Radiesthesia describes an ability to detect radiation emitted by a person, animal, object or geographical feature. There is no scientific evidence of the existence of this
pseudoscientific or
occult phenomenon.
Definitions
One definition is "sensitivity to radiations of all kinds emanating from living beings, inanimate objects, mineral ores, water and even photographs"
The word derives from Latin root ‘radi-’ referring to beams of light, radiation and ‘aesthesia’, referring to sensory perception.
The term is a
neologism
A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...
created by a French Catholic priest Alexis Timothée Bouly who was a celebrated
dowsing
Dowsing is a type of divination employed in attempts to locate ground water, buried metals or ores, gemstones, oil, claimed radiations ( radiesthesia),As translated from one preface of the Kassel experiments, "roughly 10,000 active dowsers in ...
practitioner in the early part of the 20th century. Bouly claimed to be able to detect unexploded ordnance from WW1 and also to detect molecular changes in laboratory experiments. He was the founder at Lille in 1929 of the Association of the Friends of Radiesthesia ().
Claims
Practitioners may claim to be able to detect the emitted radiation through use of their hands or more typically with
dowsing
Dowsing is a type of divination employed in attempts to locate ground water, buried metals or ores, gemstones, oil, claimed radiations ( radiesthesia),As translated from one preface of the Kassel experiments, "roughly 10,000 active dowsers in ...
rods or a pendulum.
Teleradiesthesia or Tele-radiesthesia describes this sensitivity to radiation but without the need to be in physical proximity to the subject. Typically a practitioner will use an instrument such as a pendulum to perform analysis based on a map or photograph.
The practical application of radiesthesia, i.e.
dowsing
Dowsing is a type of divination employed in attempts to locate ground water, buried metals or ores, gemstones, oil, claimed radiations ( radiesthesia),As translated from one preface of the Kassel experiments, "roughly 10,000 active dowsers in ...
is directed toward providing individual and environmental benefits, such as:
* diagnosis of infirmities
* detection of underground water
* detection of underground mineral sources
* detection of the Earth's
telluric current
A telluric current (from Latin ''tellūs'', "earth"), or Earth current, This has a detailed history of observations as understood at the time. is an electric current which moves underground or through the sea. Telluric currents result from both na ...
s and magnetic fields
* location of lost objects
* location of missing persons or livestock
A distinction may be made in the application of radiesthesic techniques in the detection of physical phenomena e.g. water, minerals, objects, changed cell condition and using these techniques for analysis of supposed subtle energy fields or the
‘aura’ of an individual.
Researchers have cited an involuntary bodily reaction, that is,
ideomotor phenomenon
The ideomotor phenomenon is a psychological phenomenon wherein a subject makes motions unconsciously. Also called ideomotor response (or ideomotor reflex) and abbreviated to IMR, it is a concept in hypnosis and psychological research. It is der ...
as the initiator of the movement seen occurring in instruments such as
dowsing
Dowsing is a type of divination employed in attempts to locate ground water, buried metals or ores, gemstones, oil, claimed radiations ( radiesthesia),As translated from one preface of the Kassel experiments, "roughly 10,000 active dowsers in ...
rods or a pendulum. It is this reactive movement which typically acts as the indicator of the location of the state change of the subject or object under investigation.
See also
*
Geobiology (pseudoscience) Geobiology is a field which studies the effects of the Earth's radiation, such as telluric currents and other electromagnetic fields, on biological life. The term is derived from Ancient Greek gē (''ge'') meaning ‘earth’ and βίος; (''bios' ...
*
List of topics characterised as pseudoscience
This is a list of topics that have, either currently or in the past, been characterized as pseudoscience by academics or researchers. Detailed discussion of these topics may be found on their main pages. These characterizations were made in th ...
*
Radionics
Radionics—also called electromagnetic therapy (EMT) and the Abrams Method—is a form of alternative medicine that claims that disease can be diagnosed and treated by applying electromagnetic radiation (EMR), such as radio waves, to the bod ...
