Local drilling companies often have the experience of drilling hundreds or thousands of wells in the areas where they operate. My mom uses a forked willow branch. I forgot to mention if a person is mentally distraught then not to bother trying to find water. My current well, which is collapsing, is 400 feet down. For instance, trying to find an existing modern line when somebody else put in a clay tile in almost the same spot in 1910 and there's no record of it can be frustrating. Water witching saved me days of work with shovel. The village maintenance crew (3 of them) were all downers. Forked sticks held in front of a dowser will be deflected toward the ground, a pair of L-shaped rods held lightly in the dowser's hands will cross one another, and a pendulum suspended on a string will deflect from vertical as the dowser moves over a good location. As a young teen,my neighbor friend showed me how to do it with a forked apple branch.I was a doubter.We would hide a cup of water behind or under objects in his house.Then we would do a contest on who could find the water.One particular couch we could hide it beneath on ends or middle.I was astounded and we trained ourselves and we were nearly I would say 95 % accurate.Once we had an issue with the branch dragging the tip down in the middle of the living room floor.WTF was wrong? They are attracted to his body and point back toward him. Thank you very much. This generation may be losing this old art unless some of you take up "water witching." Bill Brandon, an oldtimer touching his seventies, who lived in the Decatur area, but is now deceased . An old well striker gave me the cut coat hangers l shaped said walk around. Trees grow 3 to 4 feet per year to 50 or 60 feet, and have a spread as wide. He held it by the small end and let it bob up and down until it stopped bobbing and swung side-to-side. Lynn counts each time it bobs, and each bob represents about a foot of depth. This gives a solid base of support to hold the willow securely and firmly as you walk slowly over the area to be checked. It baffles me as to how it works. Or at least the volume and depth of a vein. In the Tassili Caves of northern Africa, an 8,000-year-old cave painting depicts a man holding a forked stick, apparently using it to search for water. I know nothing but have always suspected it has something to do with an individual's electrical charge. One example: I located a well for one person on top of a hill, Lynn says. My boss blindfolded a witcher, put him in a pickup and drove him around the city he correctly predicted every water pipe under the streets as they drove over them. Not sure how finding clean drinking water for a well or an old tile line is evil work, but I'm sure mankind can find a way to corrupt this too. I have been dowsing for 50 years with complete success. Spot they turned. 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. There are usually only two levels, because Ive located where they cross. In this Aug. 7, 2012 photo, Randy Grebke of Kohnen Concrete Products, demonstrates how he locates underground water by holding two copper wires while on a well drilling site in Huey, Ill. He says the cemetery located is located on private land near Seminary, Ms. at a place calledPeps Point that dates to the 1800s. She specializes in home, garden, environmental, and green living topics. Then I drilled were it was most convenient (my pick) and we hit 20 gallons a minute at 132 feet. I am the only one of six kids that can do it too. It doesnt work for everyone, but the ones it does work for, it makes a believer of them. I believe it has something to do with the body also. Somewhat superstitious of him, huh? On some properties, there are very few options. Eventually got mad when Im starting to laugh some and him yelling at me to do something to help and go flush a d%#n toilet! Ive only had to sit down to laugh and catch my breath like that a couple times in my life. A neighbor was accomplished in this and thought I might be able to do it as well. Systems. Keep your grasp somewhat loose and slowly walk around searching for water. My grandfather taught me in the 1966 that the Y stick needed to come from a fruit tree. Id concentrate more on finding water or whatever youre hunting. The dirt . It has drastically reduced the number of landscape losses. Witched my first well in my teens. He got out of the car, held a Y-shaped willow branch in his hands, walked in an expanding circle around the yard and, "At one point the end of the dowsing rod dipped toward the ground as though . Aerial photos often reveal linear features that might indicate the presence of fracture zones in the bedrock. Found many underground veins with it. It works over concrete, frozen ground or even during Dry times. So they sat him in the back of a pickup truck, blind folded him, and slowly drove down the main street of a small town. Other words and phrases that refer to this process include: doodlebugging, divining and water witching, willow witching. Good luck. I can't do it. The rod is usually a Y-shaped forked branch, the forks making a sort . I already knew exactly where it was,but I still watched to see if he would locate it. