There appears to have been a lively dowsing fraternity in France at the beginning of the 20^th Century. The dowsing society “society of friends of radiesthesie” was established early on, by the Abbé Bouly, one of a line of priest dowsers, who had made significant advances in the application of the dowsing pendulum. In effect, there was a French school of dowsing, which was to influence dowsing practice for a goof part of the century.

For instance, the Abbé Mermet, the son of a dowser, also worked as a dowser for more than 40 years, and was active in the first half of the 20th Century. He developed an exceptional degree of skill in the use of the pendulum. He made a number of “discoveries”, including dowsing at a distance (Téléradiesthésie), the use of “samples” and the presence of certain “rays”. A record of his methods and experiences is contained in his book “Comment j’opère “.  He also wrote “Principles & Practice of Radiesthesia. A Textbook for Practitioners and Students”.

He may have been the first to use “serial numbers” in dowsing. A given object has a kind of signature, involving the movement of a pendulum. The dowser holds the pendulum in one hand, between thumb and index finger, and then holds his other hand near or above the object. When this is done, the pendulum performs a certain number of oscillations (swings backwards and forwards), followed by the same number of rotations (also known a gyrations), together these movements form the first “series”. This series then ends mand the pendulum hesitates for a moment, then repeats the same number in a new direction (perhaps also in the same direction), and continues to do so indefinitely, as long as the operator holds his hand near or above the body under observation.

The number of oscillations, or rotations, in a series is the “serial number” of the object. He gives the example of silver, for which he observed six oscillations, followed by six rotations. Then it starts again. The figure six is the characteristic “serial number” of silver. He considered the serial numbers to be an objective measure, citing the fact that some experienced dowsers, if they had learned to hold the pendulum correctly, had obtained the same numbers. But he admits that some sensitive beginners tended to get higher numbers.

Another important method in his dowsing work was the use of various “rays”. While reading the following explanation, it might help to refer to the diagram in :

http://www.dowsing-research.net/blog_extracts/rays.jpg

The most important of his ray discoveries was the “fundamental ray”. He claimed that every body has a fundamental ray, emanating from it, directed at a fixed angle with respect to the  North-South direction. It may also be inclined with a constant angle to the horizontal. The direction of the fundamental ray is always away from the object. The ray has a length which is proportional to the mass of the body, and given the same weight of various bodies, to their power of “radiation”.

He gives an example of a silver coin, of weight 10 grams. The direction of fundamental ray is towards the East and has a length of 10 cm. Contrast this with a copper coin of weight 10 grams. The direction of fundamental ray is 45° South-West and has a length of 5 cm.

For an example of its use see the following article from the BSD journal. Here the fundamental ray is used in the tanning of leather.

http://www.dowsing-research.net/blog_extracts/BSD_No55_1947_p144.pdf

A second ray which Mermet discovered was the “mental ray”. This links an object to the dowser and to any other person. It appears to come directly from the object to the brain of the observer. He considered it to be the second most important ray, after that of the fundamental ray.

A third ray he discovered was the “witness ray”. He claimed that every type of body sends out a ray towards another fragment of the same kind as itself. For example, if there are two silver coins and two copper coins in a room, a ray will link up the silver coins together, and another ray will do the same with the copper coins, but no ray will go from silver to copper. He considered this to be extraordinarily useful. For example, consider the case of a gold coin hidden, or lost, in a room. Another gold coin (the witness) can be placed on a table and the dowser then walks round the table. As soon as they pass between it and the searched for coin, the witness ray will be intercepted, and the pendulum, held in the right hand, will give the serial number for gold.

Finally, there is another ray, which was first discovered by another eminent dowser, named Abbé Bouly, who named it the “solar ray”. However, Mermet discovered that it had more properties than Bouly had ascribed to it and renamed it the “luminous ray”. It seemed to Mermet that the ray constantly linked an object either to the sun (even when masked by clouds), or to any artificial light source. (Bouly had thought this ray was only associated with the sun and that it only existed during daylight.)

