Crystal Companions: The Use of the Mineral Kingdom within Modern-day Metaphysics.

Excerpt
The word “dowsing” is a relatively new term used to describe a form of psychic divining, but this practice has existed for thousands of years. In the Atlas Mountains a cave painting was discovered some sixty years ago that appeared to depict a dowser holding a forked stick. This wall mural was carbon dated as being about 8,000 years old. In Egypt there are 4,000 year old etchings on temple walls of pharaohs using dowsing tools, and at least one Chinese emperor is believed to have possessed a pronged wooden device. Both Moses and Aaron used “the Rod” to locate water and there are other references within the Bible to diviners consulting pieces of wood. The Ancient Greeks were familiar with dowsing and it is thought that the Oracle of Delphi employed a pendulum in order to answer the questions put forward to her by royal rulers, the nobility and military commanders.

By the Middle Ages dowsing tools were being used by German miners to detect the locations of mineral ores. In 1650 in an essay written by the English philosopher, John Locke, the use of a “dowsing rod” was recommended as a means of discovering water and precious metals, such as gold and silver. In the 18th and 19th centuries various English, German and French books about mining and engineering referred extensively to the art of dowsing. In the present-day libraries of both Harvard and Yale there are a number of books on this particular method of divination.

What exactly is a dowsing rod? Traditionally it is a small branch with a natural fork at one end that has been cut from a willow tree. It is held out by its single end in front of a dowser who walks slowly across the area/field/locality in question. The forked ends will either begin to vibrate or even point downwards to the position of whatever is being sought. If there is no movement along the rod, then it can be concluded that the water, mineral, etc. is not present. In more recent times two rods have been employed for dowsing. These are usually straight with one angled end and made from metal. The dowser grasps the rods loosely by the angled ends, holds them out at right angles from the body and just below chest level. S/he then moves slowly over the designated area until the rods cross over each other, pinpointing the exact placement of whatever s/he is seeking. Sometimes the rods will spin rapidly round and round, like propellers, instead of crossing over.

The use of a pendulum instead of a divining rod is probably equally as ancient. Ceramic pendulums that were found in old Egyptian tombs are held in the Cairo Museum, and those made from bone and colored stones have also been discovered in different places across the planet. All of these tools should contain some type of minerals, therefore, highlighting, once again, the relationship between dowsing and the crystalline world. Just like a divining rod, a pendulum was the tool that could pinpoint a water source. It could also give “Yes” or “No” answers to questions about a compatible lover, the right time or location for planting a crop, or the gender of an unborn child. Farmers have even been known to dowse a batch of eggs with a pendulum before placing them in an incubator. In this way they can control the number of roosters by restricting those that will be allowed to hatch.

As mentioned in the above paragraph, pendulums were traditionally carved from bone or cast from some type of clay. They were suspended at the end of a thread or fine chain and held a couple of inches above whatever was in question, e.g. an egg, a map, the palm of a pregnant woman, etc. A pendulum could also be held out in front of the dowser who then watched and interpreted its movements. In today’s world people use many different suspended small objects as pendulums, e.g. a fishing line sinker, a ring, an earring, a button, or a pendant. Whatever is available will work.