Radiesthesia

Definition

Radiesthesia is also commonly known as dowsing. It is regarded principally as a mystic art that has many facets and applications. Basically, it is the process of locating the presence of an object, or assessing the energy given off by a subject, with an implement known as a dowsing rod, which is a Y-shaped hazel, beech, or alder branch or a copper rod. Dowsers may also use a pendulum, which is often weighted with a crystal or some other heavy weight. It is said that the important factor is the length of the line to which the weight is attached.

Origins

The concept of radiesthesia was known to the ancient Egyptians and Chinese; their artwork bears witness to this fact. Some estimate that dowsing may date as far back as 7,000 years.

The British Society of Dowsers was formed in the 1930s. The art was given the name radiesthesia by French priest Alex Bouly, derived from the Latin words radiation and perception. However, to many people it is still called dowsing. Modern practitioners of radiesthesia claim that their art uses a "sense" that was once commonly acknowledged, but that has been lost with time. Radionics is the process of dowsing using specially designed electrical equipment.

Benefits

While some may call its usefulness to question, the least that can be said is that radiesthesia does no harm. It does not employ radiation, it does not involve the administration of chemicals, and it is noninvasive. Some radiesthesia practitioners claim that they can not only diagnose illness and potential illness, but that they can also cure the patient by altering their energy patterns.

Description

Many different types of objects have traditionally been found with the aid of radiesthesia. Perhaps water wells most readily spring to mind. However, the list is long and includes minerals, lost objects, and people, including bodies, animals, and plants.

Practitioners specializing in this field list several uses of radiesthesia for health purposes. They claim that, in addition to locating areas and causes of disease, dowsing can indicate energy levels before and after healing sessions.

Radiesthesia is used by some who follow a holistic way of life to detect how fresh fruit and vegetables are before they buy them, claiming that the freshest produce gives off more energy than that which is not so fresh. It can also be used to assess the quality of soil and indicate steps to improve soil quality, they say.

The basic concept of radiesthesia is that there is some kind of interaction between the mind of the dowser and the object or information being sought. Practitioners refer to this interaction as the use of a kind of sixth sense, or extra sensory perception. It has also been described as a particular kind of instinct. Some who practice radiesthesia say that as many as 80% of people have the ability to dowse but many are unaware of it.

Some practice radiesthesia without even a prosthesis (a divining rod or pendulum), they just instinctively sense things. When used, a diving rod or pendulum is described as an implement that will help the dowser to focus on the object at hand.

To measure a human energy field, it should first be ascertained that the subject is not wearing any jewelry or crystals. Then the therapist should stand three paces away, facing the patient. L-rods (divining rods) should be held parallel to the ground and pointing towards the patient. The dowser's mind should be focused and a conscious decision must be taken to measure the energy field of the patient's body.

Radiesthesia is also used to pick a location to build a house for example, so as to avoid certain situations such as groundwater, geopathic stress, or any other factor that is believed to be detrimental to health. In times gone by, important buildings such as churches, hospitals, palaces, castles and homes, were commonly built after consultation with a dowser regarding the best location.

Usually, when consulting with a radiesthesia practitioner, the patient will first be asked to provide a full case history prior to radiesthesia analysis. If radionic equipment is used, a detector pad will measure energy emanations, which are known as rates, and will be used in the analysis. These rates are said to correspond to organs, diseases, psychological condition, the elements, and even to indicate which alternative therapy would be best to treat the patient.

Preparations

The special equipment necessary for radiesthesia is the dowser's chosen divining implement, which may include specially designed electronic equipment. However, patients will be advised to remove jewelry and any crystals, and possibly anything metal attached to their clothes.

Precautions

Those who are seeking treatment for serious disease are advised to consult an alternative practitioner with regard to a radiesthesia consultation and to mention this to their allopathic physician.

Side Effects

There are no known side effects associated with radiesthesia.

Research & General Acceptance

Although there are many unexplained accounts of the successful use of radiesthesia, or dowsing, the practice is still the target of much ridicule and even contempt from some areas of the allopathic medical profession.

Training & Certification

Since radiesthesia is considered an art, it is an acquired art more than a discipline that can be learned. However, the Radionics Institute, which was founded in 1988, offers various courses in addition to their worldwide training forum.

Resources

Organizations

The American Society of Dowsers. http://www.newhampshire.com/dowsers.org/.

The British Society of Dowsers. Sycamore Cottage, Tamley Lane, Hastingleigh, Ashford, Kent TN26 5HW, United Kingdom.

The Radionics Association. Baerlein House, Goose Green, Deddington, Oxon. OX15 0SZ, United Kingdom. (01869) 338852. http://www.interlog.com/~radionic/#institute.

Radionics Institute. 411 (W) 75 Eastdale, Toronto, Canada, M4C 5N3. http://www.mystical-www.co.uk/dowsing.html.

Other

"Introduction to dowsing." http://home.interstat.net/~slawcio/dowsing.html.

[Article by: Patricia Skinner]

A development of the art of dowsing (water witching) which extends the specific use of indicators such as rod and pendulum form water finding, to various additional uses such as the tracing of missing persons, treasure hunting, and/or the diagnosis and treatment of disease. The term radiesthésie was coined in 1930 by the Abbé Bouly, in France, where the use of a pendulum has largely replaced the divining rod. L'Association des Amis de la Radiesthésie was founded in 1930 and the British Society of Dowsers in 1933. International Congresses of Radiesthesia are held regularly in Europe. The terms "dowsing" and "radiesthesia" have become virtually synonymous, and in France "radiesthésie" is used to include all forms of dowsing.