The works of Mermet and Bouly proved influential in the use of the pendulum, and its use was further promoted by another dowser named, the Vicomte Henry de France. He wrote an influential book entitled “The Modern Dowser”, published in 1930. As with the Abbé Mermet, his method of pendulum dowsing was to identify an object through its “series”, which was the unique manner in which the pendulum gyrated over a sample of that object. His pendulum comprised a hemp string pone metre long, rolled on a little stick with notches at the end. The pendulum was suspended over the sample and the string unwound until a length is reached at which gyration begins; this could be either clockwise or anti-clockwise. The string length was fixed using the notches on the stick. Over different objects the pendulum would exhibit a number of periods of gyrations, taking place one after the other. For example, the pendulum gyrates in a certain direction. The dowser then stops the pendulum. Next the pendulum is set oscillating and it starts gyrating again in the same direction.  Then it is stopped and restarted and again starts to gyrate. After N such periods, the pendulum stops gyrating and simply oscillates, or it gyrates in the opposite direction. The value of N is said to be the “serial number” of the object. For example, he gives some examples of serial number: Chalk,3; diamond, 6; coal, 18=3×6. A refinement of the system was to make to make the pendulum bob a sample of the object sought, or the sample was held in the hand that held the pendulum.  Each dowser had to work out their own list of series

Another contribution to pendulum dowsing was made by an English dowser, T.C. Lethbridge, an archaeologist and Anglo-Saxon expert. Lethbridge devised his own method of pendulum dowsing, although it shared some similarities to those methods mentioned previously. By adjusting the length of string, his oscillating pendulum, would gyrate in a circular motion, indicating that the object, was detected. This process aided by holding a sample, or a picture, or simply imaging the object/thought. Every object had a detection length, which could result in a pendulum length exceeding well over a metre.  Through his experiments, he was able to compile a table of string lengths corresponding to various objects, eg 22 inches for lead, 17 inches for truffles.  Objects having the same pendulum length, could be distinguished by counting the number of oscillations that occurred over an object, before returning to oscillation, sometimes referred to as the “series”. For example, the metal silver and colour grey both caused gyrations for length 22inches, but silver caused 22 oscillations and grey caused only seven.

He even discovered that the pendulum could respond to abstract ideas, thoughts and emotions, eg death was 40 inches. In summary everything that he could detect could be done so with a pendulum length between zero and 40 inches. If the length of the string was increased then  the sequence was repeated with 40 inches added, for example silver would be detected at 62 inches and the sequence repeated again after 80 inches.  Lethbridge concluded, that the pendulum was not only reacting to the properties of the object sought, but was also acting as an extension of the dowser’s own mind.

In practice, this system has some fundamental problems. For many dowses, the length and series numbers they experience for a given item do not match with any other dowser’s. Furthermore, some items have identical length and series vales. These are apart from the facts that such a system takes time to calibrate and, given the length of the pendulum, can prove very unwieldly.

Ideas from the French school pervaded the early and mid-part of 20^th Century dowsing practice. Ideas in general were pretty fixed, there was a bigger emphasis on the physical side of dowsing, including the type and composition of the dowsing instrument.  By the 1960s, practice was becoming more personal, with a recognition that dowsers should find their own way of practicing. There was also a growing recognition, that there was a mental underpinning to dowsing and this caused much tension between the mentalists and the physicalists, as to what indeed caused the dowsing reaction. In effect though, dowsing practice is perhaps best understood as a kind of ritual, which the dowser follows to get the results they seek.  

The following is a nice example of a lady who takes up dowsing. Se is initially bewildered by the methods she reads about, but finally discovers her own way and goes on to apply her new skills as a healer.

See “Let’s keep it simple”:

http://www.dowsing-research.net/blog_extracts/BSD_No199_1993_p13.pdf

This is merely a brief sketch of the recent historical development of the dowsing pendulum. Much has been omitted, but hopefully this missing practice will be covered by future postings.

