Question 94 – What about dowsing and geopathogenic zones?
Most of you have likely heard of this—someone needs to dig a well on their property but doesn't know where an underground spring is located. They call upon a so-called sensitive dowser, who uses rods (dowsing rods, pendulums) to help locate it. Similarly, some seek out so-called geopathogenic zones in their homes. Here, we approach a technique that is somewhat speculative and less clear than other occult practices. Even among Christians, you'll find those who have no issue with using pendulums to locate underground springs. They believe (along with some dowsers) that it's merely a harmless activity which, although not yet scientifically explained, has its roots in the physics of rocks. They believe there is a certain physical force or radiation that sensitive individuals can detect, or that this ability is a gift from God Himself.
If an underground spring passes through a site, it may disturb the geomagnetic field at that location, allowing sensitive individuals to detect this change. This is similar to how many healers and sensitives explain the phenomenon of geopathogenic zones, which are believed to negatively affect our bodies (causing diseases like cancer) or animals and plants. These zones are said to be caused by some sort of earth radiation arising from underground rivers, geological fractures, and other geophysical anomalies in the substrate of the location. Here, too, an experienced dowsing practitioner can locate this field using a dowsing rod.
It must be noted that none of these practices have ever been scientifically verified, and the sources of the alleged unknown radiation have never been reliably found. Yet we know that science is not omnipotent, and especially when it comes to the existence of intelligent spiritual beings, it cannot successfully solve many questions. Practice often shows that dowsers frequently achieve surprisingly accurate results.
Identifying the Source
What is the source of this power, then? We must avoid seeing "the devil" in everything. I personally believe that there are non-physical and non-biochemical principles that cannot be detected with current technologies. For example, animals seek out certain places while avoiding others. In some areas, plants thrive more, in others less. Why is this so? I must confess, I do not know. However, if we examine the practice of dowsing more closely, we find ample undisputed evidence that the source of this information has very little to do with ordinary physics. On the contrary, much evidence points to a close connection between dowsing and the occult. Even these pieces of evidence are based on personal experiences of current and former dowsers. Some of them became Christians and can describe their abilities in a much closer context. Many of them once believed that it was harmless earth radiation. In some instances, they didn't believe in the spiritual world or God at all.
Let Us Consider a Few Pieces of Evidence of the Occult Background in Dowsing:
Perhaps the majority of dowsers possess additional paranormal abilities.
This practice is extensively used in magic and the occult.
A dowsing rod can sometimes provide answers from the past or predict the future.
The rod can sometimes recognize the quality of drinking water.
The rod can sometimes identify the depth at which a spring is located.
The rod can sometimes trace underground water sources remotely when used over property maps.
Dowsing rods and pendulums can do much more—determine what illness a person has, the age or market value of a particular item, which herbs a healer should prescribe, what a person should do in a given situation, etc.
Therefore, we must ask an important question—what must a dowser do to receive the desired information from the rod? They must ask. Rods typically work on the principle of inquiry. This fact is confirmed by many dowsers and practitioners.
One former dowser, Martin Ševčík, almost lost his life due to his supernatural abilities. His story, however, ends happily—God saved him and gave him a new life. He advises us to use common sense when examining these phenomena.
He recalls his successful dowsing. He could locate and trace underground water sources, including their depth and quality, even for infants. Regarding the depth of the springs, he would count mentally. Once the rod reacted at a given number, the depth was determined. He was an atheist at the time. Later, upon his conversion, he realized something was amiss. He questioned how the supposed unknown physical field could know that a spring was 3.25 meters deep. This field would need to understand that he was European and measured using the metric system. If an American stood next to him, they would measure using a different system. How could this field recognize and convert physical units? In another instance, a pendulum helped him determine the age and price of a found antique. He asked himself how an unknown physical field or force could know the market price of an item, whose value constantly fluctuates. Aging could be explained with a bit of effort using the hypothesis of unknown radiation, but how does one explain current market prices?
In essence, he understood that the information he obtained through inquiry could not be provided by an unknown physical field but exclusively by some intelligent being. Therefore, if we inquire about the origins of these beings in the biblical context, we'll find the same answer as with magic, divination, or spiritism—demons. Thus, dowsing is a divination technique strictly forbidden by God, historically used for prophecy and, among other things, for searching for water. Through the prophet Hosea, God laments:
"My people inquire of a piece of wood, and their walking staff gives them oracles. For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have left their God to play the whore." (Hosea 4:12)
As Martin's story shows, this practice is very dangerous, leading to spiritual enslavement and increasing demonic influence over a person's psyche. Converted practitioners testify that many of their former colleagues ended up in psychiatric institutions, or in worse cases, committed suicide. All this illustrates that Christians cannot view dowsing as a safe and harmless matter. Even if an objective (non-spiritual) force of earth radiation does exist, the sensitivity to it in these cases is most likely mediated by the spiritual world. And if it does not exist, it is a direct demonic deception, which is so typical of the occult.
Summation
While the existence of earth radiation is an enticing non-spiritual theory, numerous indications point out that dowsing involves a divination technique forbidden by God. Even assuming the objective existence of unknown earth radiation, it is often closely associated with the occult. Therefore, engaging in this practice or using the services of dowsers is a spiritual gamble.