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); There is groundwater almost everywhere on earth, so anybody collecting money for this is a sly dog. Where are you located DryCreek? Make Some Miso Noodle Soup With A Soft Egg! But I do know that God can take all things and turn them for good. Diana fowler we also have a farm that was owned by old man jones in ohio. Usually look at blue prints to go onto the street and mark what is needed. Just had a new well drilled today. Cant afford to drill that far again. When holding the willow branches, your arms are close to your body with elbows resting against your hips. Be open. August 10, 2022 by allaboutdowsing. I was a strong farm boy, and I held that stick tight. 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. The term "witching" - an exclusively American term - signifies this spooky, mysterious, occult aspect. All anyone has to do to find their own answer is to contact their local water welldriller and ask them if dowsing for underground water really works. It doesnt seem to correlate with soil type or rock formations on the surface. Because the same types of rocks are usually present beneath that small area. Not sure about the tree branch and wells, Ive never seen anybody do that. A wire surveying flag will work but the flag needs to be removed from the wire so the wind doesn't affect the movement of the wire. The idea is that, as the diviner walks, the rod held in this position will suddenly jerk . As walking back and stick started going down placed a second flag. My cousin showed me how. George's water well thread got me thinking about it..I too am planning to drill a well in the near future. Hazel twigs in Europe and witch-hazel in the United States are traditionally commonly chosen, as are branches from willow or peach trees. Sounds simple, but does it work? My great grandmother would take a fresh twitch off of a weeping willow, shaped like a "Y". I decided to let him try his spot. You can also use apple or peach branches for water dowsing. i belivedit he used a peach branch. You didnt tell him that theres always charlatans that impersonate the real thing. Some regions have underground aquifers. If its just a small pull, there probably isnt much. Scientists were surprised to find that many of the dowsers were spot-on. First, Lynn locates water using welding rods to determine if there is any water in a certain area. He looked at me. Dowse a spot and hit the numbers we need. 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. Each has their own benefits and downfalls. He was right every time. So he recommended they call me, Lynn says. By the way two rods are not necessary. Welding rods have more mass and are even slimmer. True Story. Data from controlled studies is proof this is nothing more than stuff and nonsense. Well, after they dug at that spot, he was amazed that they found the water they needed pretty close to the projected depth. More Information Online Leave water/electricity off and nothing happens. The technique requires the dowser to hold in his hands a forked green willow branch (or a pair of bent brass rods, or any number of other permutations), then walk about, waiting for the device, also called a divining rod, to dip toward . If its a thick vein of water, the stick will swing side-to-side many times. This will indicate the depth to the next vein of water if one exists. Then took a corn cob with the corn on it and told him to count how many times it bobs up and down. 3) The combination of the flowing water as a good conductor of electricity, the + and of the clay particles form and develop Clay veins or clay conduit (pipe). Dowsing is a type of divination employed in attempts to locate ground water, buried metals or ores, gemstones, oil, claimed radiations (radiesthesia), gravesites, malign "earth vibrations" and many other objects and materials without the use of a scientific apparatus.It is also known as divining (especially in water divining), doodlebugging (particularly in the United States, in searching for . It was about 18 long in a "Y" shape. He'd had a new well drilled for the house but wanted to reactivate the old one for watering his garden. Yes, I can witch water. And don't fall for the people using welding rods, they work for water lines but not aquifers. One had me hold his stick, fresh off the tree with bark on it, and had me try to locate areas to no avail. I put a 1500 gallon surface tank and a pressure tank. If they find good water and want to buy me a drink sometime that up to them. This process hasnt failed me yet. If it stops going side-to-side and starts bobbing again, this indicates another vein of water below that one and you can count the bobs to see how deep it is (when it stops and goes side-to-side again), he says. I honestly didnt believe until that rod practically jumped out of my hand to point downward. More for local enjoyment. It was dead on and worked backwards and forwards. Although Agricola used this illustration in his book and reported that the dowsing rod was being used to locate minerals, he rejected the practice and instead recommended trenching [5]. It wasnt marked. Im about half of them the wire will start going down on them when they