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Pendular Diagnosis: From Dowsing to Diagnostic Methodology?

Article  in  Seminars in Integrative Medicine · June 2005

DOI: 10.1016/j.sigm.2005.04.002

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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
Pendular Diagnosis:
From Dowsing to Diagnostic Methodology?
Jarva Chow, BA
T he diagnostic aspect of healthcare is perhaps one of the
most important in the healing process. Without a clear
idea of what caused the illness, the healthcare practitioner
will have difficulty developing an effective treatment. How-
ever, despite its significant role, there exist several differing
views of how to define “diagnosis.” Depending upon a prac-
titioner’s understanding of health, disease can manifest in the
human body in varying ways, giving different indications for
which to search.
In general, the biomedical model of diagnosis is based on
objective testing against a predetermined health baseline for
foreign vectors that can be considered the source of disease.
Once deviations in the data are found, an appropriate treat-
ment can be prescribed. On the other hand, among comple-
mentary and alternative medicine (CAM) modalities, there is
a more individualized view of health and disease expression
in patients, relying on the practitioner’s ability to use intu-
ition to sense subjective illness qualities in each individual.1,2
For example, in Chinese medicine, pulse diagnosis is based
on the idea that there exists a pulse for each major organ and
that assessing the location, rate, rhythm, and quality of each
pulse will help to determine disease etiology.2 Similar to tra-
ditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Ayurvedic methods of exam-
ination incorporate an inspection of the tongue for differences in
color and coating to subjectively identify the disease.3 Tradi-
tional Japanese medicine uses a diagnostic technique called
O-ring testing that has come to be known as the Bi-digital
O-Ring Test (BDORT). The efficacy of BDORT is based on an
energetic model of each individual.4 Often, in order to iden-
tify diseases on a case by case basis, such subjective diagnos-
tic techniques may be useful in improving current biomedi-
cal methods.
The idea of using a pendulum to diagnose illness is yet
another CAM diagnostic technique that is not based on ob-
jective data and is perhaps considered less accepted than the
Department of Physiology & Biophysics, Complementary and Alternative
Medicine (CAM), Georgetown University, Washington, DC.
Address reprint requests to Jarva Chow, BA, 1557 Pine Lake Drive, Naper-
ville, IL 60564. E-mail: jarvachow@gmail.com
38 1543-1150/05/$-see front matter © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.sigm.2005.04.002
previously mentioned techniques. The origins of “pendulum
(or pendular) diagnosis” can be traced to ancient times and
the fabled ability of man to find water through “divination.”1,a
The idea of searching for water with a forked stick, or
dowsing, has been seen as typical of superstition, ignorance,
and witchcraft. It has even been called “water-witching” by
skeptics. In its development, dowsing has had many different
names and many more definitions. According to Raymond
Willey in his book Modern Dowsing, dowsing is “. . . the ex-
ercise of a human faculty, which allows one to obtain infor-
mation in a manner beyond the scope and power of the
standard human physical senses of sight, sound,
touch, . . . .”1 The American Society of Dowsers’ official def-
inition is “. . . someone who communicates with the Universe
through the use of mind, body and tools. Tools are used as a
significant method of increasing a person’s sensitivity to re-
ceiving answers to questions that go beyond one’s three di-
mensional senses. Dowsing is the active and systematic expe-
riencing of intuition” (see Appendix for a list of dowsing
associations online). The broadest definition of dowsing
identified is from Christopher Bird, the author of The Divining
Hand, who defined dowsing as “to search for anything.”1
Therefore, dowsing can refer to any number of things. Today,
water-dowsing is still considered controversial. However, the
fact that dowsing has managed to survive from ancient civi-
lizations to today on several different continents warrants
investigation into its efficacy.
Dowsing has even been incorporated into more than one
medical modality as a diagnostic tool. The following is an
exploration of how “water-witching” may evolve over time to
become integrated into the field of CAM.
