divining rod

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divining rod

divining rod or dowser, stick used in searching for underground water or minerals. This form of divination is still in common use in many parts of the world. The instrument is typically a forked twig. The operator holds the forked ends of the twig close to his body, with the stem pointing forward. When he walks over a spot under which water or the desired mineral lies, the stem of the divining rod is supposedly pulled down. Impartial research, however, has indicated that successes in this method result mostly from chance and possibly also from a heightened sensitivity to visual cues of which the diviner is unaware.

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"divining rod." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Jul. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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divining rod

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Â© The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable 2006, originally published by Oxford University Press 2006. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

divining rod a stick or rod, typically forked, used for dowsing.

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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "divining rod." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Jul. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "divining rod." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (July 9, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-diviningrod.html

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "divining rod." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press. 2006. Retrieved July 09, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-diviningrod.html

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divining rod

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | © The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English 2009, originally published by Oxford University Press 2009. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

di·vin·ing rod • n. a stick or rod used for dowsing.

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Futuristic WPI device could help save lost firefighters, miners; Electronic `Mantenna,' relays would work like divining rod.(NEWS) Newspaper article from: Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA); 8/8/2007
	A state of thirst: water woes foster ingenuity, argument, but no divining rod.(water woes)(part one in a series of two)(Cover Story) Magazine article from: ColoradoBiz; 11/1/2004
	The biggest plains cottonwood. (Programs) Magazine article from: American Forests; 7/1/1993

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Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

	Futuristic WPI device could help save lost firefighters, miners; Electronic `Mantenna,' relays would work like divining rod.(NEWS) Newspaper article from: Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA); 8/8/2007; 660 words ; ...a locator relay device. The Mantenna works like a divining rod to find a firefighter or other responder transmitting...hasn't moved in several minutes. A rescuer carrying the rod follows the rod's lights and sounds, which vary depending on whether... Read more
	A state of thirst: water woes foster ingenuity, argument, but no divining rod.(water woes)(part one in a series of two)(Cover Story) Magazine article from: ColoradoBiz; 11/1/2004; ; 700+ words ; Editor's note: Allen Best, the state's most knowledgeable writer on water issues facing Colorado, here offers ColoradoBiz readers the first of a two-part series on how and why our state faces a long-term water-supply crisis, and what can be done about it. A year ago this month, Coloradans delivered Read more
	The biggest plains cottonwood. (Programs) Magazine article from: American Forests; 7/1/1993; ; 357 words ; ...Spread 93 ft. Total Points 560 They called this tree the divining rod of the prairies. Appropriately, its champion drinks...could usually be solved by the plains cottonwood, the divining rod of the prairies. All across that ocean of grass, cottonwoods... Read more
	Ramp work uncovers old School Street well; Webster funeral director hoped for lawn relief.(LOCAL NEWS) Newspaper article from: Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA); 7/17/2008; 700+ words ; ...Ramshorn Road, Dudley, a licensed funeral director with Sitkowski & Malboeuf Funeral Home of Webster, doesn't have a divining rod, but he recently discovered a source of water near the funeral parlor. The side porch, believed to have been once attached... Read more
	When "a little" is "a lot".(League of Women Voters) Magazine article from: National Voter; 2/1/2007; ; 427 words ; ...LWVUS/LWVEF Boards will be meeting to set advocacy and education priorities for this year. It may seem that we need a divining rod to know where best to use our scarce human and financial resources. Will this be the year that universal health care... Read more
	Becoming a Broadway star. (Tommy Tune: excerpted from 'Footnotes') Magazine article from: Dance Magazine; 11/1/1997; ; 700+ words ; ...was a bitch. I loved the witch. People from miles around would come in horse-drawn buckboards to collect her and her divining rod, driving her off to their Oklahoma pastures, and she'd tell them where to drill the well. She was a water witch with... Read more
	Gubernatorial goldrush: why the terminator is no gipper.(On Political Books)(Book Review) Magazine article from: Washington Monthly; 12/1/2003; ; 700+ words ; ...been mainly of historical interest. Now, considering that Schwarzenegger has named Reagan as his model, it becomes a divining rod for what lies ahead. The book also is a pleasure. Cannon has covered Reagan since his first campaign for governor in... Read more
	Reformation Sunday October 29, 2006.(Preaching Helps) Magazine article from: Currents in Theology and Mission; 8/1/2006; ; 700+ words ; ...from the deep well that is our theological heritage and glorify the One who truly reformed our world. These texts are a divining rod pointing us to the important truth that energized Martin Luther's reforming movement in the sixteenth century and continues... Read more
	Peter Johansson: Kulturhuset. Magazine article from: Artforum International; 3/1/2007; ; 679 words ; ...with itself; he problematizes it as deftly as Fred Wilson does. But where Wilson instrumentalizes rude ceramic pickaninnies as divining rods locating lost African-American histories and masked racial attitudes, Johansson scans day-tripper souvenirs such as Dala... Read more
	Attorney questions lawyer-suit ruling.(Charles Dibble) Magazine article from: New Hampshire Business Review; 12/29/2000; ; 700+ words ; ...Everybody down to the hot dog vendor is regulated. It doesn't apply maybe to a dowser, he said, referring to those who use a divining rod to locate underground water. I don't know if they're covered by a Dowser Regulation Authority. You can get it down to... Read more