The Theory of Water Finding by the Divining Rod

Item Details

Chippenham, Wilts., Published by the Author, 1899, Hardcover

Second and Enlarged Edition, Very Good

Hardcover Red cloth with titles and crest in black and gilt. Octavo. [x] 127pp. (8) ads. "With the Authors Compts Jany 5th 1914" handwritten on the front free endpaper.

Also included are several letters attesting to the skills of Tompkins in finding water along with receipts of payment, and a letter from the author offering his services to the medical Officer of Health for the village of Palgrave, Suffolk in finding a spring suitable for a permanent domestic supply.

This practice known as "Dowsing" originated in ancient times, when it was treated as a form of divination. The Catholic Church banned the practice completely. Reformer Martin Luther perpetuated the Catholic ban in 1518, listing divining for metals as an act that broke the first commandment (i.e. as occultism). Although debunked by modern science water divining is still used to this day by believers in its efficacy.