approach the vein. In ancient times, it used to be relatively easy to come up with rudimental water dowsing . I usually also check the state register of wells in area to get an approximate depth and well capacity in area. But on occasion there might be more.. The force was strong. I moved to a rural community from Chicago in the early 70s. It was the same driller who saw my success locating water just a few feet from a dry hole. Looks like a lot of potential millionaires amongst us *****I think he has passed on now but there was a guy named James Randy, who used to appear on the Johnny Carson Show. He handed me his dowsing rod, which was a forked copper wire, and it worked! He was a local legend as a water witcher who succeeded in finding water when drillers failed. I don't like the way it feels when you find one, but I no longer doubt it. I have told them that there doesnt seem to be water on their acreage they wish to have well on. This is absolutely 100% real and true. It's a centuries-old practice. Many dowsers prefer forked sticks made from willow, peach, or witch hazel wood. Ive never tried finding a water vein for a well. Thats a big gamble. Havent been successful at it myself but Ive seen it done and it does work. And I dont charge because I cant guarantee 100%. 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. Wires going apart can be an old road bed. It's yet another example of magical thinking. I was a golf course irrigation foreman for many years and whenever we couldnt find a system or branch of the main line, I would think pull out 2 metal pieces of wire and locate the missing irrigation line before the other guys even got their high tech (expensive) locators out of the box and powered on. I wont lie to them if I feel I dont recognize a water vein. Im not the type that believes in the super natural but I have no idea why/how that works, yet it does. I haven't tried to find water since but I can find water and electric lines with wires. I walk to that point and when I get to the exact point my wire will turn in the direction of the underground water vein. Then the rods look like this: . Mar 22, 2015 #4. I am a Practicing Water-witch with over 30 years of Hands on Experience in NE Pa. He also located the geothermal lines that were near the drill site. Now, skeptics would argue that the reason for this is simple: No matter where you drill, as long as youre willing to drill deep enough, youre bound to find water eventually. Also like vein at least 400 feet long or better. 62 years later I still recall the weird experience of the willow branch twisting the bark as it pulled down. I used to live on the eastern side of WA state, and when I was 13ish my mother bought some property near my grandparents. I also knew that the Soviet Army travelled with just 2 days fresh water supply, but several battalions of dowsers. And you dont need a doctor to go and buy yourself a cheap heart rate monitor and blood pressure cuff. It may sound like some rather hokey hocus-pocus, or something from, say, 500 years ago. The small end, where you are holding it, is less than 1/4 inch in diameter, he says. We dug up every piece if drain tile running from roof gutters so there must be something to it. You can use just one rod, and it works just as well as if you use two. These rocks do not contain pore spaces through which water can flow. Sure enough, the second stream really has good flow. I was stunned by my first success when the stick pointed straight down and pulled my hand with it. The studys findings showed that the dowsers predictions concerning depth and volume were accurate to within 10% to 20%. "Dowsing," "water witching," "divining," and "doodlebugging" are all names for the practice of locating groundwater by walking the surface of a property while holding a forked stick, a pair of L-shaped rods, a pendulum, or another tool that responds when the person moves above a location that will yield an adequate flow of water to a drilled well (see Figure 1). 23 years ago I had a bunch of tiling done. Mar 27, 2017. Nothing to be ashamed of, but its better to ask around and find credible folks if possible. Then walk aways past the flag and walk back toward with stick in both hands. And sometimes people who are interested in a certain property ask him to find water before they decide to buy it. A multi million dollar grant to research it. The most popular dowsing tool, however, is the dowsing rod. I have used bent coat hangers to locate water and pipes underground. I can do it but only with bare brazing rods for whatever reason. Its the disruption in the earth that does it. Long story short Dad drilled a bunch of test holes anyway that turned up little to nothing at best. I dont have much luck finding water veins consistently. Had well digger out there and only found 6 dry holes I knew the area was hard place to find water in. A new branch of government to regulate it and then a $1500 license to do it. My neighbor can, good at it. It will save a lot of backhoe time. Would be grateful if youd share. Dowsing tools include a variety of things, such as pendulums, car keys, wire rods, coat hangers and pliers. Your dowsing rod should also be relatively flatno