View source for Dowsing

{{Short description|Pseudoscientific attempts to locate underground objects}}
{{About|the divination method}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2022}}
[[Image:18th century dowser.jpg|thumb|right|A dowser, from an 18th-century French book about superstitions]]

'''Dowsing''' is a type of [[divination]] employed in attempts to locate [[ground water]], buried metals or [[ore]]s, gemstones, [[Petroleum|oil]], claimed radiations ([[radiesthesia]]),<ref name="OhhXf">As translated from one preface of the Kassel experiments, "roughly 10,000 active dowsers in Germany ''alone'' can generate a conservatively-estimated annual revenue of more than 100 million DM (US$50 million)". [http://www.gwup.org/psitest/ ''GWUP-Psi-Tests 2004: Keine Million Dollar für PSI-Fähigkeiten''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050410205142/http://www.gwup.org/psitest/ |date=April 10, 2005}} (in German) and [http://www.phact.org/e/z/kassel.htm English version] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814114138/http://www.phact.org/e/z/kassel.htm |date=August 14, 2007}}.</ref> [[Grave (burial)|gravesites]],<ref name="Sxu9Y">{{cite news|last1=Pellwel|first1=Calvin E|title=What Is Dowsing? - The Ancient Practice For Treasure Hunting|url=https://straightforwardguidance.com/what-is-dowsing/|date=May 19, 2022|access-date=June 19, 2022|archive-date=March 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326152055/https://straightforwardguidance.com/what-is-dowsing/|url-status=live}}</ref> malign "earth vibrations"<ref name="rFVBG">{{Cite web |date=2015-08-20 |title=Bad vibrations: what's the evidence for geopathic stress? |url=http://www.theguardian.com/science/head-quarters/2015/aug/20/bad-vibrations-whats-the-evidence-for-geopathic-stress |access-date=2022-11-18 |website=the Guardian |language=en |archive-date=2023-03-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326151937/https://www.theguardian.com/science/head-quarters/2015/aug/20/bad-vibrations-whats-the-evidence-for-geopathic-stress |url-status=live }}</ref> and many other objects and materials without the use of a [[Scientific instrument|scientific apparatus]]. It is also known as '''divining''' (especially in '''water divining'''),<ref name="inglis245"/> '''doodlebugging'''<ref name="JUTfP">{{cite web |url=http://www.readersandrootworkers.org/wiki/Category:Dowsing,_Doodlebugging,_and_Water_Witching |title=Dowsing, Doodlebugging, and Water Witching |work=Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers Wiki |access-date=11 October 2011 |archive-date=12 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012224700/http://readersandrootworkers.org/wiki/Category:Dowsing%2C_Doodlebugging%2C_and_Water_Witching |url-status=live }}</ref> (particularly in the United States, in searching for [[petroleum]] or [[treasure]])<ref name="hGZYC">{{Cite journal |journal=Keystone Folklore Quarterly |last=Lyman |first=Thomas G. |title=Water Dowsing as a Surviving Folk Tradition |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=inu.30000108623236&seq=165 |volume=12 |page=137 |date=1967 |via=[[HathiTrust]] |access-date=2022-06-25 |archive-date=2023-03-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311055757/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=inu.30000108623236&seq=165 |url-status=live }}</ref> or '''water finding''', or '''water witching''' (in the United States).

A Y-shaped twig or rod, or two L-shaped ones, called '''dowsing rods''' or '''divining rods''' are normally used, and the motion of these are said to reveal the location of the target material. The motion of such dowsing devices is generally attributed to random movement, or to the [[ideomotor phenomenon]],<ref name="Zusne 1989">Zusne, Leonard; Jones, Warren H. (1989). ''Anomalistic Psychology: A Study of Magical Thinking''. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. pp. 105–110. {{ISBN|978-0-805-80507-9}}</ref><ref name="Novella 2002">Novella, Steve; Deangelis, Perry. (2002). ''Dowsing''. In [[Michael Shermer]]. ''The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience''. ABC-CLIO. pp. 93–94. {{ISBN|1-57607-654-7}} "Despite widespread belief, careful investigation has demonstrated that the technique of dowsing simply does not work. No researcher has been able to prove under controlled conditions that dowsing has any genuine divining power... A more likely explanation for the movement of a dowser's focus is the ideomotor effect, which entails involuntary and unconscious motor behavior."</ref><ref name="a5FaR">Lawson, T. J; Crane, L. L. (2014). ''Dowsing Rods Designed to Sharpen Critical Thinking and Understanding of Ideomotor Action''. ''[[Teaching of Psychology (journal)|Teaching of Psychology]]'' 41 (1): 52–56.</ref> a psychological response where a subject makes motions unconsciously.

The [[scientific evidence]] shows that dowsing is no more effective than [[random chance]].<ref name="Vogt1979">{{cite book |last=Vogt |first=Evon Z. |author2=Ray Hyman |author-link2=Ray Hyman |title=Water Witching U.S.A. |publisher=Chicago University Press |location=Chicago |year=1979 |edition=2nd |isbn=978-0-226-86297-2}} via {{cite book |last=Hines |first=Terence |title=Pseudoscience and the Paranormal |publisher=Prometheus Books |location=Amherst, New York |year=2003 |edition=Second |page=420 |isbn=978-1-57392-979-0}}</ref><ref name="D55qx">[[Brian Regal|Regal, Brian]]. (2009). ''Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia''. Greenwood Press. pp. 55–57. {{ISBN|978-0-313-35507-3}}</ref> It is therefore regarded as a [[pseudoscience]].

==History==
===Early divination and religion===
[[File:Georgius Agricola Erzsucher.jpg|thumb|right|Dowsing for metal ore, from 1556 "''[[De re metallica]] libri XII''" book]]
[[File:Divining Rod.jpg|thumb|Use of a divining Rod observed in Great Britain in the late 18th century]]
[[File:Curious Myths p 81 rod.jpg|thumb|right|An illustration of a divining rod]]
Dowsing originated in ancient times, when it was treated as a form of [[divination]]. The [[Catholic Church]] banned the practice completely.<ref name="inglis246">Inglis (1986) pp. 246–247.</ref>

[[Protestant Reformers|Protestant Reformer]] [[Martin Luther]] perpetuated the Catholic ban, in 1518 listing divining for metals as an act that broke the [[I am the Lord your God|first commandment]] (i.e., as [[occultism]]).<ref name="inglis246"/><ref name="ogD4W">''Decem praecepta Wittenbergensi populo praedicta'', Martin Luther</ref>

