The idea is that, as the diviner walks, the rod held in this position will suddenly jerk . I'm not sure how to take your opinion on these abilities described above. I must have done it 50+ times trying to figure out what the trick was there was an undeniable pull on the branch when I would walk over certain parts of the property. The term "witching" - an exclusively American term - signifies this spooky, mysterious, occult aspect. Water-witching, 1907. Have also located water lines. I can't find a water vein underground, but I can find underground wires and pipes. Our new well supplied good water for our house (no more surface water that could be contaminated) and plenty of water for filling water troughs for our cattle. He found out wher they crossed each other then he put the ends in his one hand and held it over where he said they crossed, the end of the Y started bobbing up and down, each bob was a foot. He has found many water veins and can also do graves. One example: I located a well for one person on top of a hill, Lynn says. I have pretty good luck at it, Ive even used a pick axe with leather gloves if no wires or branches were handy Dennis. I do not have the ability but was told my Grandmother witched a lot of wells in the early 1900's. When I was 7 we had a neighbor locate the buried water lines on a new farm. Would you know of any dowsers in the middle TN area? Where do you live? When it works for them, its very convincing. All the sticks he has are the "Y" of the branches, and he shows me how to hold them. My sister and BIL recently moved and he asked me if I could come locate some water lines on their property. Some dowsers prefer them to be freshly cut. One had me hold his stick, fresh off the tree with bark on it, and had me try to locate areas to no avail. Two right angle rods will cross in front of you pointing in the direction to walk. General logic is that youd find water more often in the valley floor than on a high mountain. He often uses the same willow branch many times during a summer, occasionally cutting a new one when the old one gets really dry. I used wire for finding the lost graves. The willow never moved but when he walked behind me with his hands around mine the branch would bend down no matter how tight I held it. The welding rods locate water but dont tell you how much. Then he had water. They came in knowing the situation but all were unsuccessful. Forked stick in front, wandering arid land until, somewhat magically and often with the hint of help from some otherworldly power, the witch and the wand divine a spot in the dirt where life-giving water, at some depth underground, waits to be liberated.. If it pulls hard, you know theres a lot of water. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Some call it the gift. Others refer to it as dowsing, doodlebugging, or water witchingthe practice of locating water underground using a forked stick. So, I thanked him for his time and marked his flags with RTKand with a smile. Lynn uses willow because its plentiful, but hes also used chokecherry branches. We had two witchers as neighbors, saw them many times work their magic and never saw them miss they did it free for farmers drilling wells for livestock. You didnt tell him that theres always charlatans that impersonate the real thing. I seem to be able to do it, ive always used copper wires because thats what i was told, most of the time they cross, cant hardly stop em, but sometimes they go apart the other way, anyone know what that could mean? Dowsing can be done via many different tools, including but not limited to: two L-shaped copper rods, a willow branch, a pendulum or a weight tied to a string. Farmers have used water-witching for generations, to determine the best place to dig their wells, and to find a source of drinking water for their cattle in a pasture. It depends on the location and the severity of the drought, but usually it's between $75 and $200. He was right. Im not near as good as she was. The wire always goes across my body when it turns to the side. We can determine male or female, how deep the grave is and by determining the length of the grave figure if its a child or adult. That well driller didnt believe in water dowsing originally but now calls me whenever someone wants him to drill a well.. They both found water in different places. Then I drilled were it was most convenient (my pick) and we hit 20 gallons a minute at 132 feet. Could tell how deep to dig and how many gallons youd get a minute. That well driller didnt believe in water dowsing originally but now calls me whenever someone wants him to drill a well.. When we were having some work done, the guy we hired used 2 bent pieces of coat hanger wire to locate the pipe to out septic tank. In the sense that it finds underground water, water dowsing does not work. My great grandmother would take a fresh twitch off of a weeping willow, shaped like a "Y". We use this same technique to locate graves except we use brass rods. That well was 50 gpm at 100 foot depth. Get Instant Access! This information is very useful in determining the probability of drilling success on a nearby property. Sure enough when the well digger came to dig for the water he only went down 25 feet before he hit a artisian well with water 30 gallons per minute. Im in Dillsburg, PA 17019. Septic. One works fine. Also one of the local water companies uses dowsing rods to locate leaking water pipes. Outward again I hollered. Hes into genealogy. My Grandfarther was a well digger and I saw him use a forked