The pendulum is probably the principle tool of the modern dowser. Therefore, it might be of some interest to provide a sketch of the history of this device. Here I provide several extracts covering its early history up until the early part of the 20^th century. This early period sees dowsers using mostly the dowsing “rod”, which was typically the Y-rod, but could also take other forms (even a German sausage). There appears to be little written about the use of the pendulum by run of the mill dowsers. However, we do have accounts by several intellectuals of their day, who took an interest in the working of the pendulum. This was possibly related to the recent discovery of electricity and magnetism.

One of the greatest reviews of dowsing was undertaken by Sir William Barrett, founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and published together with Theodore Besterman, in the early part of the 20^th Century, in their book “The Divining Rod”. In his review of the history of dowsing, he mentions the first written account of dowsing practice by Agricola in his treatise “De Re Metallica”, published in 1556. In this, Agricola “…points out that very cogently that as the [dowsing] rod does not move in the hands of all men there cannot be any specific affinity between the object of the search and the rod : the phenomenon (which Agricola himself observed) must be due to some quality of the dowser himself.”

However, it was another who discovered what might actually activate the dowsing rod, or pendulum. A Jesuit, Athanasius Kircher, working in the middle of the 17^th Century, performed many dowsing experiments. He connected the movement of the dowsing rod with that of the pendulum. Furthermore, he concluded that the action of any dowsing device was due to unconscious muscular actions on the art of the dowser.

In “Divining” by Christopher Bird,  an encyclopaedic account of dowsing, by a former Vice-President of the American Association of Dowsers, he covers the early history of pendulum use, which he suggests may extend back to Roman times. You can read an excerpt here:

http://www.dowsing-research.net/blog_extracts/Bird_Divining_p123.pdf

During his historical sweep, he focusses on Johann Ritter, who appears to be the first true scientist to study the dowsing pendulum, around the end of the 18^th Century. By careful study of the motion of the pendulum when used by an experienced dowser, Ritter noted that different substances produced different signature movements in the pendulum. He became convinced that the pendulum was acted on by some yet unknown force, derived from living organisms, including the dowser, and from inanimate objects. The action arose as a result of the dowser’s intention. This intention could be in the form of a question, and the pendulum would provide the answer by an interpretation of is movement. It seems that Ritter made good use of this in his research.

It seems that at this time, in France, a certain Professor Gerboin, had also been making a long and in depth study concerning the action of the pendulum, the results of which suggested that the user could illicit or handicap the pendulum’s movements, substantiating Ritter’s work. The French scientist Michel-Eugene Chevreul, followed up on Gerboin’s conclusions, working from the early to mid-19^th Century, was considered at the time, the standard treatise on dowsing, “De la baguette divinatoire” (1854). Bird states that Chevreul had effectively discovered what we now refer to as psychokinesis (PK), the effect of mental intention over matter, but stopped short of concluding such. It seems instead, he attributed all of the movements of the pendulum to auto-suggestion, and ruled out any supernatural, spiritistic, electrical or magnetic force explanation for the phenomena. Rather than advancing dowsing, he had hindered its understanding.

However, also working in the mid-19^th Century, was an English scientist, J. Rutter. He did conduct some interesting research on the PK effect on pendulums. Using an experimental rig named the “magnetoscope,” Rutter seems to have demonstrated PK effects, and also demonstrated ways in which the pendulum could be used as a dowsing instrument, for example with the use of samples. This is briefly covered in the Bird article, but a fuller account is given in the BSD journal:

“Early experiments with the pendulum”,

http://www.dowsing-research.net/blog_extracts/BSD_No88_1955_p195.pdf

Throughout the 19^th Century the idea of “Animal magnetism”, proposed by Franz Mesmer in the 18th century, was an influential belief; the idea of an invisible force arising from all living things, which could have physical effects. It inspired much research, such as that of Rutter’s. Another example that Bird mentions is Baron Karl von Reichenbach, who built on Rutter’s work. Reichenbach was an impressive researcher, working with many psi-gifted subjects. He was convinced of the existence of a PK like force, which he named “od”, or “odic” force. His work was sometimes referred to by members of the BSD, but now he is largely forgotten.