Old texts about searching for water do not mention using the divining twig, and the first account of this practice was in 1568.<ref name="spooky">{{cite web |last=Hill |first=Sharon A. |author-link=Sharon A. Hill|title=Witching for water |url=http://spookygeology.com/witching-for-water/ |website=Spooky Geology |date=19 March 2017 |access-date=2017-04-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320072306/http://spookygeology.com/witching-for-water/ |archive-date=2017-03-20}}</ref><ref name="15-credibility">{{cite podcast |url = http://doubtfulnews.com/2017/03/15-credibility-st-13-some-particular-place-to-go/ |title = 15 Credibility Street #13 |website = Doubtful News |host = [[Sharon A. Hill]] |date = 2017-03-26 |access-date = 2017-04-07}}</ref>
[[William F. Barrett|Sir William F. Barrett]] wrote in his 1911 book ''Psychical Research'' that:
{{Blockquote|...in a recent admirable Life of [[Teresa of Ávila|St. Teresa of Spain]], the following incident is narrated: Teresa in 1568 was offered the site for a convent to which there was only one objection, there was no water supply; happily, a Friar Antonio came up with a twig in his hand, stopped at a certain spot and appeared to be making the sign of the cross; but Teresa says, "Really I cannot be sure if it were the sign he made, at any rate he made some movement with the twig and then he said, ' Dig just here '; they dug, and lo ! a plentiful fount of water gushed forth, excellent for 'drinking, copious for washing, and it never ran dry.' " As the writer of this Life remarks: "Teresa, not having heard of dowsing, has no explanation for this event", and regarded it as a miracle. This, I believe, is the first historical reference to dowsing for water.<ref name="Barrett_Psychical Research_p171">{{cite book |last1=Barrett |first1=William |title=Psychical Research |date=1911 |publisher=Henry Holt & Co. (N.Y.), Williams and Norgate (London) |location=New York and London |page=171 |url=https://archive.org/stream/psychicalresear00barr#page/n5/mode/2up |access-date=2 January 2018}}</ref><ref name="LaCEG">{{cite book |last1=of Avila, Saint |first1=Teresa of |title=The book of the foundations of S. Teresa of Jesus of the Order of our Lady of Carmel, with the visitation of nunneries, the rule and constitutions |date=1573 |publisher=London, Baker |location=University of Toronto – Robarts Library |page=116 |url=https://archive.org/stream/bookoffoundation00tereuoft#page/116/mode/2up/search/water |access-date=14 February 2018}}</ref>}}

In 1662, divining with rods was declared to be "[[Superstition|superstitious]], or rather [[satan]]ic" by a [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]], [[Gaspar Schott]], though he later noted that he was not sure that the [[devil]] was always responsible for the movement of the rod.<ref name="IrMOB">[[Michel Eugène Chevreul]], ''De La Baguette Divinatoire du pendule dit explorateur at des table tournants au point de vue de l'histoire, de la critique, and de la méthode expérimentale'', Paris, 1854. "''Le père Gaspard Schott (jés.) considère l'usage de la baguette comme superstitieux ou plutôt diabolique, mais des renseignements qui lui furent donnés plus tard par des hommes qu'il considérait comme religieux et probe, lui firent dire dans une notation à ce passage, qu'il ne voudrait pas assurer que le demon fait toujours ''tourner'' la baguette.''" (''Physica Curiosa'', 1662, lib. XII, cap. IV, pag. 1527). See [https://books.google.com/books?id=kzsAAAAAQAAJ facsimile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230905184129/https://books.google.com/books?id=kzsAAAAAQAAJ |date=2023-09-05 }} on [[Google Books]]</ref> In southern France in the 17th century, it was used to track criminals and [[heresy|heretics]]. Its abuse led to a decree of the [[inquisition]] in 1701, forbidding its employment for purposes of justice.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=1 |wstitle=Divining-rod |volume=8 |pages=333–334}}</ref>

An [[epigram]] by Samuel Sheppard, from ''Epigrams theological, philosophical, and romantick'' (1651) runs thus:

{{poemquote|title=''Virgula divina''
|Some Sorcerers do boast they have a Rod,
Gather'd with Vowes and Sacrifice,
And (borne about) will strangely nod
To hidden Treasure where it lies;
Mankind is (sure) that Rod divine,
For to the Wealthiest (ever) they incline.}}

===Modern dowsing===
Dowsing practices used in an attempt to locate [[metal]]s are still performed much like they were during the 16th century.<ref name="jf6Of">{{Cite web |url=http://archive.org/details/curiousmythsofmi00bariuoft |title=Curious myths of the Middle Ages |first=S. (Sabine) |last=Baring-Gould |date=May 26, 1876 |publisher=London, Rivingtons |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> The 1550 edition of [[Sebastian Münster]]'s ''[[Cosmographia (Sebastian Münster)|Cosmographia]]'' contains a [[woodcut]] of a dowser with forked rod in hand walking over a cutaway image of a mining operation. The rod is labeled in Latin and German; "{{Lang|la|Virgula Divina}} ''–'' {{Lang|de|Glück-Rüt}}" ('Rod Divine, Luck-Rod'), but there is no text accompanying the woodcut. By 1556, [[Georgius Agricola]]'s treatment of mining and [[smelting]] of [[ore]], ''[[De Re Metallica]]'', included a detailed description of dowsing for metal ore.<ref name="QzIoT">William Barrett and [[Theodore Besterman]]. ''The Divining Rod: An Experimental and Psychological Investigation.'' (1926) Kessinger Publishing, 2004: p. 7</ref>

{{Blockquote|...There are many great contentions between miners concerning the forked twig, for some say that it is of the greatest use in discovering veins, and others deny it. ... All alike grasp the forks of the twig with their hands, clenching their fists, it being necessary that the clenched fingers should be held toward the sky in order that the twig should be raised at that end where the two branches meet. Then they wander hither and thither at random through mountainous regions. It is said that the moment they place their feet on a vein the twig immediately turns and twists, and so by its action discloses the vein; when they move their feet again and go away from that spot the twig becomes once more immobile. ...<ref name="2PIKl">{{cite book|last1=Agricola|first1=Georgius|title=De Re Metallica |date=1556 |location=Basel |pages=38ff |edition=tr. Herbert Hoover, 1950, Dover Publications, New York |url=https://archive.org/stream/deremetallica50agri#page/38/mode/2up |access-date=11 May 2018}}</ref>}}

In the 16th century, German deep mining technology was in enormous demand all over Europe. [[Mining in Cornwall and Devon#Early modern period|German miners]] were licensed to live and work in England;<ref name="qEKXa">{{Cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1215 |title=Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape |access-date=2019-12-26 |archive-date=2020-08-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802132748/http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1215 |url-status=live }}</ref> particularly in the [[Stannaries]] (tin mines) of [[Devon]] and [[Cornwall]] and in [[Cumbria]]. In other parts of England, the technique was used in the royal mines for [[Calamine (mineral)|calamine]]. By 1638 German miners were recorded using the technique in silver mines in Wales.<ref name="JWG">{{cite book |last1=Gough|first1=John Weidhofft|title=The Mines of Mendip |date=1930 |publisher=Oxford University Press|oclc=163035417|page=6}}</ref>

