Abbe Mermet, a Swiss priest, used dowsing or radiesthesia, a term he preferred to use, for medical diagnosis in the 1920s. While in the company of his colleagues at the International Congress of Avignon, he validated the use of term "radiesthesia," meaning sensitivity to radiation. He used a pendulum in his work because it was easier to manipulate with patients. In the 1930s, the Association of the Friends of Radiesthesia was formed in France in addition to the Medical Society for the Study of Radiesthesia in England.

The French Abbe, Alexis Bouly, also used radiesthesia for medical purposes. At the end of World War I, he helped to locate active explosives beneath the ground before unearthing them. Among his other noteworthy achievements, Bouly was able to identify cultures of microbes in test tubes with the use of a pendulum. In 1950, at the age of 85, his country bestowed upon him the highest decoration possible-the Cross of the Legion of Honor. In his acceptance speech he said,"This honor is awarded in my person to all practitioners of dowsing. For my part, the award represents the crowning of a life I have tried to dedicate to the service of God and the good of humanity."

Radiesthesia is used in medical diagnosis by suspending a pendulum above the patient. The direction in which it moves determines the nature of the ailment. Dr. Solcol W. Tromp claimed that every object, whether animate or inanimate, has an electromagnetic field that can be read by an intuitively sensitive person.

Questions & Answers