Here are some answers to frequently asked questions

Can Anyone Dowse?
Basically, we think the answer is yes, insofar as the ability appears to be a natural human faculty. After all animals have the instinct to seek water often from many mile distant. It is a skill which can be taught you can attend courses and workshops to learn. However, a few people do appear to have some difficulty, whilst at the other end of the spectrum lie those who have a particular gift. Young children often demonstrate a natural flair for dowsing but most of us can develop the art by practise and perseverance.
What Tools Do I need?
The instruments and tools dowsers use are simple. For the most part they are simply an extension of the human response giving clearer signals than can sometimes be detected without them:

V Rod Traditionally made from a forked twig, this instrument can be made up from any springy material such as wood, cane, plastic or metal.

Angle Rods These are L shaped rods, usually used in pairs. The sorter arm of the L is held in the closed palm with the long section parallel to the ground and to each other. Typically, when the target is reached the rods will cross indicating the spot.

Wand This is a single long rod held in the hand and will react with circular or oscillating movements.

Pendulum A bob on a twine reacts with a number of different movements and is often used in conjunction with charts or over a map for distant dowsing.
There are a large variety of such tools and they come in all shapes and sizes but they are almost all variations of the above.
What Can I Use it For?
The uses of dowsing are many and include the following:-
Water
The search for water is an important and practical exposition of the art. In addition to predicting the position where water may be successfully found a good dowser will also be able to indicate its portability, depth, volume, pressure and the sort of geological strata that will have to be drilled through to reach the source. Whilst most people have some idea of water lying underground as a water table dowsers are also able to pinpoint water lying in underground streams or aquifers when adjacent drilling would only be into dry rock.
Archaeological Searches
Dowsers are able to detect changes in soil formations beneath the surface and to find hidden foundations of earlier buildings.
Soil testing
Agriculture Soils can be analysed for acidity, organic content and nutrient status. Plants and animals can be checked for diseases and seeds for germination.
Mineral and Oil Prospecting
As indicated above the use of dowsing in searching for minerals is ages old and in more recent times the art has been successfully used to locate oil fields.
Site surveys
Dowsing has been employed to locate hidden and dangerous mine shafts, underground tunnels and all manner of building services such as electricity, gas, water, telephone lines on building sites.
Healing and Medicine
Dowsing is widely used to detect and seek the causes of imbalance leading to poor health as well as determining the most suitable remedies. Food intolerance and allergies is another area where dowsing has been of help.
Earth energies
The study of the energy patterns associated with standing stones, circles and other ancient sites can be greatly assisted by the use of dowsing. How these energies interact with more modern buildings and the people who dwell therein can
be determined with the use of the dowsing faculty and advice given on how to minimise malign effects
Missing Objects
Although a difficult and problematic area for many dowsers, success in this area has been clearly
demonstrated. Again, expert advice should be sought.