The [[Middle Low German]] name for a forked stick (Y-rod) was {{Lang|gml|Schlag-Ruthe}}<ref name="oWZXw">{{cite web|title=Wiktionary entry for schlag|url=https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/schlag|access-date=13 January 2018|archive-date=28 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128190531/https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/schlag|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="cTZej">{{cite web|title=Wiktionary entry for ruthe|url=https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Ruthe|access-date=13 January 2018|archive-date=29 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129004249/https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Ruthe|url-status=live}}</ref> ('striking rod').<ref name="Barrett_Psychical Research_p170_2">{{cite book |last1=Barrett|first1=William|title=Psychical Research|date=1911|publisher=Henry Holt & Co. (N.Y.), Williams and Norgate (London) |location=New York and London|page=170|url=https://archive.org/stream/psychicalresear00barr#page/n5/mode/2up|access-date=2 January 2018 |quote=Now, the colloquial German word for the rod was then ''schlag-ruthe'' or ''striking-rod''; this, translated into the Middle English became the ''duschan'' or striking rod, and finally "deusing or dowsing rod".}}</ref> This was translated in the sixteenth century Cornish dialect to {{Lang|enm|duschen}}<ref name="4EoeB">{{cite book |last1=Stratmann |first1=Francis |url=https://archive.org/details/middleenglishdic00stra |title=A Middle-English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1891 |pages=182 |quote=duschen, v., ? = M.L.G. duschen; =dweschen; strike, beat; dusched (pret.) Ar. & Mer. 5624; A. P. ii. 1538; dusched a doun ... hure fon Fer. 3068; see daschen, dusching, sb., tumbling; ... dinning and dusching of sinfulle PR. C. 7350. |access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref>{{Clarify|reason=Unclear what in the source refers to a 16th-century Cornish translation|date=July 2023}} ({{Lang|enm|duschan}} according to William Barrett<ref name="Barrett_Psychical Research_p170_2" />) ([[Middle English]], 'to strike, fall'<ref name="MyVtk">{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Dowser and Dowsing |volume=8 |page=461}}</ref>). By the seventeenth century the English term ''dowsing'' was coming into common use.<ref name="Inglis"/>

In the lead-mining area of the [[Mendip Hills]] in [[Somerset]], England in the 17th century the natural philosopher [[Robert Boyle]], inspired by the writings of Agricola, watched a practitioner try to find "latent veins of metals". Boyle saw the hazel divining rod ({{Lang|la|virgula divinatoria}}) stoop in the hands of the diviner, who protested that he was not applying any force to the twig; Boyle accepted the man's genuine belief but himself remained unconvinced.<ref name="c2rlI">{{cite book |last1=Boyle |first1=Robert |year=1661 |title=Works |volume=One |publisher=[[Thomas Birch]] |pages=342–343 |edition=1743|chapter=On Unsucceeding Experiments}}</ref> Towards the end of the century, in 1691 the philosopher [[John Locke]], who was born in the English [[West Country]], used the term ''deusing-rod'' for the [[Old Latin]] name {{Lang|la|virgula divina}}.<ref name="eMgCy">{{cite book|last1=Locke|first1=John|title=Some considerations of the consequences of lowering the interest, and raising the value of money. In a letter sent to a Member of Parliament, in the year 1691|year=1824|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_EM1AAAAIAAJ&q=deusing-rod&pg=PA78|access-date=15 January 2018|quote=That four per cent. is not of the nature of the deusing-rod, or virgula divina, able to discover mines of gold and silver, I believe will easily be granted me.|archive-date=5 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230905184130/https://books.google.com/books?id=_EM1AAAAIAAJ&q=deusing-rod&pg=PA78|url-status=live}}</ref> So, ''dowse'' is synonymous with ''strike'', hence the phrases: to ''dowse''/''strike'' a light,<ref name="4nCYf">{{cite book|last1=Skeat|first1=Walter W.|title=An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language|date=2005|publisher=Dover Publications, Inc.|location=Mineola, NY|page=181|isbn=978-0486317656|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jeeGAAAAQBAJ&q=dowse+strike+a+light&pg=PA181|access-date=19 January 2018|quote=DOWSE (3), to extinguish. (E.) A cant term; '''dowse''' the glim, i.e. to extinguish the light. Probably only a particular use of '''dowse''' (1), to strike. Possibly suggested by ''dout'', to extinguish.|archive-date=5 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230905184150/https://books.google.com/books?id=jeeGAAAAQBAJ&q=dowse+strike+a+light&pg=PA181|url-status=live}}</ref> to ''dowse''/''strike'' a sail.<ref name="Barrett_Psychical Research_p170_3">{{cite book |last1=Barrett|first1=William|title=Psychical Research|date=1911|publisher=Henry Holt & Co. (N.Y.), Williams and Norgate (London) |location=New York and London |page=170 |url=https://archive.org/stream/psychicalresear00barr#page/n5/mode/2up|access-date=19 January 2018 |quote=To dowse or " strike " the sail is still a common expression in Cornwall}}</ref>

Dowsing was conducted in [[South Dakota]] in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to help [[homesteaders]], farmers and ranchers locate water wells on their property.<ref name="vfJcb">Grace Fairchild and Walker D. Wyman, Frontier Woman: The Life of a Woman Homesteader on the Dakota Frontier (River Falls: University of Wisconsin-River Falls Press, 1972), 50; Robert Amerson, From the Hidewood: Memories of a Dakota Neighborhood (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1996), 290–298.</ref>

The military have occasionally resorted to dowsing techniques. In the [[World War I|First World War]] [[Gallipoli campaign]], [[sapper]] Stephen Kelly, of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade, Australian Expeditionary Force, became well known for finding water for the British troops.<ref>Inglis (1986), p.248</ref> In the late 1960s during the [[Vietnam War]], some [[United States Marine Corps|United States Marines]] used dowsing when locating weapons and tunnels.<ref name="washpost">FIX ME (could not access entire article) {{cite news |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1225953.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022114938/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1225953.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-10-22 |title= Divining Ways; Dowsers Use Ancient Art in Many Kinds of Searches |newspaper=Washington Post |date=1989-11-30 |author=Claudia Sandlin |quote=[Louis Matacia] worked as a Marine Corps analyst at Quantico during The Vietnam War teaching Marines how to dowse...}}</ref> As late as in 1986, when 31 soldiers were taken by an [[avalanche]] during an operation in the [[NATO]] drill Anchor Express in [[Vassdalen]], Norway, the [[Norwegian army]] attempted to locate soldiers buried in the avalanche using dowsing as a search method.<ref name="IQrrg">{{cite web |url=http://docplayer.me/3872115-Psevdovitenskap-og-etikk.html |title=Ønskekvist i snøskred – psevdovitenskap i praksis? |work=Pseudovitenskap og Etikk, published at Norwegian University of Science and Technology |page=45 |year=2005 |author=Rolf Manne |access-date=2018-01-25 |archive-date=2018-01-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126012657/http://docplayer.me/3872115-Psevdovitenskap-og-etikk.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Dowsing is still used by some farmers and water engineers in Britain; however, many of the country's utilities have distanced themselves from the practice.<ref name="abcnews">[https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/california-farmers-hire-dowsers-find-water-22737878 California Farmers Hire Dowsers to Find Water] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302224746/https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/california-farmers-hire-dowsers-find-water-22737878 |date=2014-03-02}}, ABC news</ref><ref name="collectorsweekly">{{Cite web|url=https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/the-water-witch-of-wyoming-how-dowsing-works/|title=Our Dad, the Water Witch of Wyoming|first=Ben|last=Marks|website=Collectors Weekly|access-date=2021-05-26|archive-date=2021-04-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422013438/https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/the-water-witch-of-wyoming-how-dowsing-works/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="bbc2017">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-42070719 Scientist finds UK water companies use 'magic' to find leaks] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614224121/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-42070719 |date=2018-06-14 }}, BBC Oxford, 21 November 2017. (retrieved 21 November 2017)</ref><ref name="guardian2017">Matthew Weaver, [https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/nov/21/uk-water-firms-admit-using-divining-rods-to-find-leaks-and-pipes UK water firms admit using divining rods to find leaks and pipes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171121230040/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/nov/21/uk-water-firms-admit-using-divining-rods-to-find-leaks-and-pipes |date=2017-11-21 }}, ''The Guardian'', 21 November 2017.</ref><ref name="DmOKI">Camila Domonoske, [https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/11/21/565746002/u-k-water-companies-sometimes-use-dowsing-rods-to-find-pipes U.K. Water Companies Sometimes Use Dowsing Rods To Find Pipes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122001433/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/11/21/565746002/u-k-water-companies-sometimes-use-dowsing-rods-to-find-pipes |date=2017-11-22 }}, The Two-Way, NPR, 21 November 2017.</ref>

