Okay, my curiosity got the better of me. They say that water divining is hereditary. My Mum, Dianne, recalls she had a go on the farm in Holbrook with my grandfather when he was alive – and it worked. So I thought I’d give it a try. I bought some divining rods on the Internet and took them for a test drive around the house and back yard. Admittedly inner Melbourne is not wanting for water and I’m sure the local council would have something to say if I sunk a bore in the nature strip, but I thought a little water witching could be fun.
Needless to say the Internet offered all sorts of options for divining: crystals, forked branches, wire bent in the shape of a ‘v’ and pendulums. Why mess with tradition, I thought, and went with the ‘L’ shaped rods resembling the ones my grandfather used (see below).
The packaging insists that they can be used for, “locating underground water, hidden metal, buried treasure, oil, lost persons, gold, etc.” If I’d found treasure, or oil, you wouldn’t be reading this. To my surprise the rods took on a life of their own in my hands as I walked around the place. They spun towards the bathroom and kitchen as I passed them (plenty of water there) and outside they converged over a pond in the back yard. Inexplicable and a bit surprising, especially in the hands of someone who has no idea what he’s doing. Maybe I have the gift, or maybe just a vivid imagination. The experiment is far from conclusive but I am definitely going to give them a try in the wide open spaces now.