Dowsing is a common practice among believers of the metaphysical, but what exactly does it mean? It is associated with a kind of method to determine the location of hidden or buried objects without using any modern measuring instruments. Dowsing is a very old and ancient practice, and over the years, many (wrongly) associate it with the occult; basically if you look at it, it’s actually just a way to tap into the subconscious mind and derive answers from it.
Rightly or wrongly, dowsing has been described as “divination”. But I personally regard dowsing as just an outlet where we tap into our subconscious mind using certain tools, in this instance, crystals. There is nothing “supernatural” about it. Just like muscle kinesiology, the underlying basis of dowsing with crystals is to “pose a question” to the subconscious, and receive a “yes” or “no” answer.
Although dowsing has been conducted with rods, pendulums, or even keychains, crystals are probably the best dowsing tools for the purpose, simply because of their electrical conductive ability. As we begin to understand more and more that this universe is electric in nature, the next step is to understand that thoughts, even subconscious thoughts are in fact electrical currents. Thus, a crystal, for example, a quartz crystal shaped like a pendulum, can react more easily to the inner workings of the mind, and then that leads to a successful dowsing.
A commonly used method of dowsing is water dowsing, using a dowsing rod which is held by the dowser by holding the bent sides of a forked branch on both sides. The dowser then walked around the area where he suspects there is water. If water is located below, the branch would incline downwards or twitch, and this would denote that water is underground at this spot.
Using a crystal pendulum attached to a piece of string, works the same way. Simply determine to oneself that if it swings one way, it means a “yes” and if it swings the other way, it means “no”. This can be clockwise or anti-clockwise (depending on what type of pendulum you are using); it is up to you. You can then pose the question to yourself, and then watch the crystal pendulum as it begins swinging, usually slowly at first, and then gaining momentum. It must be noted that one needs to get into a receptive, calm, and meditative state before attempting dowsing, and that the principals guiding it are very similar to those of Applied Kinesiology (muscle testing).
Among the best crystals for a pendulum is clear quartz that has been cut and shaped into a spherical ball. The crystal pendulum should be totally clear with no flaws and small in size. It should also be cleansed thoroughly with sea salt, and charged appropriately, before use. You could also use a standard quartz single terminated (or double terminated) point mounted as a pendant.
Of course, modern science disputes dowsing as a pseudoscience, and does not believe in it at all, but to the wise and experienced dowser, he or she knows and understands that the unseen, “energetic” side of this universe is very real, perhaps more so than the physical aspect of things, and the unseen in fact, governs the seen. True harmony in metaphysical terms only exist when both aspects are reconciled with each other, and they are never ever mutually exclusive.