 feet away.. The owner was there to meet me with this wife, it was his wife who asked me to come over. I held the rods and asked them to point the way, I just followed until they crossed. I told them there was a good fast flowing spring beneath our feet. The guy wanted proof before he got a drilling rig in, so I got his wife to have a go, the rods worked well for her. I did not tell her she was not dowsing, but was happy to let her and her husband think differently, but still the old guy was sill not convinced. I asked him if he knew where his underground water pipe was, he confirmed that he did... I told him don't tell me. I will find it................ I found it running parallel to his driveway, Yet he was still not happy !!! He asked if I could locate the gas line, and at that moment a truck came up the drive and distracted him. (The gas line was running up the opposite side of his driveway..) I asked him if he could show me where his gas line was and he said it's just there, as he pointed near to the water line. I told him gas was the opposite side f the drive way and nowhere near the water line... I told him ..... You knew that didn't you ? He denied it, I then told him I was not asking but telling.. I charged him $100, refundable if there was not a good spring where I had stated...... If he had not been such an arsehole I would not have charged him a penny.
Turns out he is a religious nutcase.
PS. I gave the rods to his wife as a present. The next day she got her son to try them and they worked for him too. She told him to see if he could find something 'over there' and pointed towards the general area where I discovered the spring... He found the EXACT spot I had found earlier.
Turns out he is a religious nutcase.
PS. I gave the rods to his wife as a present. The next day she got her son to try them and they worked for him too. She told him to see if he could find something 'over there' and pointed towards the general area where I discovered the spring... He found the EXACT spot I had found earlier.
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I know that a lot of folks consider it to be BS, but I have seen it work, and have multiple, very intelligent friends that have done it and say that it works.
Einstein was a dowser...... "Einstein himself respected dowsing and what it implied. He said: "I know very well that many scientists consider dowsing 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 syatem"
https://www.sott.net/article/251269...s-Genuine-and-Now-17-Experts-Will-Explain-Why
And yet I STILL call bullshit...
I studied enough math and physics that I understand the natural world a little better than the average Joe. Here I'm looking for what forces would be strong enough to move two sticks. There aren't any. Without getting all nerdy and scientific and shit, I'll let them explain it:
http://wtamu.edu/~cbaird/sq/2015/04/15/how-does-water-dowsing-work/
They do a good job and explain why it appears to work without getting scientific about lack of a sufficient known force and all.
Tested by 30 "expert dousers" flown to Germany where they buried pipes with flowing water. They did no better than random guessing. This is just one test of many ran over decades. It doesn't work.
I studied enough math and physics that I understand the natural world a little better than the average Joe. Here I'm looking for what forces would be strong enough to move two sticks. There aren't any. Without getting all nerdy and scientific and shit, I'll let them explain it:
http://wtamu.edu/~cbaird/sq/2015/04/15/how-does-water-dowsing-work/
They do a good job and explain why it appears to work without getting scientific about lack of a sufficient known force and all.
I have devised a way to demonstrate without doubt that dowsing works, it's by dowsing people being in a certain place at a precise moment. For demonstration purposes it works best if there are a few people to witness and take part in the demonstration.
First draw a line in the sand, or lay a broom stick or a shovel on the ground, a piece of string will work too. Anything that will define when a person is at that exact spot.
Get a volunteer. Ask him to cross the line at a normal walking pace and stop walking when told to stop.
Tell him that he can start walking when he wants, but to give you time to walk a distance away ( 20 - 50 yards is good enough), and have come to a stop facing in the opposite direction.
Walk away and stop, then watch the rods. As soon as they cross shout STOP ! and turn around, the person will be on top of the line... It works every time.
Next give someone else the rods and tell them there is a water pipe 'just over there", see if they find it, if they do,( and most people will ) you will know they can work the rods.
Get them to do the same trick as you just demonstrated . After that the majority will want to try for themselves.
This demonstration leaves disbelievers speechless, especially if they discover can do it too, and it will most often scare the shit out of religious people.
Tested by 30 "expert dousers" flown to Germany where they buried pipes with flowing water. They did no better than random guessing. This is just one test of many ran over decades. It doesn't work.
Take Nebraska for instance. They would get dousers there back in the day. They would find the well, they'd shoot it. But it turns out that entire region is sitting on the Ogallala aquifer. You can shoot a well anywhere and I've seen that when I lived on a ranch. Basically, if you're in NE or KS and two sticks are not ALWAYS crossed, then something is wrong.
That article above explains why it appears to work. I get where you're coming from, and heard old timers talk about it. I was skeptical at once. But a lot of it has to do with the fact they're shooting wells where wells have been shot and there is an established population in the region. That's for a reason. So you'd expect to find water in any settled area, especially back when wells were more important. Couple that with a knowledge of geology and geography and you're bound to be more right than not. But it's not the sticks doing it.