===Postulated mechanisms===
Early attempts at an explanation of dowsing were based on the notion that the divining rod was physically affected by emanations from substances of interest. The following explanation is from [[William Pryce]]'s 1778 ''Mineralogia Cornubiensis'':

{{Blockquote|The corpuscles... that rise from the Minerals, entering the rod, determine it to bow down, in order to render it parallel to the vertical lines which the effluvia describe in their rise. In effect the Mineral particles seem to be emitted from the earth; now the Virgula [rod], being of a light porous wood, gives an easy passage to these particles, which are also very fine and subtle; the effluvia then driven forwards by those that follow them, and pressed at the same time by the atmosphere incumbent on them, are forced to enter the little interstices between the fibres of the wood, and by that effort they oblige it to incline, or dip down perpendicularly, to become parallel with the little columns which those vapours form in their rise.}}

A study towards the end of the 19th century concluded that the phenomenon was attributed to [[cryptesthesia]], where the practitioner makes unconscious observations of the terrain and involuntarily influences the movement of the rod.<ref name="ByO0k">{{cite journal|last1=Pass|first1=A.C.|last2=Tawney|first2=Edward. B.|title=The divining rod|journal=Proceedings|date=1876|volume=I|pages=60 et seq|publisher=[[Bristol Naturalists' Society]]}}</ref> Early investigations by members of the [[Society for Psychical Research]] endorsed this view.<ref name="inglis254">Inglis (1986), pp.254-5.</ref>

Committed [[Parapsychology|parapsychologist]] [[G. N. M. Tyrrell]] also believed that the action of the rod was caused by involuntary muscular movements and debunked the theory of external influences.<ref>Tyrrell, G. N. M. (1938). ''Science and Psychical Phenomena'', Methuen, London.</ref>

Dowsing over maps, prior to visiting the site, was also believed to work, hence some kind of [[clairvoyance]] was proposed. This was believed to act on the [[nervous system]], rather than on the muscles directly. These various mechanisms remain in contention among dowsers.<ref name="inglis254"/>

===Fraudulent security devices===
{{Expand section|with=See talk page for refs that can be used|talk=Explosive Detectors|date=February 2022}}
[[File:RandiNYC10.10.08ByLuigiNovi3.jpg|thumb|right|Skeptic [[James Randi]] at a lecture at [[Rockefeller University]], on October 10, 2008, holding a [[United States dollar|US$]]800 device advertised as a dowsing instrument]]

In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, a number of dowsing-like devices were marketed for modern police and military use, primarily as explosive detectors, such as the [[ADE 651]], [[Sniffex]], and the [[GT200]].<ref name="justnet.org">[http://www.justnet.org/Lists/JUSTNET%20Resources/Attachments/440/moleeval_apr02.pdf Double-Blind Field Evaluation of the MOLE Programmable Detection System], [[Sandia National Laboratories]] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091104173209/http://www.justnet.org/Lists/JUSTNET%20Resources/Attachments/440/moleeval_apr02.pdf |date=November 4, 2009}}</ref><ref name="nytimes.com">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/world/middleeast/04sensors.html |title=Iraq Swears by Bomb Detector U.S. Sees as Useless |first=Rod |last=Nordland |newspaper=The New York Times |date=November 4, 2009 |access-date=February 15, 2017 |archive-date=October 15, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015141410/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/world/middleeast/04sensors.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In consequence of these frauds, in 1999 the United States National Institute of Justice issued advice against buying equipment based on dowsing.<ref name="ncjrs.gov">{{Cite web |url=https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/178913.pdf |title=Guide for the Selection of Commercial Explosives Detection Systems for Law Enforcement Applications (NIJ Guide 100-99), Chapter 7. Warning: Do Not Buy Bogus Explosives Detection Equipment |pages=71–72 |date=September 1999 |access-date=2022-02-25 |archive-date=2022-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227205831/https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/178913.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Equipment==
The device used by a dowser is typically referred to as a dowsing or divining rod, even though it may not be rod-shaped.<ref name="inglis245"/>

===Dowsing twig===
[[File:Agriculture in Britain- Life on George Casely's Farm, Devon, England, 1942 D9817.jpg|thumb|right|George Casely uses a hazel twig to search for water on the land around his [[Devon]] farm, 1942.]]
Traditionally, the most common method used is the dowsing twig, a forked (Y-shaped) branch from a tree or bush. Some dowsers prefer branches from particular trees, and some prefer the branches to be freshly cut. [[Hazel]] twigs in Europe and [[witch-hazel]] in the United States are traditionally commonly chosen, as are branches from [[willow]] or [[Peach|peach trees]]. The two ends on the forked side are held one in each hand with the third (the stem of the Y) pointing straight ahead. The dowser then walks slowly over the places where the target (for example, minerals or water) may be, and the dowsing rod is expected to dip, incline or twitch when a discovery is made.<ref name="Inglis">Inglis (1986)</ref> This method is sometimes known as "willow witching." Some dowsers would hang a golden ring on the edge of the dowsing rod, or split the tip to slide in a silver coin.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Vance |last=Randolph |title=Ozark Magic and Folklore. |date=2012 |publisher=Dover Publications |isbn=978-1-306-33958-2 |oclc=868269974}}</ref>

===Pair of rods===
[[File:Allemanswiro.jpg|thumb|left|Two L-shaped metal wire rods]]
Many modern dowsers use a pair of L-shaped metal rods. One rod is held in each hand, with the short arm of the L held upright, and the long arm pointing forward. The upright arm is often free to rotate inside a tube. When something is "found," the rods move in synchrony. Depending on the dowser, they may cross over or swing apart.<ref name="inglis245"/> If the object is long and straight, such as a water pipe, the rods may point in opposite directions, showing its orientation. The rods may be fashioned from wire coat hangers or wire flags used for locating utilities. Glass or plastic rods have also been accepted. Straight rods are also sometimes used for the same purposes, and were common in early 19th century [[New England]].