See: “Reichenbach”, in :

http://www.dowsing-research.net/blog_extracts/BSD_No48_1945_p173.pdf

Finally, Bird describes the work of Johann Karl Bahr, who he says essentially laid down the basis for all dowsing practice that followed. Bahr contended that things had “inner values”, which were only recognised by the particular effect they have on the movement of the dowser’s pendulum.

In the latter half of the 19^th Century, there seems to be less scientific interest in the pendulum, but in France, there began in interest in dowsing by a series of priest (Abbe) dowsers, whose work influenced much of the dowsing practice of the 20^th Century. More in part 2.

Here’s a piece from the BSD journal written by the late Dan Wilson, a very experienced dowser and engineer, who reflected much on the “mechanics” of dowsing.

“The failure of dowsing under test” :

http://www.dowsing-research.net/blog_extracts/BSDP_No280_2003_p3.pdf

Here he reflects on why dowsers seem to perform so badly in “scientific” trials, in contrast to their performance when dowsing in whatever “area” they specialise in. When one reads of the experiences of dowsers, their successes can be rather striking, but one does not get this same perception from the published studies on dowsing, see:

http://www.dowsing-research.net/

Wilson suggests that dowsers often put their failure down to the hostility of the investigator, an example of whom he gives as James Randi. Randi was offering a financial prize for those who could demonstrated any type of psychic ability. Wilson refers to Randi’s test of dowsers, which was broadcast on British TV in 1992. The footage of this survives and may currently be found on YouTube:

“Dowsing (1991-08-07) – James Randi – Psychic Investigator”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le1qisF3j-o

The two dowsers tested were successful overall in performing the set tasks. They were members of the BSD and both were very gifted dowsers. Wilson attributes their success to them applying a form of psychic “protection” (see below) from Randi’s detrimental and sceptical intent.

In his article, Wilson concentrates on those practicing complimentary medicine, a field he was very familiar with. He reflects on why studies performed by the dowsing practitioners themselves also may fail to show very little or no effect. He refers to a 2002 study by “FACT”, (it is not clear what organisation this acronym represents). In this study run by a homeopathic institution, the participants, several homeopaths, failed to perform a given dowsing task. See the following:

“Can homeopaths detect homeopathic medicines by dowsing? A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial”,

http://www.dowsing-research.net/dowsing/articles/McCarney%20Can%20homeopaths%20detect%20homeopathic%20medicines%20by%20dowsing.pdf

He suggests that the principle cause of failure is because dowsing is a mental operation, and the dowser’s intention is different when they are under test, from when they are engaged in their normal work, in which they seek results in a confident and focussed manner. In this latter case the dowser accepts without question, that dowsing will produce the required results. This contrasts with dowsing under test, where the purpose is to demonstrate that dowsing works. Mentally the dowsers do not “own” the test, (they give up ownership to the investigator instead). And as he points out, the results of any trial can then be subject to the expectations of the investigator (the psi-mediated “experimenter effect” in parapsychology), or even the expectations of any larger group. Interestingly then, Wilson seems to imply that it is the ability to take ownership of the dowsing task, that confers the “protection”.

Another reason for failure, and one that most dowsers might ascribe to, is the hostility of the investigator. This parallels findings in parapsychology, in which investigators with a belief in psi do better than those who hold no such beliefs. Again, this is a kind of psi-mediated experimenter effect. Perhaps closely associated with this, is what you might term “performance anxiety”, the stress of being evaluated while dowsing, and of not getting it right.

He identifies several other issues, and one of these is something that many dowsers have agreed with in their writings, the lack of a “need to know” can impair a dowser’s performance.

