This is a personal account by another water diviner, Clive\nBeadon, who describes some general features of dowsing and his own technique for\nlocating water. This account written a couple of decades on from the previous\nposts, incorporates some different features from those earlier methods,\npresumably incorporating newer ideas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like many dowsers, he took up dowsing, after observing a\ndowser at work and being encouraged to try it himself. He tells an amusing tail\nof dowsing from an aircraft, as a means of practice (there are a number of\ninstances of this in the British Society of Dowsers\u2019 journal).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He stresses the need to only apply one\u2019s dowsing to particular\nspecific areas. This is because the key to dowsing is the proper interpretation\nof the dowsing reactions. The dowser is constantly learning, and he found that\nhis dowsing technique was constantly changing. The important factor is one\u2019s \u201cmental\nattitude\u201d, should be \u201cdetermination and certainty\u201d, and one should be aware \u201cShibboleths\u201d,\nthat is attitudes and ways of working which only hamper interpretation. Instead\nuse direct and simple questions, with cross checking where possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the latter part of the article, he talks about his experiences\nwater divining in the drier parts of Portugal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
His method of water divining differs from the previous\nposts. He starts with a map dowse using a pendulum. He then programs his mind\nto look for water no deeper than some pre-set depth. To provide some guarantee\nof a good water supply, he searches for streams crossing each other at\ndifferent depths. Then for each stream, he deduces its depth and the different strata\nbetween it and the surface, since this will affect the ease or otherwise of the\ndrilling. Then the rate of flow and water purity, with reference to trace\nelements, since customers might require this knowledge. The likely positions must\nbe referenced to the actual geography, as shown on the map, to check for access\nto the site, and to establish that if a bore hole was sunk, that it does not\nrob a neighbour of their water supply. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next, he goes on site with a whalebone dowsing rod (a springy\ntype of rod) and he goes about double checking the results of the map dowsing. On site he surveys the strata below. He finds\nthe crossing point if the two streams. Separately analysing each stream for\ndepth and flow rate. For depthing he uses a purely mental approach, in which he\ncounts down in feet from the surface until he gets a reaction. For flow rate,\nhe stands over the stream and rotates himself through 360 degrees, until he\ngets a reaction, each rotation being so many gallons per hour. He has to correct depth estimates and flow estimates\nbased on his analysis of the strata. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He uses a particularly interesting (and probably individualistic)\nmethod to determine whether there are any more flows, flowing into the crossing\npoint. This involves inserting an iron rod over the stream reactions to cancel\nout the previous reactions. There is a similarity here to the Cryke depthing method\ndescribed in the last post. It is as if the dowser can program their dowsing reactions\nthrough mental intent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, there are two confounding issues (dowsing traps) affecting\nhis dowsing and other aspects of the search, a dry aquifer, or \u201cSpook\u201d and a \u201cShadow\u201d\n(or imaginary image) of the real stream, or aquifer. But he describes techniques\nhe uses to identify these. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He does not go into much detail about determining the purity\nof the water, but my guess is that he uses a \u201cMager colour wheel\u201d, simply a\ncard with a palette of differing colours around the circumference, then using each\ncolour as a sample of the purity of the water, e.g. black might mean brackish\nwater, and light blue might mean drinkable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
All in all, his technique is very thorough to avoid\nmistakes, which though potentially quite an exhausting process, is one which he\nfound gave its just rewards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n