I don't really have a cat in the fight, the article interested me and so I just looked up some stuff and found that .edu article.
Witching...I know about that.
If you want to be a witch. Find a solid black cat, pure black, no white hair anywhere. Boil the cat alive, he must be alive when he goes in the water.
When the meat has fallen off the bones, gather all the bones, and take them to a clear running stream. Throw the bones in the Swift water. One bone will go upstream in the current. Take only that bone and put it in your pocket.
You are now a witch.
If you want to be a witch. Find a solid black cat, pure black, no white hair anywhere. Boil the cat alive, he must be alive when he goes in the water.
When the meat has fallen off the bones, gather all the bones, and take them to a clear running stream. Throw the bones in the Swift water. One bone will go upstream in the current. Take only that bone and put it in your pocket.
You are now a witch.
My father in law uses dowsing rods to witch water wells. His success rate is above 90%. It works. The wells he found didn't always flow enough gpm, but there's water there. I've also seen it work when I did utility locating and the locating equipment couldn't find the pipes.
It works. My great uncle would do it to find new water wells. In north central Oklahoma we don't have an aquifer. We have veins and nobody knows where. It is possible to hit a vein in one spot, drill 20 from it and be dry. The preferred tool is a fruit tree branch shaped like a Y. I know a gentleman who uses it to find oil. He has hit a lot of oil wells for himself and has more money than I ever will.
Oh and by the way.........I am one of those religious nut jobs that you scoff at and I know it works. It doesn't freak me out.
Oh and by the way.........I am one of those religious nut jobs that you scoff at and I know it works. It doesn't freak me out.
"Our streams crossed, and then our eyes met ..."
- C. Stunt, "Tales of Rest Area Romance"
Or perhaps thats not a bone in your pocket and you are just happy to see me?
Well of course it works, it's natural. "Rods" finding "wells" of "moisture" happens every Friday night at the local watering hole. ;-)
I wont dismiss dowsing so easily.
Humans are animals, on occasion very smart animals, animals non the less.
Once upon a time humans were aware of nature and besides being predator were often prey.
That and a subsistence living resulted in some acute development of instinctual abilities that kept us alive.
Technology and "civilized" living has eroded our ability to access many of the evolutionary features we have coded yet they are still there lurking somewhere in our brains.
I think some people can be more sensitive to nature and can have an added "sense" of their environment.
Do the dowsing rods move in accord with their sense, just a tool that their sympathetic nervous system activates to express what their brains are telling them anyway - I dont know......
but its pretty well understood elephants and such in water limited areas "smell/sense" drinking holes for miles and are able to take care of themselves.
Im sure humans have the ability the trick is accessing it.
Humans are animals, on occasion very smart animals, animals non the less.
Once upon a time humans were aware of nature and besides being predator were often prey.
That and a subsistence living resulted in some acute development of instinctual abilities that kept us alive.
Technology and "civilized" living has eroded our ability to access many of the evolutionary features we have coded yet they are still there lurking somewhere in our brains.
I think some people can be more sensitive to nature and can have an added "sense" of their environment.
Do the dowsing rods move in accord with their sense, just a tool that their sympathetic nervous system activates to express what their brains are telling them anyway - I dont know......
but its pretty well understood elephants and such in water limited areas "smell/sense" drinking holes for miles and are able to take care of themselves.
Im sure humans have the ability the trick is accessing it.
Ok...on a serious note.
My late Uncle Jap witched water. The preferred limber wooden fork was willow.
I've seen it done. It's for real. Not everyone can do it.
Another late Uncle, Toady could talk fire out of a burn.
These are things that used to be passed on to the next generation, but at least in my family it is becoming lost.
My late Uncle Jap witched water. The preferred limber wooden fork was willow.
I've seen it done. It's for real. Not everyone can do it.
Another late Uncle, Toady could talk fire out of a burn.
These are things that used to be passed on to the next generation, but at least in my family it is becoming lost.
As in finding water or other things . I think I know how it works and when it works, but not why it works, if you now what I mean.
I use it for finding veins of Gold
All three wells here on the farm were found by first having a dowser in.
I don't believe in witchcraft... and don't think there is a science to it. In fact most of me wants to say it's a scam when it comes to dowsing for gold or treasure or oil....
That said, our local well-driller brings in a dowser whenever he drills. No 'extra' charge. And damn if they don't hit water at shallow depths when he works the area. I have neighbors whose wells are down 600'. Which is expensive. All three of mine are 200 feet or less... and huge GPM.
I don't understand it... but damn if it doesn't seem to work.
Cheers,
Sirhr
I don't believe in witchcraft... and don't think there is a science to it. In fact most of me wants to say it's a scam when it comes to dowsing for gold or treasure or oil....
That said, our local well-driller brings in a dowser whenever he drills. No 'extra' charge. And damn if they don't hit water at shallow depths when he works the area. I have neighbors whose wells are down 600'. Which is expensive. All three of mine are 200 feet or less... and huge GPM.