He concludes with the suggestion that rather than formally testing dowsers with “artificial” tasks, it would be better to conduct “field studies”, looking at the results dowsers obtain over time in their chosen field of expertise. For example, the work published by  Betz:

“Unconventional Water Detection: Field Test of the Dowsing Technique in Dry Zones: Parts 1 and 2” :

Journal of Scientific Exploration, 9, 1, 1-43 (1995)

And

Journal of Scientific Exploration, 9, 2, 159-189 (1995)

In the absence of a comprehensive theory of psi functioning, the need to prove the existence of psi is always present. But repeating tests designed to demonstrate the effects seem increasingly pointless. Instead, more could be gained by viewing psi and its application through dowsing, as  a goal-orientated process and best studied in the field and through the lived experiences of dowsers.

Many dowsers ask permission to engage in dowsing. In the BSD, you will find this referred to by them asking the questions: “Can I? May I? Should I?”. The format is

1. State what you want to to achieve by dowsing, then ask
2. “Can I?” (dowse for this)
3. “May I?” (dowse for this)
4. “Should I?” (dowse for this)

It seems that in the history of dowsing, that this is a relatively modern phenomenon. The first printed reference to it appears in 1986, in the book “Spiritual Dowsing” by a renowned American dowser named Sig Lonegren. Here he recommends using the questions as a focussing exercise prior to actual dowsing. Note that he uses “Am I ready to do it?”, rather than “Should I?”, the lack of should appears not to appear to imply the same ethical question. Sig Lonegren’s ideas appeared to have been influenced by another eminent dowser named Terry Ross. In BSD journal no239, 1992, Terry Ross quotes “Can I? May I? Should I?”, the form quoted today (within the BSD).

Sig Lonegren says that failure to get a yes to the questions means that the dowsing results will be unreliable.  

http://www.dowsing-research.net/blog_extracts/spiritual_dowsing_lonegren_p9.pdf

In the late 1990s, a member of the BSD, named Dudley Wheeler, surveyed members of the society on their views about asking permission. He suggested that requesting permission did not much predate 1970. He was surprised to find that many were hostile to the idea, or did not do it.

The first results of his investigations are recorded in a newsletter of special interest group, part of the BSD,

http://www.dowsing-research.net/blog_extracts/BSD_EEG_newsletter_1999_wheeler.pdf

About the granting of permission: “The simplest answer to ‘who gives permission’ is that it is your own sub-conscious mind which provides the response, based upon your own set of moral and ethical values. This simple answer does not satisfy everybody.”

Some of the verbatim feedback is recorded here, in “Update in seeking permission to dowse”,

http://www.dowsing-research.net/blog_extracts/BSD_No271_2001_p14.pdf

If we assume that all members were capable dowsers, then it seems that asking permission is not a necessary prerequisite to successful dowsing. Perhaps what it really shows is a shift in emphasis in dowsing over time. It has moved away from seeking physical entities like underground water, utilising a dowsing effect mediated by radiations, to matters like health and well-being, and “Earth energies”. Dowsing is interacting with the life of others, and so the ethics of dowsing becomes more important, but also there seems to be a realisation that something else, other than the dowser, might be involved in making that dowsing work.

This is an account of another application of dowsing. Historically psi has been thought of as a group of faculties – telepathy, clairvoyance, psychokinesis. More recent thinking sees these as simply different expressions of psi. And I think the practice of dowsing bears out this assertion. The mind over matter element we have already encountered in healing, but I believe that dowsing offers many more examples. Some have been applied to agriculture and here is an example, which is particularly interesting because of the amount of effort that has been expended into exploring its use.

The account relates to the farming of a particular variety of narcissus flower – the Soleil d’or – on the Isles of Scilly. It is based on the work of a horticultural researcher named A.P. Tabraham, whose published his research in a short booklet: “Solar Energy and Dowsing”. http://www.dowsing-research.net/dowsing/articles/Tabraham-solar_energy_and_dowsing.pdf

An addendum publication came after his death:

http://www.dowsing-research.net/dowsing/articles/Tabraham-solar_energy_and_dowsing_an_ddendum.pdf

and a talk about his work by Chris Burgess in 1989 and recorded in the BSD Journal:

http://www.dowsing-research.net/blog_extracts/BSD_No229_1990_p117.pdf

The links above give a more than full account, but here is a very brief over view.

