Dowsing
Dowsing is a simple technique used to find sources of energy such as running water or precious metals. There are two different instruments used for dowsing. The first is a pair of L shaped rods. One is held in each hand and the rods will cross each other when an energy source is found. The second instrument is a long Y shaped stick. Branches are often used for this. The Y is held in the hands and the longer sticker portion will move up or done when an energy source is found. It takes a lot of practice to read the dowsing instruments. After practicing for a while you will be able to feel the energy sources and over a long period of time you will no longer need to use dowsing instruments. Always practice this with a calm and open mind.
Dowsing Article # 2
Dowsing: Encyclopedia II - Dowsing - Dowsing equipment
Dowsing - Dowsing equipment
Most dowsers use simple brass rods bent in an "L" shape known as divining rods. According to dowsers who use divining rods, the choice of brass allows the rod to attune to the magnetic fields emanated by the target without the earth's EM field interfering, as would be the case with a metal such as steel. The end of the rod to be held by the dowser is often encased in a material that provides a constant electrical impedance, to prevent the dowser's own conductivity from interfering with the dowsing process.
According to skeptics, the L-shape is necessary to create an unstable system in which the tiniest (involuntary) movement on the part of the dowser causes the rod to move (see ideomotor effect). A similar unstable system can be made with a pendulum, which is also sometimes used in dowsing, particularly map dowsing.
Some books on dowsing insist that dowsing or divining rods should be made only from freshly cut twigs, because only these can tune into the forces of nature, while other books by different authors insist on the use of brass or steel rods. Dowsers say that what works for one dowser would not work for another. They claim that each novice dowser must experiment to find a tool that works for him.
Some rods also utilize a "witness chamber", especially those claimed to be able to find minerals. The user places a sample of what he wishes to find in the witness chamber, usually located at the end of the rod, and the rod is supposed to respond only to material of the same type as that placed in the chamber.
In recent years, electronic dowsing rods, also known as long range locators have sprung up on the market, often costing hundreds or even thousands of dollars. The makers claim that these devices have specially tuned electronics that allow one to find anything from water to gold to humans (kidnapped or lost). In every known case, however, it has been found that the locator electronics are either totally nonfunctional or do not perform as claimed when tested under rigorous scientific conditions, such as a double-blind test. It has been found that there always is an electronics part and a moving indicator part which are unconnected, with the moving part clearly movable by the ideomotor effect. To people unfamiliar with the ideomotor effect, these devices often seem so convincing that even police and rescue teams have spent significant amounts of money on such devices.
