What force of nature makes "water witching" work?

Question

I never believed this actually worked, but tried it. It works, now I would like to find out how. Is it magnetic, electrical...? Please explain this phenomenon.

EDIT: The first time I tried this, it was to prove to myself that it did not work, and my friend was "BS'ing" me. He had used two L shaped metal rods. I was absolutely convinced this was some sort of sham.
I took the metal rods, walked around, and out of nowhere, they wrapped around me, with a little bit of force I might add. They were actually lightly pressing against my arms.
Convinced that I had somehow caused this, I spent the next 30 minutes walking around with these rods, holding them at varying angles, grips, trying to make them not work. I even closed my eyes a few times. Try as I might, it worked each and every time. The real test was to drive the well point, and there was water there. Just for grins, and so my friend could enjoy his "I told you so", we drove another about 5' away, and there was no water there.

Answer 1

Electromagnetism and gravity. I have had success divining for water. Try it: Take a steel coat hanger and cut the long side in half. Make a cut on the other 2 sides that same length. Bend until you have 2 L-shaped pieces. Stroke one side of each L with a good magnet. Hold both pieces lightly as if you were holding 2 pop cans, tilting slightly away from you. As you walk over a water source, water table, well or buried pipe the two L's will move to point to each other. Use caution, this also works to locate underground live power lines. The REASON this works is that everything in our physical environment has an energy level. When there is a difference in density or materials, then resistance is created and this can be electromagnetic resistance. Underground water is electrically conductive and carries a faint electromagnetic charge that the magnetic "L's" tend to align with. I hope that explains it better, I'm glad you were able to find a good spot for your well.

Answer 2

My father, a preacher was also a water witch. Me, I'm an engineer that never believed much in religion to his dismay but we maintained a relationship nonetheless. My father used to copper pipes with L shaped coat hangers. He was convinced it worked and the one thing about my Dad was that he wasn't prone to fantasy except for his religion and when he told me of this ability I had a hard time believing it. He even took me out in the back yard and witched the sewer line leaving the house although when I tried I couldn't make it work.

Later at my home, I decided to try it. There was an underground stream that passed close to my land and I knew it existed because at one spot there was crawdad mounds during a certain time of the year. I knew that crawdads had to live in moving water. There was also a large willow tree growing in the path of the stream and as well you could look out on the land and see a depression in the land that showed where the path of the stream ran.

My Dad witched graves most of all and not so much water but he felt he could do water if he desired.

I'm a scientist and just hearing so from him wasn't proof, so I decided to prove it one way or the other. I took a branch from the willow and got a forked stick. Then, I tested holding the stick so there was not any way for my own body to make the end deflect up or down. Unlike movies and TV shows, the way I discovered in holding required that I hold it with ends bent around. In this way, I could exert pressure that could make the end go up or down. I even walked around to ensure this.
Then, I walked perpendicular to the underground stream fully expecting nothing and thus proving it a bunch of bunk. But, as I walked over the stream the end deflected down two inches and as I crossed it came back up. I knew I hadn't done it because I knew the way I was holding it I had no control so there had to be an outside force involved.
Later, now being a believer my Dad and I had some discussions about it and the one point of interest what does old graves and a underground stream have in common. We never concluded anything but my best guess was that both are a change to the surrounding ground and this change creates a gravity lens where gravity is concentrated thus increasing it for the specifically affected area. The change is slight, but enough to show up to someone armed with a good detector.

The metal coat hangers that my Dad used could be affected by the person's body and their movement so I still think you're taking the witcher's honesty as proof while holding a willow stick in a manner as I did leaves no doubt or room for deception.

Unfortunately, My Dad passed on and I've spent the last 20 years away from my home and working hard making a living putting this idea on a back burner. It is my hope to return and perform more experiments and see if it can be proven on way or another.
Maybe, both explanations of electromagnetism and mine of gravity are right. Without further experimentation I will never know.

And please, no comments about believing in God or not.

Answer 3

bla bla bla. If it works you should contact the National Groundwater Association. For years they had a standing offer for a substantial payout to anyone that could scientifically prove that "dowsing" works. I haven't been a member since they changed their name from the National Water Well Association so I'm not sure if the offer still stands.

Answer 4

The same thing that makes a Ouija board work. Human psychology. It is a force also called the ideomoter effect. Here is an explanation:
http://skepdic.com/ideomotor.html

Answer 5

Cruel or not, it's a well known psychological fact the human beings have a real need to personify all "unseen forces" - seems to be hardwired into us.

Answer 6

It works by means of an energy force between the person and the object that is being looked for. The object emits a certain energy, it's like a psychic connection between you and the object you are searching for.

Answer 7

In underground water there lives little water gnomes that wear magnetic hats.When you dowse,of coarse it will work.If you drill a well in that area they will get mad and throw iron into the water so you have to buy water softener equipment.

Answer 8

Yes,it takes hyperdimension to dowse,but you must also understand that an entity can sense things we in physicality cannot,so there are useful things that can be accomplished.If you can dowse,you have an entity tasking in your life.All psychic phenomena is entitys as is ESP and remote viewing.But they are just people who have passed into hyperdimension,and can be good or bad,helpful or not, just as they were in physicality

Answer 9

No force of nature , It does not work.

Answer 10

I believe the word is.... Vortex. But that's just a theory. And it depends on which books you read.