The research information has been extracted from the very informative private publication entitled “Solar Energy and Dowsing” by A.P. Tabraham, Isles of Scilly 1982. Tabraham was an enthusiastic horticultural researcher who was intrigued by the early flowering of the narcissus,

The Scillonian farmers who raised these narcissi, needed them to flower before Christmas in order to receive higher premiums during the Christmas market period. This required special treatment of the planted bulbs. The chosen method was to loosely spread straw over the planted ground at mid-summer and set it alight. This brought the bulbs through the ground 2-3 weeks sooner than bulbs which had not been treated in this way, the latter finally flowered in the early new year. The origin of the practice was unknown, as was the mechanism. It was applied for maybe 50 years until it became uneconomic.

While investigating other approaches, it seems that quite fortuitously, dowsing might provide at least some answers, if not a solution.  A series of trials were performed in which propane fires were used to heat the ground, in place of the straw and ground thermometers used to compare the temp of the treated ground with the untreated ground. This proved effective and more economic. Treatments were applied at fortnightly intervals, the more treatments applied, the greater the temperature difference, with a change of approx. 2°F per treatment (up to 3 treatments), which persisted over the following year.  The bulbs in the warmer ground duly flowered earlier. Now it was discovered that a dowser could clearly identify the burnt regions, even 6 months after the burning had been applied and furthermore, the bulbs showed a dowsing reaction.

Later, it seems that quite by accident, the temperature rise could actually be caused by dowsing. But they discovered that ferrous objects could remove the effect, the greater the mass of metal involved, the faster the effect was removed. There was also the observation that despite different farmers using the same novel burning technique, it tended to fail for the “tidiest” farmers, where-as less tidy farmers got excellent results. This effect they put down to the fact that tidier farmers would tend to plough the ground after burning to re-ridge the fields. The steel plough had removed the effect.

They searched the dowsing literature to find a novel way of applying the dowsing effect without using any burning effect. They concluded with the following simple technique. Simply trace out a pentagon (regular or irregular did not matter). This could be done by tracing with a stick on the ground, or by marking five points on the ground to form the outline of a pentagon, while walking around the field. It was not necessary to have any real physical line marking out the whole pentagon. The essential thing was that the first point must be touched again after walking around the perimeter, to compete the pentagon, absolutely no gap at all was allowed, otherwise the dowsing effect was lost. If done correctly, the dowsing effect was created immediately, over the entire area within the pentagon and created a temperature rise of 2°F, (the same as, or slightly better than, the burning over process). If two additional pentagons were added, at fortnightly intervals, the temperature rise was 3-4°F, and for three, 5-6°F, depending on the ambient heat (see later), but adding additional pentagons made no significant difference.

They had devised a dowsing solution, which was more economic and effective than the burning over method and one which could be adapted to any area. It could also be used on other crops. For example, the increase in ground temperature using three pentagons had decreased the germination of Freesia seed from four weeks to two. Winter broccoli, sweet corn and early potatoes were also found to benefit.

There were some additional intriguing observations. They discovered that the effect within the pentagoned areas tended to move south by approximately 6-9 feet per year. This movement mainly took place with the ground was full of water in December and January. Another effect was that anything that had been exposed to the “dowsing effect” within the pentagon (or by burning over) appeared to “connect” with any available heat source (above ambient). The connection could be identified by dowsing and along this “flowed” heat to the object. So plants outside appeared to connect with the atmosphere directly above them. Or if indoors, they might connect to an electric file. Glass or plastic did not stop this connection, but thin paper did. The temp rise per days was also found to be linked to the number of hours of sunshine that day, but rises were still observed in the absence of direct sunlight.

Tabraham published his data in the first publication. This is best reviewed as graphs.

Above is data from 1979. It compares the average maximum daily temperature, averaged over each month, for ground which had been burnt over three times (red line), compared with ground which had no treatment (blue line).  A consistent elevation of temperature is observed, with the difference increasing towards mid-summer.