Early Dowsing
Early Encounters
Dowsing, it seems, has been around as long as recorded his-
tory. From the Bible to ancient etchings found in both China
adivination (n) ● Practice of discerning the hidden significance of events and
foretelling the future.5
Historical perspective: Pendular diagnosis
and Egypt, the very first finding may be impossible to deter-
mine. Homer mentions Circe possessing a rhabdos or rod in
the Odyssey; this may be the origin of the term rhabdomancy,
meaning “divining by a rod.” Some make a further conceptual
leap, connecting a separate Odyssey reference, of Hermes’
rod, the Caduceus, to a divining rod.1,5 The Caduceus, being
the symbol of modern medicine, casts a more hallowed light
on dowsing than the doubtful impression it usually leaves.
On the other hand, today’s physicians may find it disturbing
that the Caduceus was based on a divining rod.
The discovery of stone etchings from 2200 BC depicting
Emperor Ta Yü with a forked divining rod indicates the pos-
sibility that dowsing originated simultaneously from geo-
graphically diverse sources such as Ancient China. The leg-
end of Emperor Ta Yü alludes to his possessing a special
affinity with water— enabling early Chinese land to be hab-
itable by not only making the water available, but also man-
ageable to the people.1,5
Dowsing rods have developed from differing origins to
result in the many derivations of instruments used today,
including pendulums. In Norse mythology, the belief that a
giant ash tree supports the universe may underlie the fact that
branches from the ash tree are most commonly used for
dowsing rods in modern Scandinavia. The people believe the
ash has inherent powers that allow dowsing to work. On the
other hand, Herodotus, the Father of History, mentions the
use of willow divining rods in the 5th century BC, though,
without mentioning the significance of using a willow. In
New Zealand, the Maori asked questions of mahoe wood
divining rods, thought to have a residing spirit within that
was the true source of their answers.1
Possible Origins of Terminology
The term “divining” most likely had its origin in references to
mining. In 1758, William Borlase makes the first published
mention of virgula divinatoria, or “divining rod” in Latin. His
account of mining describes the use of divining to comple-
ment conventional methods of unearthing metals. Another
term used was dewsys rhodl, literally “goddess tree branch,”
alluding to an innate power. The extensive usage of dowsers
by the German government indicates a possibility that the
term “dowsing” originated in Germany.6 Vernacular evidence
include the German words deuten, which can mean to inter-
pret, indicate, or to explain, and the term rutenganger, mean-
ing diviner or the art of divination. Rutenganger is loosely
translated as “one who . . . walks with the rod.”1
Rediscovery and Conflict
No references to dowsing were identified between ancient
times and the 1300s, when Basil Valentine, the Benedictine
monk who discovered the element antimony, recorded his
ability to discover various metals through the use of rods of
numerous types, named the Fire, Burning, Springing, Strik-
ing, Lifting, and Lower Rods.1 Nevertheless, Germany is gen-
erally considered the official origin of dowsing, where today,
to some extent, it is accepted as a phenomenon.6 By the 16th
39
century, supporters of water-dowsing asserted that a select
few gifted individuals could sense something immeasurable
by the instruments of their time. This belief is reflected in
the language, including the term Erdstrahlen, literally “earth
rays,” to describe whatever may have been the source of the
dowser’s intuition, and Wünschelrute, meaning “wishing
rod.”7 Later, Georgius Agricola published De Re Metallica, or
On Metals, which described dowsing in the mining industry.
However, even though he delayed publishing until a year
after his death to include illustrations of wood cuttings that
depicted dowsers mining, he expressed doubt as to the worth
of trusting in an “enchanted twig.”1
As published recordings of successful dowsers began to
appear, so did accounts of their exploitation. One of the most
infamous recorded punishments of dowsers occurred in 17th
century France, when Cardinal Richelieu imprisoned the
Baroness Beausoleil at Vincennes, separately from her hus-
band, Baron Beausoleil, who was kept in the Bastille. The
motive was a report from the Baroness to the cardinal, The
Restitution of Pluto, describing her use of dowsing to locate
numerous mines that would bring France countless riches.
