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Also known as divining, rhabdomancy and water witching dowsing is a form of divination performed using a forked stick, pendulum or rods to find hidden things, in particular underground water, minerals and oil. Today it is used to locate lost objects, buried treasure, mineral deposits and water wells, and to diagnose illness.

Dowsing is an ancient practice with unknown origins, however it is thought to date back at least 8,000 years. Wall paintings, estimated to be about 8,000 years old, discovered in the Tassili Caves of North Africa show tribesmen surrounding a man with a forked stick, possibly dowsing for water.

Ancient Chinese and Egyptian artwork depicts people using forked tools in possible dowsing activities. Dowsing may have been mentioned in the Bible, although not by name, when Moses and Aaron used a ‘rod’ to locate water. It was in the Middle Ages, however, that the first unambiguous written accounts of dowsing come, when it was used to find coal deposits. In seventeenth-century France, there are records of a man called Jacques Vernay a stonemason by trade, who used his dowsing talents to successfully track criminals. However, during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, dowsers were often thought to be practitioners of evil. Martin Luther described dowsing as ‘the work of devil’ -hence the term ‘water witching’.

How the dowsing technique was first discovered and how dowsing works is unknown, yet those who practise it are convinced that it does work. Dowsing is still very much in use today in archaeological digs, searching for minerals and missing persons and in alternative healing, when the dowser swings a pendulum over the patient’s body to determine the location and cause of illness. It is not widely known but petrochemical companies employ dowsers to confirm underground sources of oil and gas, and dowsers have also made a contribution towards the understanding of mysterious earth energies, such as those represented by ley lines. The American Society of Dowsers estimates there may be as many as 30,000 dowsers in the United States, but despite this, dowsing still struggles to be regarded as a legitimate field.

How you can dowse

Dowsers say that anyone can have a go at dowsing because, like psychic ability, it is a hidden power that all humans possess. And, like any other ability, such as learning a musical instrument, the more you practise and learn your strengths the more you will define your abilities. Here are some steps for a do-it-yourself dowsing test.

1 Decide which dowsing tool you want to use:Forked stick: This is a Y-shaped tree branch (most often from a willow). The dowser holds the branch parallel to the ground at the top of the Y shape, and then starts to walk. If he or she passes over the hidden object the end of the branch is pulled down, pointing to the correct spot.L-shaped metal rods: For this method two L-shaped metal rods (easily made from a pair of coat hangers) are held in each hand parallel to the floor, and if the dowser passes over the hidden object the rods swing apart or cross each other.Pendulum: Some dowsers believe it is sufficient to hold a pendulum overa map is sufficient.If the pendulum begins to move in a circle or back and forth they know they have located the hidden object. Pendulums are also used for diagnosing illness.Your bare hands: Some exceptionally skilled dowers seem to be able to dowse without a tool, claiming that they feel a resisting force when they locate the hidden object.

2 Ask someone to bury a metal object or bottle of water in the garden just a few inches below the surface.

3 Before starting, mentally ask your dowsing tool to indicate to you when you are passing over the hidden object.

4 Walk slowly in any direction you like, concentrating on the object and trying to remain open and sensitive to the movements of the dowsing tool.

5 If your dowsing tool reacts or you simply ‘get a feeling’ that helps you make a decision about the location of the object, stop and see if the spot indicated is correct. If not, keep trying at different times of the day to see if you have ability for dowsing.

Dowsing has attracted some well-known names from history, including Leonardo de Vinci, Robert Boyle (considered the father of modern chemistry) and Charles Richet (a Nobel Prize winner). Albert Einstein was also convinced of the authenticity of dowsing:

I know very well that many scientists consider dowsing as they do astrology, as a type of ancient superstition. According to my conviction this is, however, unjustified. The dowsing rod is a simple instrument which shows the reaction of the human nervous system to certain factors which are unknown to us at this time.

Some believe there may be a psychic connection between the dowser and the hidden object. According to this theory all things - living and inanimate - have an energy force and the dowser, by concentrating on the hidden object, is somehow able to tune in to the energy force field or ‘vibration’ of the object, which, in turn, forces the dowsing rod or stick to move. In other words, the dowsing tool may act as a kind of amplifier or antenna for tuning into the energy and it is common for the dowser to find a tingling sensation, chills or shivering when the object is located.

Recent experiments in Russia have shown that dowsing rods can be sensitive to electromagnetic fields and that almost anyone can learn to dowse - although women tend to be more successful at it than men. Scientists believe this may be because unknown force fields respond better to the polarity in women’s bodies. Sceptics argue that dowsing is a matter of luck and that those with a high rate of success just have good instincts for where objects or water may be found. For both believer and sceptic there is no definitive evidence either way.