Dowsing Rods: How many types of rods are there? And it wouldn't be research if we knew what we were doing.

Question

There are many types of treasur hunting divices out there. But how many of you have the training by a hill-billy mad scientis father from the days this was considered normal practice. The two types my father trained me on was the branch of a live tree. Second was the seperate rods which cross or repell as we walk over gravitational changes. How many of you that question dowsing actually have handled perfect wire dowsing rods? The dimentions are variable, each hand to its own ballance. Therefore when you bend a coat hanger for example, it should sit just slightly longer than your palm, and bend flat over the top of your hand. Easiest way is to clip the coat hanger, one at the end of the straight, keeping hold with your right hand inside of the curve, then just clip off the remaining hanger just under the bottom of the hand. Straighten out that manmade bend to allow this device of simplisity to float freely in that tiny space of a clutched fist. Two-fisted prayer position, test

Answer 1

What do dowsing rods detect?  They're used to find water, wires, graves, treasure, minerals and apparently anything else that can be buried.

How is it possible that out of all of these things the dowser only finds what he is looking for?  In other words, if I'm looking for water how does my dowsing equipment know I'm not looking for buried treasure?  I can think of only two answers to that question.  The first is that I am somehow transmitting my intended quarry to the rods, which somehow have the ability to receive and translate my transmission.  The second possibility is I am influencing the twitch of the rod(s) via the ideomotor effect.  Which explanation is more plausible?  Which explanation is supported by every single experiment conducted on the efficacy of dowsing?

Answer 2

The two most popular types of rods are the bent metal rods and the y-shaped branch.  There is also the pendulum method, which doesn't use a rod at all.

Would it be research if you knew what you were doing? Well, it sure would help. One of the key elements of scientific research is the hypothesis, which basically is something along the lines of "Since we know X, that means if we do Y experiment, we should see Z results". In a nutshell it can be viewed as an IF-THEN statement, but with extra controls on it. One of the biggest problems with studying the paranormal is putting together a legitimate hypothesis, since the hypothesis should be mechanism-based and a scientific understanding of mechanicms are very hard to come by in the paranormal. For example, with dowsing, there is no valid known scientific mechanism by which  the presence of water should result in rods crossing or a branch being pulled downward with extra force. No mechanism means no hypothesis, and so your dowsing experiment ends up being just an exercise in pulling patterns out of data with nothing to guide it.

The most common format for a hypothesis statement I see in my review of the paranormal literature is something along the lines of the below:

Observation: Some researchers believe that X is true

Hypothesis. If X is true, then our experimental data should confirm that X is true.

This is really a trivial and tautological form of a hypothesis, and it does nothing to identify a mechanism and therefore does nothing to advance science, I'm afraid.

If someone could come up with a hypothetical mechanism for dowsing based on our current understanding of physics, dowsing would stand in a much better position, scientifically speaking. I don't see this happening any time soon.

Answer 3

There are a lot of people who dismiss dousing without even trying it.   I think there are economic reasons for this.  Some businesses charge a lot of money locating underground pipes with cameras and other high tech equipment.  

I have tried dowsing rods I made from coat hangers, and yes they do cross and repel at various places.  The trouble with using them where there are a lot of pipes, metal, etc, is that one does not know what is being detected.  But it's great for giving a clue.

Answer 4

a y shapes object should do it i prefer wood

Answer 5

I'd say the types of dowsing rods are too numerous to count.  I used to have a book devoted entirely to different types of tools. and I've used a lot of them experimenting.

Raymon Grace carries a rod around with him for his presentations that's designed for the dramatic [as he carefully explains to those attending] that's a single rod with a spring between the grip and the rod to create something of a sensation in the way it behaves.

For most dowsing, however, I prefer a pendulum, as heavy as possible.  My favorite at the moment is a machined steel helix roughly 7 inches long and weighing about a pound.

Most dowsers nowadays don't believe the shape, size, or materials used are a factor in dowsing, though many confess to 'secretly' going against the conventional wisdom and preferring one over another for various purposes.

Joe Smith in Arkansas actually doesn't use 'tools' for a lot of his dowsing, just uses eye-blinks or the friction between two fingers rubbed together.

Interesting question and it's good to see some potential for discussion on it.

The Subtle Energy Research Institute is mostly comprised of dowsers who are members of American Association of Dowsers.  You might enjoy browsing through the site.

Answer 6

I grew up on our farm watching my grandfather and father doing this, I can also.  It is really useful in finding underground water lines. I've only ever seen it done for finding water. I was with a outfit for a while that drilled water wells and we had a geologist that used the rods. They can be very effective though I don't know how they work. All I have ever seen them made from was brass rods or a green fork from a willow tree. It is really fun to do.

Answer 7

The old timer in the north east always use green willow branches cut at the fork. and they swear that they really work, and i've never seen them fail.