Both the Baron and Baroness died while still imprisoned.1
Without a logical explanation for its efficacy, dowsers have
always been suspected of duplicity. The origin of “water-
witches,” as dowsers are often referred, has been speculated
to have begun in the Dauphiné province of 17th century
France. Those who could discover the source of water were
called sourciers, or witches. The movement against dowsing
was headed by Father Lebrun, who wrote numerous books
and articles denouncing its use, including Critical History of
Superstitious Practices Which Have Seduced Lay Persons and
Embarrassed Savants.1 He spent much of his life dedicated to
disproving the art and linking it with the works of the devil.
Ironically, dowsing was later brought back into favor by a few
prominent French clergymen.
Anecdotal stories of dowsers finding water veins and pre-
cious metals were accumulating, yet skepticism persisted. As
the popularity of dowsing increased, so has the number of
scientists intent on finding either a plausible mechanism or
fully discrediting the practice. Perhaps the largest study ever
conducted on dowsing efficacy was the Scheunen (barn) Ex-
periments, funded by the German government in 1987. The
results, unfortunately, became the subject of an intense de-
bate over how to interpret the data. The original conclusion
by the authors was that the data did not prove that self-
proclaimed dowsers could discover a water source better
than by chance. However, a few individual dowsers were
reported to have had incredible results.7 Therefore, while the
group of dowsers as a whole did not perform better than had
they guessed, the idea of dowsing could not be dismissed
entirely. About five years later, a rebuttal was published by
J.T. Enright asserting that the data could not be interpreted
any way other than as a whole. Enright concluded that water
dowsing was ineffectual and any anecdotal evidence should
be dismissed as chance occurrence.7 The same year, Ertel
published a response to Enright, refuting his dismissal and
offering the explanation that the dowsing environment
caused the negative results. A diagram was included depict-
40
ing the missed attempts of dowsers in a pattern inverted to
the actual location of water. Ertel hinges his argument in
favor of dowsing on the idea that the data should have in-
cluded the positive and negative differences in distance be-
tween the guessed location and actual location. Interestingly,
once this is accomplished, the dowsers’ performance is sta-
tistically significant.8 The original authors also responded to
Enright a couple months later, defending their statistical
analysis as well as considering Ertel’s analysis to have some
validity. They conclude that even anecdotal evidence should
not be dismissed, because science cannot conclusively prove
or disprove everything.6 The exchange ends with a less than
courteous reply by Enright that unfortunately the practice of
dowsing will most likely not disappear despite the available
corpus of inconclusive evidence.9
The same situation has been played out in North America,
as can be seen in the exchange between the newly formed
American Society of Dowsers (ASD) and the United States
Geological Survey (USGS), a branch of the US Department of
Interior. In 1966, the USGS issued a brochure entitled Water
Witching, which discredited the practice. The ASD secretary,
Raymond Willey, began a discourse with the USGS Director,
William Pecora. Ultimately, Willey succeeded and the USGS
withdrew all publications in which the US government could
be inferred as qualified to determine the efficacy of dowsing.
However, in 1977, when Pecora was replaced, the USGS
published a new Water Dowsing pamphlet, which regarded
the practice as unproven. The new brochure was not re-
tracted despite Willey’s efforts.1 The controversy over dows-
ing remains, as there are anecdotal accounts of the phenom-
enon that cannot be explained within the accepted scientific
criteria of a causal relationship.
Evolution of Medical Dowsing
One may object that many dowsers can commit every
kind of error. But are not many doctors insufficiently
prepared to practice their art, or engineers of markedly
inferior quality? Likewise, there are dowsers and there
are dowsers.1
—Armand Viré in La Nature
If Germany can be considered the origin of modern dowsing,
then France is the origin of medical dowsing. In 1913, a
French biologist, Armand Viré, set out to disprove the prac-
tice of dowsing by having volunteers attempt to map out
underground caves. Viré was so impressed by the results that,
instead of proclaiming the end of a superstition as he had set
out to do, he published Comment Devenir Sourcier, Ce Que J’ai
Vu, Ce Que J’ai Fait (How to Become a Dowser, What I’ve Seen
and What I’ve Done). In the volume, he expresses his initial
contempt of a phenomenon that could not be objectively
explained by science and his subsequent conversion.1 He
alludes to the advent of medical dowsing, which did not
come until Father Jean Jurion, Abbé Alexis Bouly, Father
Jean-Louis Bourdoux, and Abbé Alexis Mermet became in-
volved.