Above is the data taken in1980, after the pentagon treatment had been introduced. It compares the average maximum daily temperature, averaged over each month, for ground which had been burnt over three times (red line), ground which had been treated with three pentagons (black line) and ground which had no treatment (blue line).  The pentagon treatment produced a slightly elevated warming effect.

Since the publication of the work, other members of the BSD have taken interest.

In this article the author adds some additional information obtain directly from communication with Tabraham. The latter asserts: that it is in fact not necessary to “walk” the perimeter of the pentagon, the creator can simply rotate themselves making five points as they do; the pentagon can be as grossly irregular as necessary; the effect can be applied to the warming of buildings.

See the correspondence section, a letter from a Philip. Sheaf : http://www.dowsing-research.net/blog_extracts/BSD_No282_2003_p23.pdf

In these two letters, a London dowsing group attempt a replication of the experient. In the first they describe how the pentagon was created. See the letters section, a letter from John Baker :

http://www.dowsing-research.net/blog_extracts/BSD_No278_2002_p23.pdf

In their follow up letter from John Baker:

http://www.dowsing-research.net/blog_extracts/BSD_No284_2004_p16.pdf

They succeeded in creating a persistent pentagon, but there was no significant warming effect within this, however the area did move south as observed by Tabraham. Despite noting an intention to repeat the experiment, no other report was printed.

Finally, some dowsers used the pentagon method to add modest warmth to their own homes. They claim it is possible to do this by simply drawing pentagon on a plan of the property.

See “Using the dowsing effect to cut your eating bill”:

http://www.dowsing-research.net/blog_extracts/BSD_No302_2008_p10.pdf

Although the published information is not sufficient to evaluate the results in any rigorous manner, they do seem to suggest the presence of a definite effect. No attempt was made in the original repots to explain why the effects occurred, but it seems to demonstrate a mind over matter (PK) effect. The intention to treat the ground to bring forward the flowering process appears to be the fundamental action. The intention seemed to be expressed in three ways – the two types of burning over the ground (one with straw the other with propane), and the simple delineation of an area (mentally or physically).

We are not told how many farmers adopted the two later treatments (propane and pentagon), but it is interesting that the methods did not work for them all, and often it was the tidy farmers, who saw no effect. This was attributed to post-treatment ploughing the ground by the tidy farmers, the treatment failed to work if ferrous objects were introduced into the treated area. This might of course be true, however, when one studies the dowsing literature, ferrous metals seem to hold a special interest with dowsers (sometimes for their links with magnetism, another subject of interest). It is not inconceivable that confounding problem was created mentally. Therefore, it could be something to do with the differing mentalities of the tidy versus the non-tidy farmers, that influenced the success or otherwise. Interestingly, no such comment was made about the straw burning method, which apparently seemed to work for all.

The use of a pentagon shape was allegedly derived from dowsing texts. It is interesting to speculate whether a pentagon was effective because it had some mystic significance for many? It may well be the case that any shape could be used, as long as the one who applied it believes in its significance. The tracing out of the pentagon also involved some ritualistic behaviour, emphasising its importance.

Finally, another interesting observation was that the warming effect appeared to be drawing heat from the closest available heat sources, there seemed to be some invisible channel down which the heat was transferred. Although this could only be demonstrated by dowsing. 

Since it’s VE day (8^th May), here’s a post relating to WW2. The BSD existed before WW2, and its journal does include some articles relating to it. This short article is about the life of a dower – Mr. M. Meier – in occupied Luxemburg. It is a portrait taken from another, published in the French dowsing journal of the time, Radiesthesie pour Tous. It seems that he was an excellent dowser, making some interesting observations, but this this nearly cost him his life. He would have made an excellent spy. The reference to Vinnitsa in the Ukraine concerns “The Wehrwolf” bunkers, a smaller version of the Wolf’s Lair, Hitler’s fortified headquarters in Eastern Prussia and presumably top secret at that time.

