Dowsing

Dowsing is a controversial practice which dowsers claim empowers them to find water, metals, gem stones, and hidden objects by carrying or waving a stick or other apparatus over a piece of land and watching for any movement. However repeated tests under controlled conditions have never provided support for this claim.

History of dowsing

Dowsing has existed in various forms for thousands of years. The original use seems to have been for divination purposes - to divine the will of the gods, to foretell the future and divine guilt in trials. During the Middle Ages dowsing was associated with the Devil. In 1659 dowsing was declared Satanic by the Jesuit Gaspar Schott. In 1701 the Inquisition stopped using the dowsing rod in trials. Dowsing as practiced today probably originated in Germany during the 15th century, when it was used to find metals. The technique spread to England with German miners who came to England to work in the coal mines. An extensive book on the history of dowsing was published by Christopher Bird in 1979 under the title of The Divining Hand.

Related Topics:
Middle Ages - Devil - 1659 - Satanic - Jesuit - Gaspar Schott - 1701 - Inquisition - Germany - 15th century - Metal - England - Miner - Coal mine - Christopher Bird - 1979

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