stick from willow trees to find the best place to dig a well. Ive tried irrigation but cant tell. This is why many people hire a dowser. However, there is one study, conducted by the German government in the 1990s, that perplexed the scientific community. Chinese New Year: Traditions and Superstitions, Spring Equinox and the First Day of Spring, Summer Solstice and the First Day of Summer, Sell the Farmers Almanac In Your Retail Store, Grow Your Business Advertise with the Farmers Almanac, Be The Business Your Customers Will remember. If this true please explain why I have had the bark peel off in my hands trying to stop the movement! Most frustrating thing Ive ever tried to locate with brass rods. Works better than a cloth! Worked every time. It has the ability to flow laterally through these pore spaces and establish a "water table" that is generally horizontal or slightly sloping (see Figure 2). One witcher in the Cochrane district witched over twenty wells in the area in 1976. The "water witch" showed up with a willow branch that looked like a forked part of the tree. . Most successful water wells are drilled without the advice of a hydrogeologist. No scientist or anyone else is telling me its nonsense! Go try your rods on your house power line or gas line. Many took him up on his challenges but none were ever able to prove their mystical claims. My mom uses a forked willow branch. Kelly Rogers: I know in the past too they used willow rods, like willow sticks. Could find water. n. the search for or discovery of underground water sources by means of a divining rod. He kept on looking and found another one that was perpendicular to the first. I am a Practicing Water-witch with over 30 years of Hands on Experience in NE Pa. The term Water Witching is believed to be derived from ideas of magic, but it actually involves relaxation, focus and potentially some knowledge about trees. My boss called in a local witcher and within minutes stated we were a little over 20 from the site moved the rig drilled down around 30 as witcher stated and hit a great vein. Somewhat superstitious of him, huh? Subject Headings. When locating water sources for wells, he says hes been able to predict the depth about 95 percent of the time. Water Witches book. Some say that it helps if you concentrate on finding water as you walk. My neighbor can, good at it. I used to live on the eastern side of WA state, and when I was 13ish my mother bought some property near my grandparents. that was 30 years ago and still pumping good water . Water-witching for Wanderers (and Wonderers) invited the public to engage with Calgary's community of Quarry Park, the site of a former gravel pit, through dowsing. kzks: Posted 1/27/2023 08:26 (#10062732 - in reply to #10062317) . The dirt . He lived in Star Valley Wyoming, and when he was younger was often sought out by others in the community to help then locate a good location to drill a well. Dowsing is a type of divination specifically for the location of objects, most notably water or treasure of some sort, but any item can be the subject of dowsing. Then the rods look like this: . Witching is believed to have been in use for centuries, and involves using telepathic or verbal communication with a dowsing tool to relay information regarding questions asked by a dowser. I use any wire i can get hold of. A high percentage of people can get the rods to cross on a water pipe or a bottle hiden under a floor or something. I can do this with a dogwood stick and never asked for the ability. Lines. Then walk aways past the flag and walk back toward with stick in both hands. They want to drill a successful well, close to their house, where the cost of installing water lines and an electrical conduit will be minimal and where a drilling rig can be easily driven. I forgot to mention if a person is mentally distraught then not to bother trying to find water. Water Witching is derived from the word witching and it referred to a magic charm that was used to draw or discover water. Water for this old house was provided by a hand-dug well that was short of water. I also can use a pendulum to find water on a map. I water-witch with my job 3 to 4 days a week. He also told me how to measure depth & gal per min. It was life changing for me . Be open. I dont care if it is a plastic pipe, a 24, a stream of water or whatever I can find it, even with a dowsing rod made of wooden dowel rods. A case in point was when a person tried to drill a well within 30 feet of the river that ran past their property. Nothing to be ashamed of, but its better to ask around and find credible folks if possible. Yesterday the young driller cut a y shaped limb from one of our fruit trees, and used that to witch the drill site. With the copper piece at the end, I did it as a child and it absolutely works. Any advise? Then if the driller hits one and only gets 2 or 3 gallons per minute (not enough to service a home), he can continue drilling until he hits the second vein. Youre just missing out on one of the wonders of the world. Fortunately, no matter where you stand on the dowsing debate, this is one bit of ancient wisdom that you can easily put to the test! The force was strong. We are very hit and miss. It doesnt seem to correlate with soil type or rock formations on the surface. Aerial photos often reveal linear features that might indicate the presence of fracture zones in the bedrock. They showed me how to do it with a willow branch when they were getting ready to drill a well. One of the longest-running of these disagreements centers on dowsing, a supposed sixth sense that enables people to find underground water using a forked branch, pendulum or pair of bent wires . Data from controlled studies is proof this is nothing more than stuff and nonsense. The village maintenance crew (3 of them) were all downers. He said he gets 40 gallons a minute. The real test would be to determine how deep and at what flow rate. After locating the underground water with a forked willow, he figured out how deep it was by using a willow stick about 3 feet long. He looked at me. I know a guy that has this one and has yet to try it out. I can walk across a field using the wire. More Information Online I decided to let him try his spot. He has located numerous water lines on my farm since I bought it when I wanted to install hydrants or cattle drinks. 