J. Chow
A recognized water dowser, Abbé Alexis Bouly, was the
originator of “Radiesthésie.” He used a combination of the
Latin root for “radiation” and the Greek root for “perception”
to mean “radiating perception.” His ultimate goal was to give
dowsing credibility, first by separating it from its highly con-
troversial past by giving it a new name, and later by scientific
testing. In 1929, Abbé Bouly founded the Society of Friends
of Radiesthesia and began conducting scientific experiments
to uncover the mechanism by which dowsing could work. He
was purported to be able to identify different cell cultures
through the use of only a pendulum, verifying his results
by microscope. He hypothesized that Radiesthesia worked
through microscopically visible vibrations that could then be
sensed with the help of a pendulum. His experiments were
repeated (by himself) in hospitals around France and Belgium
under the observation of physicians. He was later awarded the
French decoration, Chevalier de La Legion d’Honneur, in ac-
knowledgement of his contributions to society.1
Around this time, Father Jean-Louis Bourdoux was adminis-
tering to populations in Brazil when he contracted consumption
(tuberculosis) followed by a fever that lasted several weeks. After
being treated for his illness by local parishioners using indig-
enous plants, Bourdoux took samples of the plants that saved
his life for analysis in France. He believed there should be a
method for others to determine the health-preserving effects
of unfamiliar plants if ever in his situation. Before meeting
Abbé Alexis Mermet, he could find no satisfactory answer to
this question. However Mermet, a renowned dowser, intro-
duced Bourdoux to his novel derivation of dowsing, “pendu-
lar diagnosis.” He was convinced that, if dowsers had the
ability to locate something hidden from sight, they could use
the same ability to discover indiscernible medical conditions.
Father Bourdoux believed pendular diagnosis was his an-
swer, and, after extensive study and another visit to Brazil to
reexamine his new technique, Bourdoux recorded his find-
ings in Practical Notions of Radiesthesia for Missionaries.1
However, the evolution of Radiesthésie into a medical di-
agnostic technique was not accomplished until Father Jean
Jurion became interested in using dowsing in his life pursuit
of helping the needy. Introduced to the technique by another
priest, Father Jurion only used pendulums half-heartedly, to
locate missing objects. Surprisingly positive results con-
vinced him enough of its merit that he began studying Radi-
esthesia and Homeopathyb in an attempt to adapt his dows-
ing skill to help the hopelessly ill. Homeopathy was studied
in conjunction with Radiesthesia because of their similar
foundations in an energetic basis of health.2,10 Jurion’s first
attempts at diagnosing illness were corroborated by physi-
cians. He then progressed to prescribing homeopathic rem-
edies with the aid of Mermet’s pendular diagnosis to distin-
guish which remedy would be most beneficial. After repeated
success, he moved on to incurable patients, with improbable
effectiveness. Reports of his healing proficiency combined
bHomeopathy is a method of self-healing assisted by small doses of medicinal
substances (with the power to resonate with the illness as a whole) and
practiced by licensed physicians and other health care professionals
throughout the world.2
Historical perspective: Pendular diagnosis
with the efforts of cured patients demanding compensation
from insurance companies led to his inducing the wrath of
the French medical association, Ordre des Médecins (Order of
Physicians). After investigating a series of cases to determine
whether to compensate medical services offered by Father
Jurion, Robert Felsenhardt, the director of an insurance com-
pany, not only agreed to compensate the medical dowsing
efforts of Radiesthetists but also offered his legal services as
protection from the French Medical Society. Today, medical
dowsers have progressed, gaining official recognition by the
French Ministry of Labor as a professional group, Syndicat
des Radiesthetisistes, or the Union of Medical Dowsers (see
Appendix).1
Adaptation from Radiesthésie
The success of Radiesthesia in assimilating into an officially
recognized medical group has lead to the development of
several modern-day medical modalities, some more closely
related to Radiesthesia than others. Most modalities share
with Radiesthesia and dowsing the theory that everything
emits some sort of inexplicable energy that can manifest in
the body differently through such proposed mechanisms as
coherencec and entrainmentd.10 Consequently, a true diagno-
sis of the underlying disease etiology involves merely the
ability to sense changes in this radiating energy and not nec-
essarily the use of an implement. Tools can be used, but the
more skilled dowsers require only their hands to sense the
subtle energy changes. Medical dowsers tend to use a form of
pendular diagnosis to help in the determination of disease
because of its sensitivity and amplifying capabilities in con-
trast with the traditional rod.