branches sticking out in odd directions. Place flags apart from each other to see how wide the vain is. I use any wire i can get hold of. Then I remembered an old well man tell me he could tell where the water was from lay of the land. I am a 4th Generation Water-witch. Location. My religion says that if we are doing something for a good purpose then its alright. Hi fejneerg, thanks for sharing your info! Your dowsing rod should also be relatively flatno branches sticking out in odd directions. I had a co-worker who showed me how to dowse, he made me (2)L-shaped copper rods. 50+ years later that well is still going and has the cleanest water in the area (tested every 2 years), Dowsing is an absolute joke. My father took a shovel, and dug straight down at the point where the rods pointed at each other, hit the pipe, busted it open and fixed the issue with our main. Word got around, and more people asked him to find water. Coal River Folklife Collection (AFC 1999/008) Repository. Driller came within 2 in of my spot he dowsed also. Rods will turn in their hands. Some people use hazel wood, but it doesnt grow where we live. I walked around and was flabbergasted when those stupid wires started moving on their own! If vein is 10 steps wide about 30 feet then there is usually 20-25 gallon well in our area. n. the search for or discovery of underground water sources by means of a divining rod. Cindy, just reading this looking for a witcher or dowser. Later, my husband, Lynn, became really good at this He first witnessed water witching, commonly called water dowsing, in 1955 on the ranch where he grew up. Be clear with intention. Dig somewhere between the flags. Each bob is supposed to indicate the depth to the water. Harvest young branches of a willow tree, ideally first-year growth. I was having a well dug before we built our house 4 years ago. None of the dowsers rods or twigs even twitched at this location. An expert told us not to stop at the first stream but put a pump on the well snd suck it out while it was dug down further. Back then as a 12-or 13-year-old kid on the farm, the search for finding water is where it begins. It was critical to get the communication cable working quickly. I will try it this spring. "Willow branches," he says. He found every water and sewer line. It works. In PA Dutch country, you might hear it called "water smelling". Ever wonder why there needs to be a pump at the bottom of a deep well. He hung a small weight on a string from the middle of the lid. They have learned through this experience the parts of their service area where wells with adequate amounts of quality water are usually encountered. When dowsing for water, Lynn uses two steel welding rods, bent in L shape. Hell no, I went with the pick of the most highly recommended dowser. In Europe and northeastern US, it is known as dowsing. I never had any trouble getting it to work by myself just picked up the Y shaped branch, held the 2 short ends tight like you described, and walked. But I think he was good at finding anything ? You can use virtually any kind of tree, but Y-shaped sticks from willows, witch hazel, and various fruit and nut trees seem to be the most popular. I can find buried waterline & tile using 2 welding rods, -the flush, bent @ a 90 angle. I have located a few places to drill a well. Should have been James Randi. When locating water sources for wells, he says hes been able to predict the depth about 95 percent of the time. i went with him many time when he was witching ,i would mark where with a stone . Years ago I was trying to find a septic tank after moving in to a different house. Water is not always where youd expect. He smokes a lot of dope, that maybe helps. Farmer wipes the sweat off his head after removing a cowboy hat. Maurice's dad wanted a better well so he engaged the services of a man known as a water diviner with a willow. It is a unique talent that I also have I generally use one rod in my receiving hand. Closer to center as possible. 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. Can you do it? Some dowsers prefer branches from particular trees, and some prefer the branches to be freshly cut. flag 1 like . Subsequently Ive located running water multiple times. I guessed at a spot and they dug down 300ft. Although most would say that dowsing is nothing more than a myth, there are quite a few people today whobelieve in this practice. Cut a Y-shaped stick from a tree, making sure that all three sections of the Y are between 12 and 16 inches long. Since then, I have used it multiple times to find old water lines with good results. Count the number of bobs until it stops. Could find water. One wanted to run a waterline across me 3/8 mile, under a road and onto a second neighbor to drill a well. If this true please explain why I have had the bark peel off in my hands trying to stop the movement! That's the way he found an underground well passing through our background. I was telling my buddy this and he disagreed, He told me 30 some years ago they were trying to find enough water for irrigation He ended having a well known well witcher from the area give it a try. 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