{{clear|both}}

===Pendulum===
A [[pendulum]] weight on a short cord or thread is the tool of choice for many modern dowsers.<ref name="inglis245">Inglis (1986), pp. 245–246</ref>{{obsolete source|date=October 2023}} The dowser holds the cord in one hand and allows the pendulum to swing freely. The dowser then observes how the pendulum is swinging and interprets the motion to offer insights.<ref>William Bown; "[https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12817373-200-science-the-physics-of-a-dowsing-pendulum/ Science: The physics of a dowsing pendulum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223185728/https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12817373-200-science-the-physics-of-a-dowsing-pendulum/ |date=2022-02-23 }}", ''New Scientist'', 6 October 1990.</ref>

==Studies==
* Dowsing studies from the early twentieth century were examined by [[geologist]] [[John Walter Gregory]] in a report for the [[Smithsonian Institution]]. Gregory concluded that the results were a matter of chance or explained by observations from ground surface clues.<ref name="K6Ds8">Gregory, J. W. (1928). [https://archive.org/stream/annualreportofbo1928smit#page/n381/mode/2up ''Water Divining'']. Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution. United States Government Printing Office. pp. 325–348.</ref><ref name="skmP5">[[Hugh Robert Mill|Mill, Hugh Robert]]. (1927) ''Belief and Evidence in Water Divining''. ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' 120: 882–884.</ref>
* Geologist W. A. MacFadyen tested three dowsers during 1943–1944 in [[Algeria]]. The results were entirely negative.<ref name="cMWQb">MacFadyen, W. A. (1946). ''Some Water Divining in Algeria''. ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' 157: 304–305.</ref>
* A 1948 study in [[New Zealand]] by P. A. Ongley tested 75 dowsers' ability to detect water. None of them was more reliable than chance. According to Ongley "not one showed the slightest accuracy."<ref name="yIPj4">{{cite journal|last=Ongley|first=P.|year=1948|title=New Zealand Diviners|journal=New Zealand Journal of Science and Technology|url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.27619/2015.27619.The-New-Zealand-Journal-Of-Science-And-Technology-Vol-30#page/n39/mode/2up|volume=30|pages=38–54}} via {{cite book|last=Hines|first=Terence|title=Pseudoscience and the Paranormal|publisher=Prometheus Books|location=Amherst, NY|year=2003|edition=Second|page=420|isbn=978-1-57392-979-0}}</ref>
* [[Archaeological science|Archaeometrist]] [[Martin Aitken]] tested British dowser P. A. Raine in 1959. Raine failed to dowse the location of a buried kiln that had been identified by a [[magnetometer]].<ref name="eTpbn">Aitken, M. J. (1959). ''Test for Correlation Between Dowsing Response and Magnetic Disturbance''. Archaeometry 2: 58–59.</ref><ref name="Feder 2010">[[Kenneth Feder|Feder, Kenneth L]]. (2010). ''Encyclopedia of Dubious Archaeology: From Atlantis to Walam Olum''. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 93. {{ISBN|978-0-313-37918-5}}</ref>
* In 1971, dowsing experiments were organized by British engineer R. A. Foulkes on behalf of the [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]]. The results were "no more reliable than a series of guesses".<ref name="MhZYu">Foulkes, R. A. (1971). ''Dowsing Experiments''. ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' 229: 163–168.</ref>
* [[Physicist]]s [[John G. Taylor|John Taylor]] and Eduardo Balanovski reported in 1978 a series of experiments they conducted that searched for unusual [[electromagnetic field]]s emitted by dowsing subjects; they did not detect any.<ref name="irk2l">{{cite journal|author1=Taylor, J. G. |author2=Balanovski, E. |year=1978|title=Can electromagnetism account for extra-sensory phenomena?|journal=Nature|volume=276|issue=5683|pages=64–67|doi=10.1038/276064a0|pmid=740020|bibcode=1978Natur.276...64B|s2cid=4316473}}</ref>
* A 1979 review by [[Evon Z. Vogt]] and [[Ray Hyman]] examined many controlled studies of dowsing for water, and found that none of them showed better than chance results.<ref name="Vogt1979" />
* British academics Richard N. Bailey, Eric Cambridge, and H. Denis Briggs, carried out dowsing experiments at the grounds of various churches. They reported successful results in their book ''Dowsing and Church Archaeology'' (1988).<ref name="Leusen 1998">Leusen, Martijn Van. (1998). ''Dowsing and Archaeology''. Archaeological Prospection 5: 123–138.</ref> Their experiments were critically examined by [[Archaeology|archaeologist]] Martijn Van Leusen who suggested they were badly designed and the authors had redefined the test parameters on what was classified as a "hit" or "miss" to obtain positive results.<ref name="Leusen 1998" />
* A 2006 study of grave dowsing in Iowa reviewed 14 published studies and determined that none of them correctly predicted the location of human burials, and simple scientific experiments demonstrated that the fundamental principles commonly used to explain grave dowsing were incorrect.<ref name="MQqlI">{{cite web|last=Whittaker|first=William E.|title=Grave Dowsing Reconsidered|url=https://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/islandora/object/ui%3A29948|publisher=Office of the State Archaeologist, University of Iowa|access-date=17 June 2013|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304210848/http://archaeology.uiowa.edu/files/archaeology.uiowa.edu/files/Dowsing.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* A randomized [[Blinded experiment|double-blind]] trial in 2012 was carried out to determine whether [[Homeopathy|homeopaths]] were able to distinguish between [[Bryonia]] and [[placebo]] by use of a dowsing method. The results were negative.<ref name="fcmmp">McCarney R, Fisher P, Spink F, Flint G, van Haselen R. (2002). [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1279512/ ''Can homeopaths detect homeopathic medicines by dowsing? A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503085747/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1279512/ |date=2018-05-03 }}. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 95: 189–191.</ref>

===Kassel 1991 study===
A 1990 double-blind study<ref name="lezuY">[http://www.gwup.org/psitest/ GWUP-Psi-Tests 2004: Keine Million Dollar für PSI-Fähigkeiten] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050410205142/http://www.gwup.org/psitest/ |date=April 10, 2005}} (in German) and [http://www.phact.org/e/z/kassel.htm English version] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814114138/http://www.phact.org/e/z/kassel.htm |date=August 14, 2007}}.</ref><ref name="rD0dh">{{Cite web |title=Kassel Dowsing Test - Part 1 |last1=Konig |first1=Robert |last2=Moll |first2=Jurgen |last3=Sarma |first3=Armadeo |via=Geotech - Technology for Treasure Hunting |publisher=Skeptiker |date=January 1991 |url=https://www.geotech1.com/cgi-bin/pages/common/index.pl?page=lrl&file=info/kassel/kassel1.dat |access-date=2021-05-26 |archive-date=2022-04-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428092510/https://www.geotech1.com/cgi-bin/pages/common/index.pl?page=lrl&file=info/kassel/kassel1.dat |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="0C3Uf">{{Cite web |title=Kassel Dowsing Test - Part 2 |last1=Konig |first1=Robert |last2=Moll |first2=Jurgen |last3=Sarma |first3=Armadeo |via=Geotech - Technology for Treasure Hunting |publisher=Skeptiker |date=January 1991 |url=https://www.geotech1.com/cgi-bin/pages/common/index.pl?page=lrl&file=info/kassel/kassel2.dat |access-date=2021-05-26 |archive-date=2021-05-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210526210117/https://www.geotech1.com/cgi-bin/pages/common/index.pl?page=lrl&file=info/kassel/kassel2.dat |url-status=live }}</ref> was undertaken in [[Kassel]], Germany, under the direction of the ''[[Gesellschaft zur Wissenschaftlichen Untersuchung von Parawissenschaften]]'' (Society for the Scientific Investigation of the Parasciences). [[James Randi]] offered a [[US$]]10,000 prize to any successful dowser. The three-day test of some thirty dowsers involved plastic pipes through which water flow could be controlled and directed. The pipes were buried {{convert|50|cm|in|1|sp=us|lk=on}} under a level field, the position of each marked on the surface with a colored strip. The dowsers had to tell whether water was running through each pipe. All the dowsers signed a statement agreeing this was a fair test of their abilities and that they expected a 100% success rate. However, the results were no better than chance, and no one was awarded the prize.