Radionics
Radionics originated from Dr. Albert Abrams’ theory of en-
ergy medicine, “Electronic Reactions of Abrams” (ERA). An
American physician, Abrams believed the human nervous
system reacted to the energy field of external elements. Using
stomach reflex points for energy measurements, the change
in energy resulted in a diagnosis and then the proper homeo-
pathic remedy could be prescribed. Soon afterward, a chiro-
practor, Ruth Drown, came up with improvements to the
ERA diagnostic instruments that could standardize vibra-
tional “rates” for the various manifestations of energy that
were expressed by the pendulums. These rates represented
an analysis of the substance’s energetic network in the form of
a frequency. Machines called electrodiagnostic machines
cHerbert Frölich’s theory in 1960 that according to quantum physics, the
body (living matrix) produces “coherent” or miniscule vibrations. The
vibrations can occur at different frequencies and convey information
through vibratory circuits to integrate processes. For each constituent of
the living matrix (ie, each molecule, cell, tissue), there is an ideal reso-
nant frequency to maintain optimal function.10
dEntrainment refers to a coupling of electrical and mechanical rhythms that
have similar frequencies. Energetic healing modalities hypothesize an
“entrainment” relationship between the Schumann resonance (the geo-
magnetic field), brain waves (pineal gland as a magnetoreceptor), and
energetic healers (through projected biomagnetic fields).10
41
were constructed to measure these rates. Any deviations from
the “perfect rate,” or the rate measured during normal func-
tion, would indicate the presence of disease.10 Later these
perfect rates were expanded upon by a prominent English
dowser, Malcom Rae, to include measurements for not only
human organs, but for meridians,e chemicals, synthetic
drugs, etc. Subsequent treatment included conveying the
perfect rate back to the patient to correct any deviations. After
promoting her “Radionic Broadcasting” ideas, or dowsing
from a distance, Drown became most known for the Drown
Trial of 1951f that made practicing Radionics in the United
States illegal.10
A major alteration to the philosophical basis of Radionics
came when one of its biggest proponents, Alice Bailey, wrote
Esoteric Healing to describe a model of spiritual reality that
incorporated seven planes of energy. She believed that health
meant a continuous flow of energy through the seven planes
and that any disturbances of the energy would manifest in
mental, emotional, or physical symptoms. Radionic diagno-
sis would then be used to identify the energy disturbance and
treat it accordingly.10 Today, the practice of radionics is a
combination of the mechanistic approach introduced by
Drown’s electrodiagnostic machine and a foundation in the
belief of an energetic basis of reality. The use of the more
subjective pendular diagnosis is incorporated into the prac-
tice of those whom Bailey’s ideas resonate with. Those look-
ing for more objective diagnostic methods favor Drown’s
standardized measurements. It is believed that “gifted” indi-
viduals can sense such subtle differences of energy that they
can identify bacterial pathogens without the use of an ampli-
fication tool or pendulum.12 However the diagnosis is deter-
mined, the results are used to either evaluate a homeopathic
remedy or to “broadcast” the correct frequency back to the
patient to restore energetic balance.