I don't understand it... but damn if it doesn't seem to work.
Cheers,
Sirhr
Injun healer. I believe he's been dead for a while now. I figured you would have heard of him.
I was skeptical when I first heard of it. I was skeptical when I first saw it happen. I was skeptical when I first tried it myself.
Then, it happened to me when I was doing it myself. What sealed-the-deal for me, is when I backed up, and the wires uncrossed. And, as to location(s) this all happened in various parts of B.C. Various UNDEVELOPED parts of B.C. where there were no utilities, or even cleared forests (in some cases). This wasn't ever to find 'existing pipes' or anything like that. This literally was (each time) to find a place to dig for a well.
I can't explain it. I can't explain it at all. It goes against everything I understand and comprehend. Except "magnetic flux"... but then that is thrown out the window when a willow Y is used, or a simple, single, long and straight walking-stick, balanced on one finger on one hand.
When the walker is balancing said 'witch-stick' it will suddenly 'dip' one end when you get over water. But the stick WON'T fall off. If you're good enough, the stick will 'bob' the depth of the water. (this I can't do)
So, how does the witching work when dealing with wood? Blows the 'magnetic flux' theory out of the water, don't it?
(See what I did there?)
Then, it happened to me when I was doing it myself. What sealed-the-deal for me, is when I backed up, and the wires uncrossed. And, as to location(s) this all happened in various parts of B.C. Various UNDEVELOPED parts of B.C. where there were no utilities, or even cleared forests (in some cases). This wasn't ever to find 'existing pipes' or anything like that. This literally was (each time) to find a place to dig for a well.
I can't explain it. I can't explain it at all. It goes against everything I understand and comprehend. Except "magnetic flux"... but then that is thrown out the window when a willow Y is used, or a simple, single, long and straight walking-stick, balanced on one finger on one hand.
When the walker is balancing said 'witch-stick' it will suddenly 'dip' one end when you get over water. But the stick WON'T fall off. If you're good enough, the stick will 'bob' the depth of the water. (this I can't do)
So, how does the witching work when dealing with wood? Blows the 'magnetic flux' theory out of the water, don't it?
(See what I did there?)
This thread has been really interesting to read, to say the least. There is a lot of good info, and I have always known that old time farmers and ranchers are just far more acutely aware of nature's forces around them because their lives and livelihoods depend on such knowledge.
Even in this day and age, with supercomputers being able to predict weather patterns in any given area for the next several years, it is still remarkable, if not a little unnerving, to see a rugged and eagle-eyed Oklahoma cattleman, his face wizened with age, simply look up towards the sky and say "This is tornado weather right here...", many hours before the first supercells are tracked by regional Doppler.
@pmclaine has made an excellent point about different animals being able to detect the subtle hints given by natural forces. Human beings are also animals, but prolonged sedentary living has somewhat deadened the evolutionary senses that were essential at one point when early man had to compete with other tribes and predatory animals for food and living space.
Everything boils down to science and physics. Everything that occurs in this material universe can be explained with electromagnetic, chemical or nuclear reactions. We live on a sphere that is seething with electromagnetic forces churning under the crust, or blasting us from space.
Ahem ...
WILDE: Your Majesty is like a big jam doughnut with cream on the top.
PRINCE: I beg your pardon?
WILDE: Um...It was one of Whistler's.
WHISTLER: I never said that.
WILDE: You did, James, you did.
WHISTLER: Well, Your Highness, what I meant was that, like a doughnut, um, your arrival gives us pleasure...and your departure only makes us hungry for more. [The prince laughs and nods his head.] Your Highness, you are also like a stream of bat's piss.
PRINCE: What?
WHISTLER: It was one of Wilde's. One of Wilde's.
WILDE: It sodding was not! It was Shaw!
SHAW: I...I merely meant, Your Majesty, that you shine out like a shaft of gold when all around is dark.
PRINCE: Oh.
http://www.openculture.com/2013/07/...haw-engage-in-a-hilarious-battle-of-wits.html
Exactly , there aren't any.
They were not dowsing.
See my post above about dowsing people
As much as I enjoy English literature...reference by @Veer_G above.
When you mentioned witching veins of gold.....well....
I thought maybe you was Vincent Vega:
As in finding water or other things . I think I know how it works and when it works, but not why it works, if you now what I mean.
Here is the thing, most people who do it don't really know how to do it. A lot of well drillers who witch are just looking for the easiest place to set their rig. If you need a witch go into an area where water is scarce and ask around, who has a good well on the first hole, then who witched it for them. If the same name comes up fairly regular you might have found one.
I hardly ever use it for finding water these days, it's useful for other things though, It works on intuition.
It seems that there is an aspect of Heisenberg uncertainty/quantum effects going on. Some can do it to fine a desperately needed well on a farm. But when doing it as a preforming stunt it will not work.
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