Divining Rods

Divining rods are sticks that help you find water on your land. This centuries old practice works by first cutting a fresh forked stick from a hazel, peach, hickory, dogwood or cherry tree and holding it firmly in your hands. When the stick has located water, the stick bends enough to shred the bark.

In the late 1950’s, my father brought a water diviner from Maine to the island of Vieques (which he was developing), to help locate where the water source was and apparently, he was successful.

The image is from a collection of divining rods on display at the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, UK.