===Betz 1990 study===
In a 1987–88 study in [[Munich]] by [[Hans-Dieter Betz]] and other scientists, 500 dowsers were initially tested for their skill, and the experimenters selected the best 43 among them for further tests. Water was pumped through a pipe on the ground floor of a two-story barn. Before each test, the pipe was moved in a direction perpendicular to the water flow. On the upper floor, each dowser was asked to determine the position of the pipe. Over two years, the dowsers performed 843 such tests and, of the 43 pre-selected and extensively tested candidates, at least 37 showed no dowsing ability. The results from the remaining 6 were said to be better than chance, resulting in the experimenters' conclusion that some dowsers "in particular tasks, showed an extraordinarily high rate of success, which can scarcely if at all be explained as due to chance&nbsp;… a real core of dowser-phenomena can be regarded as empirically proven."<ref name="munich_study_quote">Wagner, H., H.-D. Betz, and H. L. König, 1990. Schlußbericht 01 KB8602, Bundesministerium für Forschung und Technologie. [http://www.csicop.org/si/show/testing_dowsing_the_failure_of_the_munich_experiments/ As quoted by Jim T. Enright] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329205836/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/testing_dowsing_the_failure_of_the_munich_experiments/ |date=2014-03-29 }} in the ''[[Skeptical Inquirer]]''.</ref>

Five years after the Munich study was published, [[Jim T. Enright]], a professor of [[physiology]] who emphasized correct data analysis procedure, contended that the study's results are merely consistent with [[statistical fluctuations]] and not significant. He believed the experiments provided "the most convincing disproof imaginable that dowsers can do what they claim",<ref name="enright">{{cite web |url = http://www.csicop.org/si/show/testing_dowsing_the_failure_of_the_munich_experiments |title = The Failure of the Munich Experiments |access-date = 2006-11-14 |last = Enright |first = Jim T. |date = January–February 1999 |work = Skeptical Inquirer |publisher = CSICOP |quote = The researchers themselves concluded that the outcome unquestionably demonstrated successful dowsing abilities, but a thoughtful re-examination of the data indicates that such an interpretation can only be regarded as the result of wishful thinking. |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091117185131/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/testing_dowsing_the_failure_of_the_munich_experiments/ |archive-date = 2009-11-17 |url-status = dead}}</ref> stating that the data analysis was "special, unconventional and customized". Replacing it with "more ordinary analyses",<ref name="enright1995">{{cite journal |last1 = Enright |first1 = J. T. |year = 1995 |title = Water dowsing: The Scheunen experiments |journal = Naturwissenschaften |volume = 82 |issue = 8| pages = 360–369 |doi=10.1007/s001140050198|doi-broken-date = 10 July 2025 }}</ref> he noted that the ''best'' dowser was on average {{convert|4|mm|in|2|sp=us|lk=on}} out of {{convert|10|m|ft|2|sp=us|lk=on}} closer to a mid-line guess, an advantage of 0.04%, and that the five other "good" dowsers were on average farther than a mid-line guess. Enright emphasized that the experimenters should have decided beforehand how to statistically analyze the results; if they only afterward chose the statistical analysis that showed the greatest success, then their conclusions would not be valid until replicated by another test analyzed by the same method. He further pointed out that the six "good" dowsers did not perform any better than chance in separate tests.<ref name="enright1996">{{cite journal |last=Enright |first=J. T. |date=June 1996 |title=Dowsers lost in a Barn |journal=Naturwissenschaften |publisher=Springer Berlin / Heidelberg |volume=83 |issue=6 |pages=275–277 |issn=1432-1904 |url=http://www.idt.mdh.se/kurser/ct3340/archives/ht05/assignment-2d-dowsing-articles/Articles%202-3-Betz-Enright.pdf |access-date=2009-09-26 |doi=10.1007/BF01149601 |bibcode=1996NW.....83..275E |s2cid=8201640 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328103212/http://www.idt.mdh.se/kurser/ct3340/archives/ht05/assignment-2d-dowsing-articles/Articles%202-3-Betz-Enright.pdf |archive-date=2012-03-28 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Another study published in ''[[Pathophysiology (journal)|Pathophysiology]]'' hypothesized that such experiments as this one that were carried out in the twentieth century could have been interfered with by man-made radio frequency radiation, as test subjects' bodies absorbed the radio waves and unconscious hand movement reactions took place following the standing waves or intensity variations.<ref name="O54Fh">{{cite journal |title=Dowsing can be interfered with by radio frequency radiation |url=http://www.pathophysiologyjournal.com/article/S0928-4680(12)00039-9/pdf |journal=Pathophysiology |volume=19 |issue=2 |year=2012| pages=89–94 |vauthors=Huttunen P, Niinimaa A, Myllylä R |doi=10.1016/j.pathophys.2012.01.004 |pmid=22365422|url-access=subscription |doi-access=free }}</ref>

