Other uses of divining rods include locating underground cables or lines (when the equipment utility companies have fail to find them), precious metals, lost objects, etc. Before modern technology, now used to locate crude oil for wells, dowsers were good at finding the oil.
Divining rods cross over water or oil to form an X like this.
The photo above shows a pair crossed, just as when over water. This is a common response, but there are other responses that need to be recognized. I prefer L-rods made of bronze and without the handles. Copper tube handles are often added to L-rods at the time they get made...if done right handles help some people to better control the rods. Handles should be free-wheeling or just in plain words "turn smoothly" when rods respond to various Earth signals.
The type of metal used for constructing a pair of L-rods is very important also. If you were to test out various types of metals using a computerized metal detector, the conductivity scale would reveal which metals are most responsive to electromagnetic waves. When a electromagnetic signal hits a metal, eddy currents form on the surface. This gives a feedback signal to a listening coil inside the main transmitting coil of a metal detector.
So, silver is at the very top of the conductivity to RF (radio frequency) signals and iron down on the lowest end of the electromagnetic spectrum. Iron often sends a confusing signal so unstable it fluctuates up and down the conductivity scale. Copper and brass are close to, but lower than silver. Bronze and gold are equal in their electromagnetic response to RF signals. These two metals fall in the midrange. Bronze L-rods without copper or brass handles are as good as rods made of gold...as for performance in dowsing. Some dowsers solder small gold nuggets to the bend of each rod, those who dowse for gold companies, I think that must be more to impress the owners of the mine or perhaps to feel confident rather than performance.
Dowsing for objects is a little tricky at first. To show the techniques that work for me, a circle with the 4 elements is used here...yellow for East, red for South, black for West, white for North. This is a common set of color correspondences used by many Native Americans.
The rods cross as a person walks eitherr toward the North, East, South, or West...crossing an electromagnetic field signal caused by Earth energies. The object detected by a dowser might actually be to his/her right or left.
The North seems to be a preffered direction to move in, so here we move toward the North.
If the object is to your right (East here), moving to the left (West here) will cause the rods to stay crossed...even after several steps moving that direction.
But if you had turned to the right, the rods would only stay crossed until taking one step.
Now, while the rods are still crossed before taking even one step (facing East), this is what happens if side stepping slightly North or South.
The above image is stepping right...
Or stepping left.
Between the two positions is center. If you take a step foward (East here) while the rods are crossed and centered...they should spread apart, about a 45 degree angle until moving forward again. Then the rods should swing back into the sweep position. If you wander off course, they cross again. Just center the rods and take a step...they go into the 45 degree angle spread once more. In this position raising or lowering can be used to pinpoint a target. When in the line of view (from your eyes toward the target), the rod tips swing together...even tapping ends sometimes.
Now, moving forward again, getting closer...moving by the object causes them to cross. Pulling one rod back can give you this configuration.
Like the photo below, move in close and locate the target.
Move in right to the object's location.
Just go a little farther and a perfectly crossed pair of L-rods should give an "X marks the spot" which could be a treasure of value...if that is what you're searching for.
