A few rushes were held at the ends, formed into an inverted “U”. That was my first Divining Rod. It worked.
Twenty-two years later I was rescued from the hypodermic needle in perpetuo by a man who wielded a Rod. It was this that brought home to me the tremendous field these instruments work in. I include Pendule, Motorscope and other instruments in that credit. Rods vary in length from 12 ¼” to ten feet. The short one shares with all the other instruments the ability to indicate that which is decided in a particular part of the brain – the Medulla Oblongata, and is commonly called, “Subjective Dowsing” as you know. There are two other types of rod which fill important roles. One is the “KEY” Rod called Zero, as a convenient title, and the other type, which is not capacitated to zero, is for measuring distance and depth at which the objects sought are located at time of dowsing. These will be described after we learn how to obtain rods.

As it is now almost impossible to obtain baleen – the baleen whale being almost extinct I am told – the Leptospermum Scoparium (White Manuka) is the wood recommended first. If you are prepared to proceed on hands and knees into a Titree thicket, where the light is dim, you will find young shoots reaching for the sunshine. If you’re fortunate enough you’ll cut these in lengths ranging from three to ten feet. Cut a supply to last you twelve months. Then bind them together so they they will dry straight. In a few weeks you can start using them. Select a matching pair, file or cut the necessary angle on them so that they can be joined, then bind them with sailmakers twine or other suitable thread. If you are unable to bind without knots or ends showing, I advise you to ask a saddler , a seaman, a boy scout or other binding expert.

Now you are ready to make your rod “Zero”. It must react only when the ball of your foot is over the object. In this case, you use your hanky, a glove, or better still your own writing on a card or small piece of paper. You can have trouble such as a stiff breeze. Get yourself back about twenty feet from your witness (with witness between you and the sun or, failing that, with the sun on your left if you’re right handed) and walk towards the witness with the rod poised i.e., on the point of flicking one way or the other. If the rod you have made is, say three feet long, it will react some distance from your witness. You then cut an inch off the free ends, and start again. This time the rod will react nearer the witness. Proceed with cutting till your foot is within a few inches when the rod reacts. Then you have to be mighty careful how much you cut off, but you finally reach Zero – the rod that reacts when the ball of your foot is over the witness. You may prefer to have it react to the toe or the heel, that’s your business. I cannot attempt here to tell you how to hold a rod, this article would be too long. You must find your own way. I hold mine this way:- Left hand is a clinched fist with thumb upward and little finger down, as children do when playing trains. I have the leg of the rod resting on the forefinger and held there by the thumb. The reason for this, is that I can then hold a witness (such as a bottle of water or a

colour) in my hand. I hold this leg about two feet from the binding. Indeed I hold a thin rod as near to the binding as four inches. This makes for greater speed of dowsing. The leg lies along the ball of my thumb, with three finger tips holding it there. The rest of the leg is allowed to go free between thumb and forefinger into the atmosphere. To get into this position in a split second is not easy to an onlooker I find. Even in slow motion the posing of the rod is not easy to memorise, tho’ it becomes second nature after a while. Before we go on to thee other type of rod let me say that I find it much better to have the rod reacting away from me, and not towards the body as some dowsers do. The only time my rod can bend towards me is when it is required to indicate ’Positive”.

Now back to the Zero rod. We will assume that you wish to locate an imperfection in a pipe line such as a sub-surface water pipe. First find spot directly over the pipe by approaching the spot where you think it might be. In your hand (we’re working objectively remember) carry a small bottle of water with an ill fitting cork (because you’re looking to find a leak) and when you’ve located the pipe’s position step back off it. I say this because when a novice feels the rod pulling at his hands he is liable to make the grave mistake of staging a wrestling match, most especially if he has an audience. This is where men who should know better make their greatest mistakes. They become so charged with the frequency rate of what is causing the rod to react that the body is no longer independent of it, and the ability, sensitivity, and energy decline rapidly. If by some chance you lifted the rear foot before withdrawing the “feeler foot”, it is better to carry on and “walk it off” which it will do by the time you’ve made seven paces. This is because hydrogen is the principle element in water by quantity, H2O. If you walk on, it will beat five for the Oxygen. The reason for stepping back is this:- If by chance you have walked on to one of the radio-active elements like monasite you will have a hefty walk ahead of you because the rod must beat one hundred and one times before you are clear again and able to work correctly. Now, locate the direction of the pipe you are working on, then walk along its direction till the rod reacts at the fault. There is a catch you may encounter. Once you are standing over the pipe, you should be able to hold ready”. If you step off the onto neutral ground your rod should react and fool you. There’s no hurry, tread carefully,

If your interest is in correcting animal or crop imperfections, or in analysis, or in compiling a formula, all by the objective method, you will have to bring your initiative to bear, for this subject could run away with a lot of space. So we will take the other type of rod. It is any rod that is longer than Zero. For instance when you tested the rod first, it reacted before you came to the witness. Had you measured the distance as four feet, then you had in your hands a “Four footer”. That rod would react at four feet or any multiple of four feet of distance or depth. To check that measurement, you stand alongside the witness, poise the rod and walk away. The distance between witness and first reaction is the one by which the rod is known. In the case of a long rod such as ten feet, it is far easier to sit in the back of an open car and get a friend to drive you along the road till the rod reacts to the hat you have left at the starting point. It is likely to be miles.

The most convenient thicknesses of rod legs are around as thick as number 12; 10 or 8 knitting needles, around one eighth inch. I am told that Titoki, Toro, Tanekaha, and Southland Beech will furnish good rods. So far I have not tried these. To ensure that the rod you are testing does not react to any element you may be passing over, put more binding over the original binding temporarily. In some cases rods don’t oblige by their best behaviour. If you put up a ten footer in the direction of a person on the move (his or her witness in hand) the rod should beat at every ten feet of distance travelled. If you cut a small notch up near the binding, with picket knife or three cornered file, the rod will beat every 20 feet, cut another notch near the first and it will beat every 30 feet. Fill the notches with soap or wax, and you’re back to ten feet again. This type of rod is useful in tracing schools of fish or shoals.

If you poise your rod and it persists in flicking it is because you are not clear of unwanted radiation. It is essential, if you aspire to accuracy that you clear yourself absolutely before commencing. Test yourself frequently during your operations until you have learned to keep clear, as you proceed, automatically.

I am of the opinion that the best material for rods is Fibre Glass. I haven’t made or owned one, but I like the behaviour of what I have seen. I think I would run a few grooves twenty-five inches long by one eighth inch by one eighth inch (1/8” x1/8”) so that if I wished I could make two 12 ¼” sides out of one length. I don’t know if Fibre Glass of that dimension would be strong enough. Would someone supply an article on this. I have broken as many as four wooden rods in one hour through gripping to tightly, but not aware of the fact.

No. 53 – April 1965
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