"Water Witching" Fact or Fantasy

While some have been successful in water witching and even local governments have turned to them in times of need you can't help but ask the question, "Is this for real?" Could it be that they have some other intellectual knowledge giving them an edge on where to look or is there actually some sort of divination involved in the process? I'd also like to gather some insight from others who are knowledgeable on the topic so feel free to post what you know on the topic.

 

I've seen my grandpa do this and I specifically remember watching his hands, his knuckles where white from him gripping the branch so hard as it turned the bark started to twist off the branch. We dug a well there and to this day it keeps a steady level of water in it never dry!

 

Yes I was referring to "dowsing", "witching" just sounded catchier

 

I was skeptical until the dowsing rod dipped in MY hands - repeatedly - in the same place as the fellow who was educating me. It amazed me and to my knowledge the well sunk there is still producing. I'm sold *Fact*

 

The gentleman that dug my well used dowsing rods, he found where two streams crossed our place and that's where he drilled. I am a believer.

 

It seems genuine when in action, but sadly, it's a fantasy. There have been a number of experiments caried out, in attempt to verify if water witching genuinely works, and it always turned out no better than picking a spot by chance (A;ll I'm aware of were carried out in the US or Germany, but I doubt they have different laws of nature than any other country ). The movements of the dowsing rod are caused by uncoscious muscle movements, not any mysterious connection with water.

 

Maybe water witching is not true because it has no scientific basis. However, we have a family friend who lives in the mountain. When part of his property was converted into a marble quarry, he got rich. He spent for the electricity by installing electric posts and also shouldered part of the cost of the wires. But that's another story.

When I last visited their home, they were watching tv. And then I saw a pickup truck that is fairly new (slightly used). Indeed they are already rich. When I mentioned that pickup truck, the patriarch of the house said that they need it to fetch water some 10 kilometers away. So my husband injected the issue of an artesian well. To think that installing and artesian well is just a fraction of the cost of that pickup, it is logical to dig one. However, the reason for not having an artesian well is the challenge. If the installers can find water then well and good but if they cannot find water then they will not be paid. No one took the challenge because the area is mountainous and no installer has the guts to dig for water without assurance.

 

Our water source was found for us in Wales by the local Dowser. I can locate underground water using two angled wires. Around two-thirds of people can do this successfully. I have no idea how or why it works.

Try it out: Straighten a metal coat hanger, cut it in half, bend it into two 'L' shapes, then hold the shorter ends loosely in your fists with the longer ends pointing in front of you, straight out and level. When they cross, you have found water. My father used this method very successfully to track the path of field drainage and I have done so too.

My problem is that I can't tell how much water, or how far down, hence using a professional to find the water supply.

 

Well, all science and experiments conducted concerning the matter say there is no clear evidence that water witching is true or works. Certainly, there are plenty of stories about how people used the method and were able to find water. While this does seem like proof, if you dig deep enough in some areas, you will pretty much find water almost anywhere. Plus, as another poster mentioned, these witching methods supposedly can tell you where water is, but they can't tell you how much water is there or how far down you have to dig. Therefore, they are pretty unreliable whether you think they work or not.

 

I don't know if I may be able to believe in the craft of water witching. It is said to be a form of magic and I don't subscribe to magic. I have seen videos of people who were successful in finding water this way. However, for me to believe in this method I would have to prove it myself.

 

It could be true and our scientific machines ate not yet sophisticated enough to identify what the dowsing rods are gravitating toward.

 

It is a pseudoscience. Most studies performed indicate the dowsers were statically no better than chance at their findings. Some successful dowsers are likely unconsciously responding to subtle aspects of the terrain. But to ascribe supernatural agency to said is absolute flapdoodle.