62 years later I still recall the weird experience of the willow branch twisting the bark as it pulled down. I tested this on an existing well site and the numbers did not come out right and matching the well log as to the depth of water. Thank you, Michael, Hi, I am a 3rd Generation Water-Witch. When we bought our farm in Ohio, in 1966,it only had a hand dug cistern. She has said if there is flow. It's all in how tightly you hold onto the wire. My dad would swear by the witching sticks. Subsequently Ive located running water multiple times. All this information allows the hydrogeologist to develop a three-dimensional model of the property that might define locations that are promising or those that should be avoided. Closer to center as possible. Then it just stopped and floated nicely in the water. The well driller can keep going, and you can tell him roughly how deep it might be. My Dad found the location for our well with a willow stick. Thank you very much. So definately something to do with natural magnetic or other waves that rods are picking up. If my brother touches metal it will corrode quickly. Water witching, practiced all over the world, involves using a Y-shaped stick, a "divining rod," to find underground water. Desperate farmer using a willow branch to locate a place to drill a new well. I seem to find them occasionally with the backhoe ?? The wires did move/ cross. Dowsing or water-witching is a form of divination used to locate ground water, oil, sites, and information. Known as a water witch, waterwitch or dowser, Dad has been able to sense and track underground water sources for as long as he (and I) can remember. But I do know that God can take all things and turn them for good. I'm a bit skeptical of it but mainly because I've tried it myself numerous times over the years with absolutely zero results. Most expertsother than dowsing experts, that isclassify this art to the realm of pseudoscience. Define water witching. As a matter of fact I have met a witcher who proclaimed there was no water available. What Is Dowsing? If it stops going side-to-side and starts bobbing again, you can count the bobs to see how deep it is (when it stops, There are usually only two levels, because Ive located, where they cross. Willow is "water loving," and helps point the way to the water. (6071F728-B8B7-4E6C-88F4-9389450F4030 (full).jpeg), Edited by School Of Hard Knock 1/29/2023 23:26, 6071F728-B8B7-4E6C-88F4-9389450F4030 (full).jpeg. Only some people have this ability. If its a small willow and you are holding it really tight, it can actually take the bark off the willow where you are gripping it, he says. Riana Mondavi explains the mysterious art of water witching, a craft her father Marc Mondavi uses to locate water for vineyards for The Divining Rod wines. I have a place in Pigeon Mi. Water Witching by Barbara Rudolph. Spreading sticks can be a no answer, sometimes point the direction of a stream of water thats not moving. I located an underground river and I walked the direction it flowed. He had a small well that was surface water coming from a small dam but the output would decrease during times of drought, so he spent a lot of time and money drilling for a better, drinkable water source. I honestly didnt believe until that rod practically jumped out of my hand to point downward. Not sure whether either of our sons or any of the grandkids can witch. Lynn likes to use a green willow, but even a relatively dry one will work . I have located a few places to drill a well. They started digging 10' farther to make sure they would find it. I would love to find a dowser who can find my water line location, which is essential before permit can be given on the replacement of my failing septic system. 1. I didnt know what I was doing and no one told me anything, I just held two bent coat hangers loosely as instructed by my father who was skeptical (and had heard the advice from a friend and thought it was a put-on), I walked across the yard and when I passed the pipe, they crossed. illow will work for the forked stick and the bobbing stick. One wanted to run a waterline across me 3/8 mile, under a road and onto a second neighbor to drill a well. But I think he was good at finding anything ? I have told them that there doesnt seem to be water on their acreage they wish to have well on. I know that not everyone can. Typically, the person that is dowsing holds sticks or rods and walks around a property in the hopes that the rods will dip, twitch, or cross . I know the overhead power line was said in jest However it does explain witching. The newest type of drilling rig was used, and the actual drilling time was 3 hours. 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