The article is “Radiesthesia in German occupied Luxemburg”: http://www.dowsing-research.net/blog_extracts/BSD_No54_1946_p324.pdf

Incidentally, it appears that in WW2, the German government had a rather ambiguous attitude towards dowsing.  The following excerpt is a brief note from page 67 of the BSD Journal No26, 1940…

“The Evening Standard of Oct 21st 1940 Stated that Le Journal reports from Switzerland that Hitler has sent a corps of 7000 water diviners to the Siegfried Line.

The German General staff were doubtful about the value of the corps, but Hitler silenced objections by recalling that in 1918, during the setting in place of a great gun that shelled Paris, water diviners were consulted to ensure that the emplacements would remain dry.” 

It was in use in the German army at least until 1943. The following article provides some further insights, including the use of dowsing by prisoners of war and a remark about Adolf Hitler’s deputy, Rudolf Hess and his flight to Britain in 1941. It is under “Notes and News“:

http://www.dowsing-research.net/blog_extracts/BSD_No55_1947_p162.pdf

Modern day dowsers seem to concentrate much of their work on what are variously termed “Earth energies”. These come in various forms, having various names, but generally are thought of as lines of “influence” (if simplified, rather like the dowsing line above an underground stream). They seem to be only detectable by dowsing, although there has been some suggestion that some instruments, such as scintillation counters, or magnetometers also respond to them. Much has been written about these energies, because there is a concern about the effects of them on people’s health. The general idea is that long exposure to them, is associated with a variety of both physical and mental health complaints. For instance, such prolonged exposure might occur if one’s bed is located over. Therefore, many dowsers concern themselves with the detection of these energies, on behalf of other people, so that some intervention can be made to prevent, or at least alleviate, the harmful effects. It is a very big subject, which we can only touch upon.

Some dowsers claim that people have had an understanding of Earth energies from prehistoric times. The current day interest appears to stem from the work by a German dowser named Freiherr von Pohl, who was active in the 1930s.  He described the effects of these Earth energies on plants and animals. From all these observations he considered that they would be harmful to humans. He then made a study of a town named Vilsbiburg, which was considered to have a high incidence of cancer deaths. Von Pohl dowsed the town and postulated  an association between cancer deaths and subterranean water. His results were published in his book in 1932. This link shows some of his results.

http://www.dowsing-research.net/blog_extracts/vilsbiburg.jpg

His work is reviewed  along with a good review of the European approach to Earth  energies is given by Ilse Pope, in an article entitled “A view of Earth energies from continental Europe”

See:

http://www.dowsing-research.net/blog_extracts/BSD_No217_1987_p130.pdf

He was followed by Dr. Manfred Curry, a Doctor, who did similar research in Southern Germany between 1935 and 1953. He deduced that the Earth energies formed a regularly spaced net, running from South/West to North/East, now termed the “Curry Net”. If a person was unfortunate enough to reside under a crossing point on this net, their health would suffer.

This work was followed soon after by a Dr Hartmann, who also discovered an regularly spaced “energy” net, this time running east-west, later termed the “Hartmann net”. He published his results in a book. The effects of which were thought not to be as harmful as either the Curry net of underground streams.

The article also describes the results of extensive work conducted by Kaethe Bachler, who has written extensively about many cases, in which using dowsing, the causes of various illnesses and mental disorders have been found to be associated with either the Curry grid, or underground streams, or a combination of the two acting together.

A review of her book – “Earth Radiation. The startling discoveries of a dowser” – is given here:

http://www.dowsing-research.net/blog_extracts/BSD_No225_1989_p545.pdf

Finally, as a point of interest, an article appeared in a BSD Journal in 1988 (No221, p317), which reviews some of the various Earth energies, including the fore-mentioned grids,  (and “black streams” , commonly found by English dowsers, and thought to induce poor health. Interestingly, the author  states.

English dowsers will find black energies, earth energies or ley lines depending on their experience and personal viewpoint. They do not find Curry grids or Hartmann grids. Continental dowsers do not find these energies at all. They find Curry grids and Hartmann grids. Different dowsers will find different grids.

See: “Noxious energiers and health”, by R.J.Pope:

http://www.dowsing-research.net/blog_extracts/BSD_No221_1988_p317.pdf