This form of dowsing is a popular method
of attempting to communicate with spirits when on a ghost hunting
investigation. This is possibly because
being a small piece of equipment a pendulum does not take up much room in a bag
and is light in weight; it has no moving parts to jam nor requires any
batteries that can flatten. Likewise it
does not need any great technical skills or psychic powers to operate it and
yet the fact that this lump of rock, metal, wood, glass or even plastic
dangling from a length of a chain or piece of string can seemingly answer
questions is rather mysterious.
Is the pendulum made to move by the
person holding it? That is always a
possibility, every living person breaths and has a pulse making absolute
stillness impossible. The possibility
that the subconscious thoughts and desires of the dowser could also be
affecting the pendulum has to be taken into account. And there are people who, for whatever
reason, will deliberately make the pendulum move. Of course questions have to be worded so a ‘yes’ or
‘no’ answer will fit, which, when put together with the many ways of indicating
answers, can leave much to individual interpretation.
Is there a right way to hold the
pendulum? Some say the end of the chain
should be gripped between forefinger and thumb others that the chain should be
looped over the middle finger and yet others go as far to say the gem at the
end of the chain should be on the thumb side on the finger, but does it really
matter. Surely it is a question of
personal taste, of which way is the most comfortable, and depends on the weight
of the pendulum and the size of the gem, or whatever marks the end of the chain,
provided the dowser is able to keep their arm and hand as still as possible.
Another point of contention between
dowsers is how the pendulum displays its ‘yes’ and ‘no’ answers. Again, no one seems to be able to agree. Some say ‘yes’ should be a clockwise movement
others a back and forth movement like nodding your head, that ‘no’ should be a
counter clockwise movement while their counterparts say ‘no’ is a side-to-side
movement like a shake of the head as, to them, a clockwise circular moment
means ‘I don’t know’, and a counter clockwise movement means ‘I won’t
tell’. Some say the word ‘stop’ should be used to
ensure that the pendulum settles before answering the next question. Yet others believe the pendulum, or the
spirit in attendance, should dictate their own ‘yes’ and ‘no’ movements. This, to me, makes more sense; what if you
get a spirit who does not understand ‘clockwise’. It is, after all, only in the past 100 years
that clocks have become common place household item for common folk, hence the now
fading practise of gifting a clock to a retiring worker. The evidence is found in places like Worsley,
where the workers used the Bridgewater clock in Worsley yard, which had been
set to strike 13 at 1.00pm on purpose, to mark the end of their lunch
breaks. Again, I feel, it comes down to
personal preferences. Likewise, just how much you believe the information
gained through the answers to be real is down to how you interpret them.
It is fascinating
to watch a pendulum begin to swing in the desired direction or in an apparent
answer to a question, and then to stop moving again on demand. I have seen pendulums make very clear
movements, then at other times indistinct or even no movement at all. Is this because some ‘ghosts’ are more
willing to communicate or are stronger than others or is it down to one dowser
being more anxious to ‘put on a good performance’ for their audience than
another? Holding your arm as still as
possible gets tiring, does this contribute to the pendulum’s movements? Are lighter pendulums more likely to give
answers, or would that be because they are more susceptible to autonomic
movements? Would two people using
pendulums in the same place at the same time get the same answer to the same
question?
For now, I seem to have more question than
answers. Perhaps that is part of the
mystery attached to using a pendulum.
Perhaps I’ll find more answers the more I experiment.
http://www.hauntedhappenings.co.uk/The%20Fascination%20of%20Ghost%20Hunting.pdf
