You can say what you want about water witching but I know from my own experience that it works although I couldn’t explain why. I’ve also seen and agree with the posted explainations. The closest I come to any mystic beliefs is being a Christian. My mother was the “family mystic” but I never bought into any of it.
All of that being said, My father had a second cousin who used to find water in Upstate New York with 2 bent coat hangers. When I was a kid, we went to visit “Cousin Bob” who was in his 70’s at the time. We got onto the subject of water wells and witching and he said he used to do it for neighboring farms in the 1920’s and 30’s. His neighbors would sometimes call him as a first resort, sometimes last. In any case, he never charged for his “services” as he considered his ability a gift from God. He told me that I could probably do it too if I wanted to try, and there were water and sewer lines all over his property. (He owned a rental cabin business where he lived.) I took his wires and he showed me one spot where the water main came onto the property to demonstrate this effect. From there, we walked around and I accurately spotted every water and sewer line I crossed there. Incidently, this was the first time I had ever visited his property and, at the age of 10, was too young to deduce where underground pipes would logically be placed. The only difference in my story is whenever I cross a target, my wires will always separate, not cross. This is the first time I’ve heard of wires crossing.
I don’t mean to be unfriendly but as much as I love a good debate, I won’t argue this subject with anyone. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I respect that. I am only submiting my personal experience to weigh in on this subject.
Moderator adds link to column: Does dowsing for water really work? - The Straight Dope