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Dowsing (or divining) is the art of locating hidden objects, most commonly water, by the use of an indicator such as a v-shaped hazel stick or a pair of l-shaped metal rods.

Peter Golding, founder of Slimbridge Dowsing group, discovered the art of divining while working as a chief engineer in Saudi Arabia. He had found himself faced with the task of digging in an area already dotted with unmarked cables.

"I got my cable detecting equipment," Peter said, "but the digger driver said don't do that, do 'the old civil engineers' trick'. He took two pieces of wire, bent them into an l shape, walked forward and they crossed..."

They marked the points where the wires crossed, which were found to correspond with Peter's plans.

Intrigued, he decided to try it for himself.

"As I walked across they moved in my hand," Peter said, "the first time it happens it's uncanny."

He began to employ his newfound ability to help locals finds sources of coveted 'sweet' drinking water in the desert.

"I read many books on the subject and the field really opened up," he said. "I joined the British Society of Dowsers, and picked up a lot by asking other dowsers about what they were doing."

Peter recently dowsed for the underground remains of Dursley castle.

His subsequent talk to a local history group generated considerable interest and led to the establishment of Slimbridge Dowsing Group, which meets fortnightly in the village hall.

Signal

Peter believes that divining rods amplify tiny, imperceptible movements within the hand of the dowser.

"There is no signal which is moving the rods," he said. "It's the hands that are doing the movement. The sensor is you, picking up information and passing the signal to the muscular part of your nerves."

"Some people find it in the feet or even in the eyes. I know of one man who finds his signal just by moving his eyes around."

Exactly how, and if, divining works is the subject of continuing debate.

Skeptics state that dowsing experiments in controlled conditions have failed to produce convincing results, yet the practice has survived for at least five centuries with dowsers claiming excellent success rates.

Peter describes the act of dowsing as a combination of physical and psychic factors.

"I like to use the phrase that (well-known writer on dowsing) George Applegate - the 'universal mind'," he said.

"No man or object is an island on its own, they're all interconnected. There all this information out there that our minds can tap into."

Meetings

Slimbridge Dowsing Group welcomes enthusiasts and beginners at its fortnightly practical sessions held at Slimbridge Village Hall, opposite the church, on Thursdays from 1:30 to 3:00pm. Attendees are invited to give a small donation towards costs.

Topics for the group's 2006 programme are:

30th March – Water Divining: Estimating depth to water when clay present. Interpreting geological maps.

31st March - (Friday) Advanced Archaeological Dowsing to confirm a ‘Roman’ site at Slimbridge.

13th April – Archaeological Dowsing: Did we have a Roman building?

27th April – Dowsing for Health: Diagnosis and Healing: Maintaining a healthy aura.

11th May – Tabletop dowsing: Finding hidden objects, mapping ley lines, checking allergies, etc.

20 July (Provisional) – Ann Lodygowski, the famous animal communicator and healer, to talk and demonstrate on ‘Healing for Horses’.

See internet link on the right for further details.