Dowsing for water? | Geomancy Australia – Heal the Earth, Heal Yourself

Many of us who live in the country know someone, or know of someone, who can dowse for water. Water divining – or water witching as it’s sometimes called – is an ancient art that many businesses and landowners still rely on today.

The tools used by these dowsers can vary, from a forked stick or scrap piece of wire, to a set of L-rods or a pendulum. Whatever is used, the dowser will walk the land with tools in hand, waiting for a reaction that tells them where the water is. Important in the success of this is setting the intention of exactly what you’re looking for and why. There’s no point just dowsing to look for any underground water, you need to be more specific. If you’re looking for drinking water, you need to set the intention that you’re looking for clean drinking water that even in drier months will yield enough water to warrant the cost of drilling to find it – no point tapping into a water vein that’s polluted, or where the water table drops below your bore hole in summer months. It’s also vital to consider what’s going on up and down stream of where you plan to dig (balance shouldn’t be disturbed by any hole dug).

Drilling a well can cost thousands of dollars. Rather than relying on hydrologists to locate water using scientific tools, many instead use water diviners. Good dowsers have been found to have a very high accuracy rate, often higher than many hydrologists. Even the CSIRO’s chief executive, physicist Dr Larry Marshall, has respect for water diviners and is recorded as saying: ‘I’ve seen people do this with close to 80 per cent accuracy and I’ve no idea how they do it.’

However, it’s useful for more than just drilling bores. For example, some plumbers are taught to the skill to find underground pipes – though many aren’t aware of what it’s called. (I’ve met quite a few people who, when I tell them I dowse, say they did it for years but had no idea that’s what it was called, or that it was ‘a thing’.) Others think it’s just an old bushman’s trick … until they give it a go and have their own successes. (See this article water divining in NSW and WA, for example.)

Some believe it works, others doubt it can be done. Many don’t believe it until they try it for themselves! (See this article, for example.) Some believe only a select few can dowse for water (as does this Australian water diviner), but I would argue that anyone can do it when they learn how – and with a lot of practice! Are you curious to learn more and try it out for yourself?

Come and put your skills to the test alongside a professional water diviner who’s been working in the field for over 30 years.

Learn more about the geological formations that hold water, how to dowse and all the considerations needed when applying this skill in the search for water.

WATER DIVINING
27 Jan 2019 (1 day)
Hepburn, Victoria