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Saturday, February 7, 2015

Dousing, Divining, and Pendulums - Free Book Giveaway!

Mom and Dad's cabin in South Park
When I was a youngster and still at home, my parents built a cabin in the Colorado mountains—in South Park to be exact (yes, that South Park). When it came time to have the well drilled, the contractor asked if we had witched the well yet? What? What magic is this, I wondered. Then the driller provided us with dousing rods and gave us instructions.
Metal Dousing Rods
The dousing rods were made of simple metal clothes hangers, straightened to form an “L” shape. I gripped the short end of the hangers, one hanger in each hand, with the long end pointing straight ahead. The driller told me to walk slowly down the hill…and holy-cow! In about ten paces, the metal rods turned in my hands and crossed each other. Then Mom had a try, then Dad. No matter what direction we started from, when we got to that sweet spot on the hill, the rods would cross. I tried to hold them so tight in my hands they wouldn't twist, but they always did.

Typical Pendulum
The well-contractor took into account the terrain, but drilled the well very close to where we had “witched” the well. Oh, yeah... I was hooked on paranormal.

Dousing rods, divining rods, and pendulums, work on the same principle. Something, or someone, from somewhere is providing information through the medium of a rod or a pendulum. Another theory is that our own “higher self” is controlling the divining rod and providing the requested information from our subconscious higher knowledge. Either way, when dousing for water with rods, the question is already given: where is the underground water?

Pendulum Board
A pendulum can be used, much like an Ouija board, to divine a number of different questions. To make a pendulum, all you need is a long string or chain, with a weight or bob on one end. A necklace and pendant would work just as well as the expensive, mystical pendulums you can purchase on-line. Rumor has it, a pendulum can be used to find missing objects, answer questions about the future, and predict the sex of your next child.

There are a hoard of websites that will teach you, convert you, and beguile you with information about divining, dousing and pendulums. As with everything, proceed with caution and with the understanding that they are all trying to sell you something. You don't need any of the fancy stuff to just have fun with a pendulum or dousing rods. And they aren't scary – unless you write it that way.

In Hunter's Gamble, included in the Cowboy Kisses anthology, Hunter uses a pendulum made from his father's pocket-watch chain, an arrowhead from his grandfather and a rose quartz from his grandmother. All the items have special meaning to Hunter, and give his pendulum special qualities. He uses his pendulum to help a young man, released from prison after the Civil war, find his missing family.

Hunter also uses his pendulum to help a young woman named Lily Graham find a kidnapped child in the story "Hunter and Lily Graham."

FREE BOOK GIVE AWAY -  Comment on the blog and tell me if you've ever used a pendulum, divining rod or Ouija board, and if you ever would again.  The winner will have their choice of e-books that include stories of Hunter and his pendulum; Hunter and Lily Graham in CCCv2, or Hunter's Gamble in Cowboy Kisses. Remember to leave your email so I can contact you!


Connie (C. Marie) Bowen is an award winning writer of paranormal adventures laced with suspense and romance. She grew up in Denver, Colorado and has a love of western history, science fiction, fantasy and ghost stories. Her life travels have taken her from Denver to Wichita, KS and eventually settling in North Texas to raise her two boys. A LEED accredited professional, she worked as an Architectural Project Manger for retail construction prior to deciding an empty nest gave her the opportunity to follow her writing muse.

She is a PRO member of Romance Writers of America, Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal Sub-chapter of RWA, North Texas RWA, and Savvy Authors.

Learn more about her books and works in progress at her website: http://www.cmariebowen.com/

21 comments:

  1. I have used pendulums for a variety of things. I played with the Ouija Board as a child and that was it.
    debby236 at gmail dot com

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  2. Hi Connie,
    I played with the Ouija board as a kid. Not so sure I'd do it again....mango8@msn.com

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  3. Oh, Connie, you know I love me some Hunter! LOL He is a man of many talents, and very mysterious. I cannot wait to learn more about him--love all your stories.

    I played with the Ouija board as a kid. I wouldn't go near it now. We used to use them at sleepovers. Oh, the things we delved into so innocently then that could have gotten us into all kinds of trouble!
    Cheryl

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  4. Hi Debby! I've scared myself silly with Ouija boards at slumber parties. Thanks for the comment!
    Connie

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  5. Good Morning Alisa,
    Yeah, I no longer own one myself. Thanks for commenting!
    Connie

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  6. Hey Cheryl,
    Hunter is fantastic! And knows how to call specific spirits, his dear Grandmother taught him well. He is a deep well, that's for sure. We get a glimpse of his life at home in Hunter's Gamble. Thanks for commenting!
    Connie

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  7. Say hello to a natural born cynic, Connie. As much as I am fascinated in the esoteric, I believe there has to be a scientific basis for some of these things. I know. What a drag. My desire for things to be exciting is what drives me to write the impossible though--time travel and paranormal.
    What I really like about Hunter is that he uses items that have great meaning to him to do the impossible. And for me, that says something about you as a writer. You must have a great deal of sentiment about things in your own life, maybe things handed down through the generations in your family. I really like that about you. Me, too. I love reading about mystical things and the impossible that make me believe even if it's only while I'm reading about it. It takes talent to make readers believe--and you have that, Connie.