Psionic Medicine
As with many other CAM modalities, Psionic medicine was
founded by a disillusioned orthodox physician. George Lau-
rence realized that, often, he had no idea why his patients
were ill and that his treatments were addressing only the
symptoms rather than the cause of disease. After meeting an
influential English dowser, Aubrey Westlake, Laurence in-
corporated his interpretation of the dowsing phenomenon
into a new medical modality, Psionic medicine. In 1969,
Laurence founded the Psionic Medical Society with Westlake
as one of its most prominent members.1
eMeridians are “pathways” for the body’s vital energy, or “qi,” to flow as
described in TCM and acupuncture modalities. According to the philos-
ophy of energy medicines, the meridians create an interconnected frame-
work of energy flow that encompass all major body organs.2,10
fAfter working in Illinois for several years and falsely advertising herself as a
doctor and chiropractor, the failure of “healing from a distance” a patient
with cancer caused her to undergo several trials. One conducted at the
University of Chicago showed complete inability to diagnose or treat
illness while the second was a suit brought by the FDA against her “Radio
Therapeutic Instrument” where she was found guilty of misbranding.
While careful to minimize continued distribution of her device, she died
still treating patients.11
42
Psionic medicine is based on the idea that vibrations are
present on a miniscule scale everywhere. Dowsers can use
their ability as a diagnostic skill by sensing changes in these
vibrations and amplifying them through the movement of
tools such as a pendulum.12 As with Radionics, the explana-
tion for how a diagnosis can be made is that different disease
states will have different vibrational patterns.10 Many believe
that the ability of a dowser to sense vibrations in various
substances is the reason these modalities tend to incorporate
homeopathic remedies.13 While Psionic medicine is fairly
obscure, some research has been published, primarily in the
veterinary literature.
Applied Kinesiology
Founded by Dr. George Goodheart, applied kinesiology is
based on the belief that there is an energetic relationship
between each large muscle to a body organ and that weakness
in the muscle is the manifestation of an inherent problem
with the organ’s energy. Aside from this shared philosophy,
the practice of applied kinesiology has evolved to be almost
unrecognizable from its beginnings in medical dowsing—
although it is incorporated in other energetic modalities. In-
stead, it has become accepted as a branch of chiropractic care
by attributing the connection between muscle weakness and
organ function to subluxations.g Treatment involves a rever-
sal of the relationship so that strengthening the muscle phys-
ically results in a beneficial effect on the organ’s function.2
Dr. John Diamond had a background as a psychiatrist be-
fore studying under Goodheart. From Dr. Goodheart’s theory
of applied kinesiology, Diamond extended the theory to in-
clude a connection between the body’s immune system and
the mind and that there would be an energetic reflection in
the individual. Similar to applied kinesiology, Diamond used
muscular strength testing but with the addition of having the
patient “think” about various supplements. Therefore, using
applied kinesiology while the patient thought about specific
supplements would determine which would be most benefi-
cial to the patient.
Contemporary
Studies and Evaluation
Dowsing has had an interesting history steeped in contro-
versy. Whether there is any plausibility still remains to be
determined. The studies regarding dowsing are inconclusive.
Findings in dowsing research have not been all negative. In
a study of whether dowsers could sense the presence of water
(similar to the Scheunen experiments), further analysis of the
data showed that the dowsers guessed along a path of elec-
tromagnetic energy—and later—when an iron bar was bur-
ied in place of water, the dowsing ability notably improved.14
Unfortunately, later efforts to repeat the study were not con-
gSubluxations refer to the bones in the spine being out of place. According to
the chiropractic “one cause, one cure” theory of disease, subluxations in
the spine are the cause of all disease—-therefore chiropractic treatment
of subluxations can cure all disease.2
J. Chow
sistent. In a literature review, four attempts to repeat the trial
resulted in only one that was also statistically significant and
that one was among those not conducted as a double-blinded
trial. Physiologic studies, while also inconclusive, seem to
agree that certain physiologic effects are experienced by
dowsers in the process of dowsing and that nondowsers (or
inexperienced ones) do not experience these effects. Physio-
logic effects observed in the experiments include changed
skin potential, signifying a change in electric resistance be-
tween the hands of a dowser versus that of a nondowser
(measured using a galvanometer), increased respiration, in-
creased pulse pressure, increased pulse rate, and increased
heart rate.14,15 This evidence is in accordance with the pre-
liminary finding that athletes in “the zone” emit certain
electromagnetic activity.10 However, no conclusions can
be offered without further research into the proposed rela-
tionship.
