Like most things of a mystical nature it all started with ancients peoples, primitive cave drawings of a man dowsing with a twig have been dated to be 8,000 years old. The ancient Egyptians provide the first recorded evidence of using a pendulum is on a drawing dated at 4,000 years old and they used them as a means of spiritual healing the same as we do today.
The pendulum has been used in mystic rites since before the time of the pyramids. It is one of the oldest, and one of the simplest methods of obtaining information intuitively. It’s phenomenon has been explained in many ways. One popular theory is that the pendulum is an instrument for tapping into the subconscious mind. The earliest ones were made from bits of bone or brightly-colored stones.
Historically, dowsing has been known for its ability to locate water, gold, oil and other minerals, but it has also been used in many instances involving issues of life and death.
Throughout history, people have turned to the pendulum to guide them when their lives were at stake. In dire circumstances during the Vietnam war, some U.S. marines were taught to use a pendulum to locate underground mines and tunnels.
Around the 1920’s and 1930's, farmers in North America ordered "Sex Detectors" from a mail-order catalog. This popular device was a simple Pendulum. Farmers held a Pendulum over pregnant animals to determine whether offspring would be male or female. They held it over eggs before placing them in the incubator to control the number of roosters hatched - they wanted more laying hens. Many of us can remember a grandmother or aunt using a pendulum to attempt to learn the sex of an unborn child. (they did it with my 2nd child and it was wrong)
Dowsing as practiced today probably originated in Germany during the 15th century, when it was used to find metals. The technique spread to England with German miners who came to England to work in the coal mines. During the Middle Ages dowsing was associated with the Devil. In 1659 dowsing was declared Satanic by the Jesuit Gaspar Schott. In 1701 the Inquisition stopped using the dowsing rod in trials.
Subject: Pendulum Dowsing 
Fri May 15, 2009 12:41 pm
