Useful Search Tool? You decide. - My Thoughts Exactly!

Peasants have believed in dowsing, and scientists used to believe that dowsing was only a belief of peasants. Now there are so many scientists who believe in dowsing that the suspicion comes to me that it may only be a myth after all. ~Charles Fort

Dowsing tools have ranged from forked sticks to bent wires to pendulums. The terms for the process are different from one era to another and from one region to another. According to an FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin (LEB)* dated January 11, 2022, the activity might be called dowsing, divining or witching. However, the goal was always the same. To find minerals, water, wisdom, or even bodies. Sounds like a good thing, right? Actually, no, not necessarily. But first, let’s take a look at the methodology.

*Source: https://tinyurl.com/FBILEB

How does dowsing work, anyway?

It doesn’t necessarily work, but here’s what it might look like. This, according to Wiki-How:

Buy or make a tool. That is, find a small stick in the shape of a Y or tear apart a coat hanger and bend it into two Ls. You can also use a pendulum if you have one handy. I do not intend to sound like I’m mocking the idea, but I recognize you may be reading it in that voice. That’s on you.
Focus. What are you looking for? Think about that and begin to walk around, paying attention to the tool (tools?) in your hand to watch for potential movement.
When, or if, you are moving nearer the target of your search, the tool will guide you. The stick will point downward when it finds its target. If you’re using L-shaped hangers, they will eventually come together and cross. The pendulum will swing in the direction of the target. But don’t they swing all the time? Isn’t that what they do?

Back to the LED momentarily. This site attributes the movement of any dowsing tool to the movement of the user’s body or arms while walking. The Wiki-How article also mentions that dowsing has not yet been scientifically proven. I have seen that statement in several articles (and will address that further below). I will say that I am skeptical, but in the interest of clear transparency, I am a person of great faith and I don’t think science has weighed in positively on Jesus, either. So, there’s that.

Onward.

Names and Origins

Dowsing is a term first used in 1650 by John Locke, as far as anyone knows. Apparently, he coined the phrase using now-obsolete Cornish terms. “Dewsys meant “Goddess”, and “Rhod” meant tree branch, and he combined the two for Dowsing Rod. No one knows the term’s origin, but this is as good a guess as any.

Divining is derived from the Latin words, “Virgula Devine.” In 1400s’ Germany, dowsing devices were called “Deuter,” which was a broad term that meant “to show” or “point out.” Another meaning was “to strike.” Miners of that era often used forked shaped tools or pendulums to locate mineral ore. (From dowsers.org/dowsing-history accessed 11-6-23)

Rhabdomancy, a word that doesn’t exactly slip off the tongue, is a term the Greek poet Homer used for dowsing. It meant “Devining Rod” in the Greek language. Since we’re seeing a theme here, a number of people throughout Europe must have agreed on that term, at least. The Italians still use it.

Ancient search tools

So how old is the practice? People have been using hand-held tools to find answers to questions and to locate things they needed for thousands of years. In 1949 a group of French explorers located a series of caverns. There they found huge wall paintings, and among them, depictions of humans holding a forked branch (apparently searching for water). Purportedly, his fellow tribesmen were cheering him on. Well, that’s not exactly what the article said, but it was implied. Anyway, the murals were carbon-dated and determined to be at least 8000 years old. according to Dowsing: Ancient History. A one-off you say? No.

There are also 4000-year-old etchings on Egyptian temple walls that depict a dowser-looking tool, as well as other similar examples from China (2500 years old). Further, references are made in the Old Testament to Urimm & Thymmin, though not in the scripture referenced in the above link. Not in the Ryrie Study Bible, anyway. However, in Deuteronomy 18:10-11, divination is referenced, and not in a good way, which brings us to various perceptions.

Ancient findings and decisions on what's good and useful

In ancient times, people who used “divining” rods were frequently members of the priesthood. The logic behind this is that ordinary people didn’t have the insight to sense the movement of the tool, if you will. The Catholic church outlawed the practice, labeling it as dabbling in the occult. Or, at the least, usurping God’s position by seeking to learn the future. However, if you read the referenced article from the Catholic Encyclopedia, it appears there is an exception for the search for water or metals. There’s a great deal of additional detail in that article as well, and I will not be your huckleberry on that one. You can read it, right?

So what does science say? According to a U.S. Geological Survey article, there’s nothing to see here, folks. Sometimes in some demonstrations, water [or whatever] is found, but when the process is put to the test scientifically, it fails. That is, it fails to work as often as it succeeds in working. In some areas, there is so much underground water, so close to the surface, you could almost dig anywhere that receives rainfall and find some quantity of water. The article goes on to say that “Hydrologic, geologic, and geophysical knowledge is needed to determine the depths and extent of the different water-bearing strata and the quantity and quality of water found in each.” That is, if you want to locate quantities of the kind of water you want, it’s best to use modern equipment.

I have talked about this topic to two people whose opinions I respect. One conversation was recent and casual. The other was years ago when I was listening to an expert in this area. He has a great deal of experience in locating graves, not water, and has a high degree of credibility with those who have paid for his skills in the past. So I’m left wondering. I don’t know if the negative connotations are justified in some–or all–cases, and I don’t know if the process sometimes fails to work due to user error. I’m adding this to a long list of arguments that have two sides. At least until I know more.

You?