The dowser or radiesthetist is an individual who is sensitive (and often unconsciously so) to hidden objects or other information and uses a simple indicator, primarily a dowsing rod or pendulum, to amplify this sensitivity. It is still not entirely clear if, or just what kind of, radiation might be involved, and many investigators believe the individual to be rather like a psychic medium, and certainly some of the special applications of radiesthesia seem nearer to ESP than conventional physics.

The pendulum is usually a small ball attached to a thread on the end of a short stick. It is best to use a nonspun thread or thin nylon since the twist in a thread may communicate extraneous movement to the pendulum bob. The stick is held just above its connection with the thread and the pendulum bob tends to gyrate or oscillate. The length of the thread can be adjusted by winding it round the stick, so that the pendulum movement is clearly visible. There are characteristic pendulum movements relating to various substances, indicated by the number of gyrations and whether their movement is clockwise or counterclockwise. Like the dowsing rod, the pendulum also seems to be drawn toward hidden objects.

The pendulum is often used to diagnose disease conditions in the body or indicate remedies. The pendulum is first adjusted over a healthy part of the body. When moved to an unhealthy area its movement changes.

Another use of the pendulum is simply to answer questions put to it, rather in the manner of a ouija board; "Yes" is usually indicated by a clockwise gyration and "No" by counterclockwise movement. An even more psychic use of the pendulum is known as "teleradiesthesia" or "superpendulism." Instead of using a pendulum over an actual area in which underground water or minerals are sought, the operator holds the pendulum over a map of the district. Some claim that a subtle link exists between a locality and its symbolic representation on a map. Some teleradiesthetists have also used a map to trace the movements of a missing person.

Some operators use a hollow pendulum that accommodates a sample of the material sought. Others hold something connected with the object of their inquiries in one hand while using the pendulum in the other. Since the indications of a pendulum are subtle and may also be deflected by conscious or unconscious muscular movements, some preliminary study is recommended before practice. There is considerable literature on the subject and various reports of its use.

In the United States, the American Society of Dowsers, which encourages the practice of various forms of dowsing and gives guidance and information on the subject, may be contacted at P.O. Box 24, Brainerd St., Danville, VT 05828. In Great Britain, the British Society of Dowsers is concerned with all aspects of dowsing and radiesthesia and publishes a journal. It is located at Sycamore Cottage, Tamley Lane, Hastingleigh, Ash-ford, Kent, TN25 5HW, England.

Sources:

Beasse, Pierre. A New and Rational Treatise of Dowsing according to the methods of Physical Radiesthesia. France, 1941.

Cameron, Verne. Map Dowsing. El Carismo, 1971.

Cooper, Irving S., and Willi Kowa. The Pendulum: Operational Practice and Theory. Haywards Heath, UK: Academic Publications, 1978.

De France, Henry. The Elements of Dowsing. London, 1971.

Franklin, T. Bedford. Radiations. London, 1949.

Hitching, Francis. Pendulum: The Psi Connection. London: Fontana, 1977.

Nielsen, Greg, and Joseph Polansky. Pendulum Power: A Mystery You Can See, A Power you Can Feel. New York: Destiny Books, 1977; Wellingborough, UK: Excalibur, 1981.

Wethered, V. D. A Radiesthetic Approach to Health and Homeopathy, or Health and the Pendulum. London, 1950.

This article is missing citations or needs footnotes. Please help add inline citations to guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (May 2009)

Radiesthesia is the paranormal or parapsychological ability to detect "radiation" within the human body. According to the theory, all human bodies give off unique or characteristic "radiations" as do all other physical bodies or objects. Such radiations are often termed an "aura".

A practitioner of radiesthesia believes in his or her ability to detect the interplay of these radiations. Thus radiesthesia is cited as the explanation of such phenomena as dowsing by rods and pendulums in order to locate buried substances, diagnose illnesses, and the like. Some radiesthesia practitioners like Israeli mentalist Uri Geller or German astrologer Alexander Rostamí claim that they can help oil companies to find crude petroleum reserves and other natural resources by using paranormal abilities, but this claim has not yet been proven. ^{[1] [2]}

The term radiesthesia first entered English in the 1930s and was borrowed from the earlier French radiésthesie. The English word is a compound of the prefix radi(o)-, referring to radiation and the rare term aesthesia meaning "perception by the senses", or "the capacity for feeling or sensation", which comes from the ancient Greek aisthesis "a perceiving".

Dr. Solcol W. Tromp wrote about radiesthesia in his 1949 book Psychical Physics. This reference has a bibliography of over 700 titles relating to dowsing and radiesthesia.

Gerald Gardner, in his book Witchcraft Today, 1954, refers to his own anecdotal experiences with radiesthesia as evidence supporting the existence of "Witch Power".

The Pendulum is a monthly publication devoted to radiesthesia. There are other periodicals, publications, books, societies and numerous websites on the topic.

See also

• Bovis scale
• Energy (esotericism)

References

1. ^ http://psychicinvestigator.com/demo/GELRSKP.htm
2. ^ http://66.221.71.68/who.htm

External links

• Radiesthesia Information
• Donna's World :Pendulum for divination With Forum

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