As is the case in conducting studies for many CAM modal-
ities, the data from any clinical trial of an individual-based
skill or test cannot reliably be extrapolated to the general
population. There are too many factors that need to be con-
trolled for in order to test the specified skill. For example,
studies of whether the dowsing instrument moves first or
whether the instrument amplifies muscular movement do
not address the question of whether an outside force affects
either movement. In 1970, a member of the ASD built a tool
that would objectively measure the temporal relationship in
question and concluded that the muscle movement came
first. From this conclusion he proposed that skilled dowsers
could train themselves to recognize the muscle changes with-
out requiring a pendulum at all. While this study was cor-
roborated in further studies, it was also refuted by studies
that found the exact opposite. Ineffective study design is a
possible cause of these conflicting results.1
Despite the prevalence of anecdotal accounts of dowsing’s
efficacy, scientific evidence is lacking. For instance, the Ger-
man government has reported ⬎80% success rates for the
use of dowsing for locating water sources with no explana-
tion as to how this feat was accomplished.6 Many studies of
diagnostic dowsing mention afterward that problems with
the trials include amplification of minute body movements,
the subjective nature of diagnosis, and studies were not re-
producible because the results hinged on too many factors to
adequately control for. One such study was a double-blinded
RCT of six dowsers and their ability to sense the difference in
energy from homeopathic remedies versus sham homeo-
pathic remedies. The study found the dowsers’ ability to de-
termine which vials held the remedy no different from
chance (p ⬎⬎ 0.05).13 It has also been argued that the efficacy
of dowsing should be assessed in a similar fashion as musical
competitions where, in place of a binomial positive or nega-
tive result, a continuum of skill ranges is used to assess the
subjective nature of outcomes. Groups of dowsers, like mu-
sicians, have different ranges in ability. Therefore, when
studied as a whole, it is difficult to find conclusive results.1
Malcom Rae, the English dowser who had a substantial role
in the development of Radionics, expresses the frustrations
dowsers have with the biomedical community in that the
Historical perspective: Pendular diagnosis
objective rating of something requires a comparison to a sim-
ilar standard. He concludes that there will always be unquan-
tified data that require a subjective analysis where objective
data could not be found.1
The field of energetic medicine is still very foreign. The
data from such diagnostic techniques should not be relied
upon as the sole source of information, but rather be con-
sidered in conjunction with other diagnostic methods to
create a more complete picture of the patient’s situation.
Until a method to assess possible mechanisms that under-
lie subtle energy interactions is established, it will not be
possible to conclusively prove or disprove pendular diag-
nosis.
Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank Dr. Adriane Fugh-Berman for
her support, and especially Jeanne Larsen for her patience
and invaluable assistance.
Appendix
National Dowsing Associations Online
● www.academie-de-la-radiesthesie.org. Académie de la
Radiesthésie Globale du Québec
● www.dowsers.org. American Society of Dowsers, 1961
● www.britishdoswers.org. British Society of Dowsers,
1933
● www.canadiandowsers.org. Canadian Society of Dows-
ers, 1988
● www.canadiandowsers.org. Canadian Society of Questers,
1979
● www.divstrat.com.au. Dowsing Society of NSW (Aus-
tralia), 1984
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● www.anamspirit.com The Irish Society of Diviners (Ire-
land), 1958
● www.slagruta.org. Swedish Society of Dowsers, 1982
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