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  8. The paranormal is an enduring legacy for us. There was a gentleman who had found a copper mine in Utah via a diving rod, then tried his luck in Cripple Creek, but didn't succeed there. Who knows whether it is the holder of the rods, or just universal energy,but what stories we can weave. Thank you for the additional information. Loved it. Doris McCraw/Angela Raines

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  9. PS And your Hunter sounds like a character one can easily fall in love with. Best success to you.

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  10. Oh Connie your post does bring back memories. Of course we did the sleep over with the Ouija board thing and would scream and scramble under the covers when the board would slide to yes. I think the most terrifying time was when I was about fourteen. I had been invited to a party. I went. Half way through the party, mind you we are doing the usual boy-girl things, slow dancing making sure our bodies don't touch and eating potato chips and drinking sodas, and picking out which 45 record we would play. That's when the host decided to show us something down underneath his home. He led us down 5 levels beneath the city of Council Bluffs.There in that damp smelly level was a Ouija board and a flashlight. He had sit in a circle around the board and proceeded to ask the board questions.. Was JFK in the room or Marilyn Monroe. that sort of thing. Now I don't know if it was rigged or what but the thing that moves around the board started going in every direction, that and there was a low moaning sound coming from the dark recesses of the room. Needless to say I ran up those stairs two at a time and never went to one of that boys parties again.

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  11. Connie,
    Great post and I love both of your Hunter stories, especially the one in COWBOY KISSES! I'm with everyone else here - no more Ouija Board for me. In my opinion it's not something to be used in a lighthearted manner. Years ago my mom released a not-so-nice spirit. (She doesn't use it anymore either.) She weathered it by having our cat at the time sleep on her chest every night for protection. I've used pendulums a bit. Very interesting stuff. :-)

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  12. Connie,

    Interesting post. I've seen the rods used for to find water and once went on a "ghost hunt" in Annapolis where the lady brought them as a possible tool for us to use. Like the others I used the Ouija Board once and that was it. Some things aren't for play.

    I need to get caught up with my reading so I can meet Hunter, he sounds like a wonderful hero. Congrats on the stories!

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  13. My mother-in-law, since passed on, could douse and she's the last person who would ever think about something mystical. I've tried pendulums but never really had them work for me. I do though use Tarot cards sometimes and they seem to always hit the spot. Who knows from where any of that comes. Always interesting. I like Hunter as a hero :)

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  14. Sorry for being away ya'll. The Hubster is home this weekend, and wanted to go see Jupiter Rising. It was fun.

    Sarah, The skeptic and the sentimentalist. Yes, there are things that are precious to me, passed down from my parents and grandparents. You are very perceptive to see that part of me in Hunter. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. ~Connie

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  15. Hi Doris. Witching the well years ago always stayed with me. It was amazing, as a kid, to feel those hanger-rods twist in my hand. I've never tried to use them for finding anything else. ~Connie

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  16. Heya Barb. I've scared myself silly with Ouija boards (when I was a teen). Your story sounds like someone went to a lot of trouble to set the spooky mood! My goodness! The thing you put your hands on is called a planchette. How they move is always the spookiest part. Thanks for commenting and sharing your story. ~Connie

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  17. Hi Kristy, Your mom released a not-too-nice spirit? Oh gosh! I've never had anything like that happen to me. Maybe because we always had a cat at home. I'm glad you enjoyed the Hunter story in Cowboy Kisses. ~Connie

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  18. Hi Kirsten, Good luck on catching up on your reading. It is a challenge I've fallen behind in myself. I am glad you decided to stop by. ~Connie

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  19. Hi Rain, Thanks for stopping by. I throw tarot cards every year with my son, forecasting the coming year. First though, we ready last years predictions and compare those predictions to what actually happened. It is eerie when cards thrown in January can so accurately predict what will happen the next October. Then again, like reading horoscopes, we see what we want to see. I'm glad you like Hunter. He needs a girlfriend though. He needs to work on that. ~Connie

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  20. My day on the PRP blog is over. I really appreciate all of you who took time to visit with me. My winner is DEBBY! Congratulations Debbie. I will send you an email and you can let me know which anthology you would like. Thanks again to everyone who stopped by! ~Connie

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