==Scientific reception==
===Ideomotor phenomenon===
Science writers such as [[William Benjamin Carpenter]] (1877), [[Millais Culpin]] (1920), and [[Martin Gardner]] (1957) accept the view of some dowsers<ref name="ZrZdV">{{cite book|last1=Bailey|first1=Arthur|title=Anyone Can Dowse For Better Health|date=1999|publisher=Quantum, an imprint of W Foulsham & Co Ltd|location=The Publishing House, Bennetts Close, Cippenham, Berkshire, England|isbn=0-572-02461-4|page=46|ref=Bailey 1999|quote=The angle-rods are driven in exactly the same way as the forked rod: by a muscular reaction causing a slight unconscious rotation of the forearms. If the tops of the forearms rotate towards each other, then the rods will move towards each other; the opposite rotation will cause the rods to move outwards. It is the change in balance between opposing sets of muscles in the arms (flexors and extensors) that makes the rods move.}}</ref> that the movement of dowsing rods is the result of [[Ideomotor phenomenon|unconscious muscular action]].<ref name="7j4uc">[[William Benjamin Carpenter|Carpenter, William Benjamin]]. (1877). ''Mesmerism, Spiritualism, &c. Historically & Scientifically Considered.'' New York: D. Appleton and Company. pp. 47–53</ref><ref name="7p2Ph">[[Millais Culpin|Culpin, Millais]]. (1920). ''Spiritualism and the New Psychology: An Explanation of Spiritualist Phenomena and Beliefs in Terms of Modern Knowledge''. London: Edward Arnold. pp. 34–43</ref><ref name="4urba">[[Martin Gardner|Gardner, Martin]]. (1957). ''[[Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science]]''. Dover Publications. pp. 101–115. {{ISBN|0-486-20394-8}}</ref> This view is widely accepted amongst the [[scientific community]].<ref name="Zusne 1989" /><ref name="Novella 2002" /><ref name="qYM2T">[[Ray Hyman|Hyman, Ray]]. (2003). [https://quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/ideomotor.html "How People Are Fooled by Ideomotor Action"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170511105128/http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/ideomotor.html |date=2017-05-11 }}. Quackwatch.</ref><ref name="French 2013">[[Chris French|French, Chris]]. (2013). [https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/apr/27/ouija-boards-dowsing-rods-bomb-detectors "The unseen force that drives Ouija Boards and fake bomb detectors"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620132924/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/apr/27/ouija-boards-dowsing-rods-bomb-detectors |date=2017-06-20 }}. The Guardian.</ref> The dowsing apparatus is known to amplify slight movements of the hands caused by a phenomenon known as the [[ideomotor phenomenon|ideomotor response]]: people's subconscious minds may influence their bodies without consciously deciding to take action. This would make the dowsing rod susceptible to the dowsers' subconscious knowledge or perception; and also to [[confirmation bias]].<ref name="Zusne 1989" /><ref name="ULncz">Hyman, R; Vogt, E. Z. (1968). ''Psychologists examine the secrets of water witching''. ''[[Science Digest]]'' 63 (1): 39–45.</ref><ref name="d5dci">[[Terence Hines|Hines, Terence]]. (2003). ''Pseudoscience and the Paranormal''. Prometheus Books. pp. 418–421. {{ISBN|1-57392-979-4}}</ref><ref name="A7Gqj">[[Ray Hyman|Hyman, Ray]]. (2007). ''Ouija, Dowsing, and Other Selections of Ideomotor Action''. In. S. Della Sala. ''Tall Tales About the Mind & Brain: Separating Fact From Fiction''. Oxford University Press. pp. 411–424</ref><ref name="ajLAI">[http://skepdic.com/dowsing.html "Dowsing (a.k.a. water witching)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120619233401/http://www.skepdic.com/dowsing.html |date=2012-06-19 }}. The Skeptic's Dictionary.</ref>

===Pseudoscience===
Dowsing is considered to be a [[pseudoscience]].<ref name="IHcaP">[[Brian Regal|Regal, Brian]]. (2009). ''Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia''. Greenwood. pp. 56–57. {{ISBN|978-1591020868}}</ref><ref name="2TJeM">[[Massimo Pigliucci|Pigliucci, Massimo]]; [[Maarten Boudry|Boudry, Maarten]]. (2013). ''Philosophy of Pseudoscience: Reconsidering the Demarcation Problem''. University Of Chicago Press p. 38. {{ISBN|978-0-226-05196-3}}</ref><ref name="nqeNG">[[Benjamin Radford|Radford, Benjamin]]. (2013). [https://web.archive.org/web/20130703010233/http://www.livescience.com/34486-dowsing-water-witching.html "Dowsing: The Pseudoscience of Water Witching"]. Live Science.</ref>

Psychologist [[David Marks (psychologist)|David Marks]] in a 1986 article in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' included dowsing in a list of "effects which until recently were claimed to be [[paranormal]] but which can now be explained from within orthodox science."<ref name="marks1986">{{cite journal|last=Marks|first=David F.|author-link= David Marks (psychologist)|date=March 13, 1986|title=Investigating the paranormal|journal=Nature|publisher=Nature Publishing Group|volume=320|pages=119–124|issn=0028-0836|doi=10.1038/320119a0|pmid=3951553|issue=6058|bibcode=1986Natur.320..119M|s2cid=4329580}}</ref> Specifically, dowsing could be explained in terms of [[sensory cue]]s, [[Observer-expectancy effect|expectancy effects]], and [[probability]].<ref name="marks1986" />

Science writer [[Peter Daempfle]] has noted that when dowsing is subjected to scientific testing, it fails. Daempfle has written that although some dowsers claim success, this can be attributed to the underground [[water table]] being distributed relatively uniformly in certain areas.<ref name="XGif0">[[Peter Daempfle|Daempfle, Peter]]. (2013). ''Good Science, Bad Science, Pseudoscience, and Just Plain Bunk: How to Tell the Difference''. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 115. {{ISBN|978-1-4422-1728-7}}</ref>

According to archaeologist [[Kenneth Feder]], "the vast majority of archaeologists don't use dowsing, because they don't believe it works."<ref name="Feder 2010" />

Psychologist [[Chris French]] has noted that "dowsing does not work when it is tested under properly controlled conditions that rule out the use of other cues to indicate target location."<ref name="French 2013" />

Water dowsers often achieve good results because random chance has a high probability of finding water in favorable terrain.<ref name="M6d9g">{{Cite web|url=https://video.arstechnica.com/watch/teach-the-controversy-dowsing|title=Teach the Controversy: Dowsing|website=Ars Technica Videos|language=en|access-date=2019-04-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410084945/https://video.arstechnica.com/watch/teach-the-controversy-dowsing|archive-date=2019-04-10|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== In Pop Culture ==
Dowsing rods have appeared in many forms of popular media, such as [[Coraline (film)|Coraline]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://imsdb.com/scripts/Coraline.html |access-date=2025-11-17 |website=imsdb.com}}</ref> and [[Pokémon]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-tcg/pokemon-cards/series/bw8/128/ |access-date=2025-11-17 |website=www.pokemon.com}}</ref> It is often associated with ghostly or creepy themes and stories with [[Superstition|superstitious]] elements. Other elements of popular media that reference dowsing rods include use of a dowsing pendulum by Professor Calculus in ''[[Tintin (character)|Tintin]]''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Professor Calculus — Tintin.com |url=https://www.tintin.com/en/characters/professor-calculus |access-date=2025-11-17 |website=www.tintin.com}}</ref>'','' appearing as a card in ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dowsing Device MTG - The Lost Caverns of Ixalan #146 (English) {{!}} Magic: The Gathering |url=https://gatherer.wizards.com/LCI/en-us/146/dowsing-device |access-date=2025-11-17 |website=Magic: The Gathering Card Database |language=en}}</ref>'','' and appearing as a plot device multiple times in ''[[The Smurfs (1981 TV series)|The Smurfs (1981)]].''<ref>{{Citation |title=Fuzzle Trouble/Smurfette's Dancing Shoes |date=1981-12-05 |work=The Smurfs |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0873385/ |access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref>