*
Rhabdomancy Rhabdomancy is a divination technique which involves the use of any rod, wand, staff, stick, arrow, or the like.
One method of rhabdomancy was setting a number of staffs on end and observing where they fall, to divine the direction one should tra ...
References
Further reading
* F.A. Archdale ''Elementary Radiesthesia and the Use of the Pendulum'', 1950
* Marc Aurice, ''Le Grand Livre de la radiesthésie'', 2008 éditions Trédaniel
* Gabriell Blackburn, ''Science and Art of the Pendulum: A Complete Course in Radiesthesia'', 1984 pub. Idylwild
* C.L. Cooper-Hunt, ''Radiesthetic Analysis'', 1996 pub. Health Research Books
* Bruce Copen, ''Dowsing from Maps, Tele-radiesthesia'', 1975 pub. Academic Publications
* Emma Decourtay, ''Initiation à la radiesthésie'', 2004 éditions Cristal
* Gilbert Degueldre, ''La Radiesthésie, cet instinct originel'', 1985 éditions Florikosse asbl, Verviers – Belgique
* Karl Maximilan Fischer, ''Radiästhesie und Geopathie – Theorie und empirische Untersuchungen'', 1989 Böhlau in Wien
* Christopher Freeland, ''Radiesthesia I – Method and Training for the Modern Dowser'', 2020 pub. Completelynovel
* Tom Graves, ''Pendel und Wünschelrute, Radiästhesie'', 1999
* Jane E. Hartman, ''Radionics and Radiesthesia'', 1999 pub Aquarian Systems
* Ray Hyman
How People Are Fooled by Ideomotor Action.* Adolphe Landspurg, ''Comment devenir sourcier et géobiologue (La pratique de la radiesthésie vibratoire)'', 2003 éditions Dangles
* Hartmut Lüdeling: ''Handbuch der Radiaesthesie – Schwerpunkt Grifflängentechnik.'' 2006 Drachen-Verlag
* Marguerite Maury, ''How to Dowse – Experimental And Practical Radiesthesia'' 1953, pub. G. Bell and Sons; 2008 edition
* Alexis Mermet, ''Principles and Practice of Radiesthesia: A textbook for Practitioners and Students'', 1959; 1991 edition
*
Michel Moine 210px, Michel Moine holding a can that contained 400 ancient gold coins ( Louis d'or). The can was unearthed in an old lady's cellar.
Michel Moine (8 March 1920 in Airvault - 15 January 2005 in Buxerolles) was a French journalist and parapsycholo ...
, ''La radiestesia – la otra sciencia'', 1974
* Helmut Müller, ''Radiestesia: Manual Práctico'', 1991 Editorial De Vecchi
* Otto Prokop, Wolf Wimmer: ''Wünschelrute, Erdstrahlen, Radiästhesie. Die okkulten Strahlenfühligkeitslehren im Lichte der Wissenschaft''. 1985 Thieme
* Jessie Toler Kingsley Tarpey, ''Healing by radiesthesia'', 1955, pub. Omega Press
* Henry Tomlinson, ''The Divination of Disease: A Study in Radiesthesia'', 1953 pub. Health Science Press
* S.W. Tromp, ''Psychical Physics, a Scientific Analysis of Dowsing, Radiesthesia and Kindred Phenomena'', 1949 pub. Elzevier, New York
* Herbet Weaver, ''Divining, the Primary Sense: Unfamiliar Radiation in Nature, Art and Science'', 1978 pub, Routledge & Kegan Paul
* V. D. Wethered, ''A Radiesthetic Approach to Health and Homoeopathy, or Health and the Pendulum'', 1950, pub. British Society of Dowsers
* V. D. Wethered, ''An Introduction to Medical Radiesthesia and Radionics'', 1957 pub. C.W. Daniel Company
External links
Association des Amis de la Radiesthesie
Associazioni Italiana Radiestesisti{{In lang, it
Pseudoscience