==Notable dowsers==
[[File:Otto Edler von Graeve 4786745367 04b089ec26 b.jpg|thumb|[[Otto Edler von Graeve]] in 1913]]
Notable dowsers include:<!--This list should be restricted to individuals with Wikipedia articles-->
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Jacques Aymar-Vernay]]
* [[Moritz Benedikt]]
* [[Theodore Besterman]]
* [[Christopher Bird]]
* [[Manfred Curry]]
* [[Leicester Gataker]]
* [[Uri Geller]]
* [[A. Frank Glahn]]
* [[Otto Edler von Graeve]]<ref name="Y8sPk">{{cite news |title=His Rod to Find Radium |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1914/01/28/101914432.pdf |quote=Otto Edler von Graeve, who locates water and minerals with a 'divining rod,' arrived yesterday from Germany on the George Washington, ... |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 28, 1914 |access-date=2010-07-13 |archive-date=2021-07-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717212027/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1914/01/28/101914432.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Henry Gross (dowser)|Henry Gross]]
* [[Ernst Hartmann]]
* [[Christopher Hills]]
* [[T. C. Lethbridge]]
* [[J. Cecil Maby]]
* [[Faye Marlowe]]
* [[Larry R. Marshall]]
* [[Michel Moine]]
* [[Nils-Axel Mörner]]
* [[James Scott-Elliot]]
* [[Joseph Smith]] (in his [[Early life of Joseph Smith|early life]])
* [[Oliver Cowdery]]<ref>{{cite web | title=06 the Gift and Power of God | url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/saints-v1/06-the-gift-and-power-of-god?lang=eng }}</ref>
* [[Karl Spiesberger]]
* [[Ludwig Straniak]]
* [[Solco Walle Tromp]]
* [[Ralph Whitlock]]
* [[Professor Calculus]]
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==See also==
{{NIE poster|Divining-rod}}
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* [[Alpha 6 (device)]]
* American Society of Dowsers
* [[Automatic writing]]
* British Society of Dowsers
* [[Michel Eugène Chevreul]]
* [[Facilitated communication]]
* [[Fuji (planchette writing)]]
* [[Geobiology (pseudoscience)]]
* [[Geomancy]]
* [[Geopathology]]
* [[Ley line]]
* [[List of topics characterized as pseudoscience]]
* [[Long range locator]]
* [[Luopan]] magnetic geomancy compass 
* [[One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge]] 
* [[Ouija]]
* [[Petrichor]]
* [[Radiesthesia]]
* [[Radionics]]
* [[Rhabdomancy]]
* [[Table-turning]]
* [[TR Araña]]
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==References==
{{reflist|1=30em}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book |last1=Inglis |first1=Brian |title=The Paranormal: An Encyclopedia of Psychic Phenomena |date=1986 |publisher=Paladin |isbn=978-0-586-08463-2 |pages=245–256 |url=https://archive.org/details/paranormalencycl0000ingl_h5s6/page/245/mode/2up |url-access=registration |via=Internet Archive}}

==Further reading==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* Agicula, Georgius. (1556) ''[[De Re Metallica]]'' eng. ''On the Nature of Metals'' Modern Edition {{ISBN|978-0486600062}}
* Barrett, Linda K. and [[Evon Z. Vogt]], "The Urban American Dowser", ''[[The Journal of American Folklore]]'' 325 (1969), S. 195–213.
* [[William F. Barrett|Barrett, William]] and [[Theodore Besterman]]. (1926). ''The Divining Rod: An Experimental and Psychological Investigation''. Kessinger Publishing Reprint Edition, 2004.
* Bell, A.H., ''Practical Dowsing''. (1965) pub. G.Bell and Sons Ltd. London
* [[Christopher Bird|Bird, Christopher]]. (1979). ''The Divining Hand''. New York: Dutton.{{ISBN|978-0924608162}}
* Child, Sydney T., ''Water Finding and the Divining Rod''. (1902) Ipswich pub. East Anglia Daily Times
* Ellis, Arthur Jackson. (1917). [https://archive.org/details/TheDiviningRod ''The Divining Rod: A History of Water Witching'']. Washington: Government Printing Office.
* {{Cite book |publisher=The Cornovia Press |location=Sheffield, United Kingdom |author=Thomas Fiddick |title=Dowsing: With an Account of Some Original Experiments |date=2011 |isbn=978-1-908878-10-6 |ol=25114055M}}
* France, Henry de. (1930). ''The Modern Dowser'' pub. G.Bell and Sons Ltd. London
* [[John Walter Gregory|Gregory, John Walter]]. (1928). [https://archive.org/stream/annualreportofbo1928smit#page/n381/mode/2up ''Water Divining'']. Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution. United States Government Printing Office.
* Latimer, Charles. (1876) [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/45020 ''The Divining Rod: Virgula Divina – Baculus Divinatorius (Water-Witching)''] Modern Edition (2017) {{ISBN|978-1332230242}}
* [[James Randi|Randi, James]]. (1982). ''[[Flim-Flam!]]''. Prometheus Books. Devotes 19 pages to double-blind tests in Italy which yielded results no better than chance.
* Maby, J. Cecil and Franklin, T. Bedford. ''The Physics of the Divining Rod''. (1939) G.Bell & Sons Ltd., London
* Plattes, Gabriel. (1639), ''A Discovery of Subterraneal Treasure....'' Modern Edition (2010) {{ISBN|978-1171478898}}
* Shenefelt, Philip D., "Ideomotor Signaling: From Divining Spiritual Messages to Discerning Subconscious Answers during Hypnosis and Hypnoanalysis, a Historical Perspective", ''American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis'', Vol. 53, No. 3, (January 2011), pp.&nbsp;157–167.
* [[Karl Spiesberger|Spiesberger, Karl]], ''Reveal the Power of the Pendulum''. {{ISBN|978-0572014193}}
* Trinder, W.H., ''Dowsing'', (1939) pub. British Society of Dowsers
* [[Ralph Whitlock|Whitlock, Ralph]]. (1982). ''Water divining and other dowsing: a practical guide''. Newton Abbot: David & Charles {{ISBN|978-0709047926}}
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==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wiktionary}}
* [http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=47695 Footage of water dowser at work] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619063744/http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=47695 |date=2010-06-19 }}
* George P. Hansen: [http://www.tricksterbook.com/ArticlesOnline/Dowsing.htm "Dowsing: A Review of Experimental Research"]. In: ''[[Society for Psychical Research|Journal of the Society for Psychical Research]]'', Volume '''51''', Number 792, October 1982, pp.&nbsp;343–367
* [http://www.randi.org/library/dowsing/ James Randi, "The Matter of Dowsing"]
* ''[http://skepdic.com/dowsing.html The Skeptics Dictionary]'' – Includes details of various scientific tests
* [https://www.spiritualtree.in/healing-courses/dowsing-course.html Spiritual Tree]'' - Pendulum Dowsing School in India
* {{Scientific American Frontiers |8 |2}} On [https://www.pbs.org/saf/1210/video/watchonline.htm "Beyond Science" video] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151106125123/http://www.pbs.org/saf/1210/video/watchonline.htm |date=2015-11-06 }} featuring [[Ray Hyman]], November 19, 1997

{{Divination}}
{{Pseudoscience}}
{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Dowsing| ]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience]]