I'm Grahame Gardner, and you've found your way to my personal geomantic corner of the interweb. Here, you will find details about my dowsing and geomancy work, together with a mixed bag of articles, thoughts, ruminations and other belly rumblings connected with these esoteric subjects.
This is not intended to be a comprehensive resource on geomancy - for that I suggest you head over to our parent website The Geomancy Group, where I am also the webmaster and contribute a fair bit of the content; or check out some of the other geomantic and dowsing links displayed on the left.
Have a rummage around the site and, if you see something you like or want to get in touch to ask about a consultation, or for any other reason, please leave a comment or send an email.
If you're looking for my lighting design site, you want Dogstar Design.
Here’s a picture from my day workshop in labyrinths held at the American Society of Dowsers, convention in Lyndonville, where I am a guest speaker and workshop leader. This shows 3 people walking ‘Gardner’s Double Appleton’ in the labyrinth. The lady in the centre is guiding the two men, who are walking into the labyrinth with their eyes closed. She is actually walking out of the labyrinth. This is a wonderful way to enhance the other senses and really ‘feel’ the energies of the labyrinth as you walk.
Saturday May 4th 2013 was World Labyrinth Day, followed by International Dowsing Day on May 5, so I had decided to combine two of my favourite activities into a ‘Dowsing and Labyrinths’ day, which was held at Comrie in Perthshire. Although the weather wasn’t as sunny as anticipated, we had 16 people attending, a much better turnout than I had anticipated. I bravely decided to expose my legs for the first time this year in a pair of shorts.
After an indoor session learning the basics of dowsing using pendulums, we adjourned outside to practise with L-rods and soon located a nice little power centre – a blind spring with a crossing energy line – to site the goal of the labyrinth on. The pattern for this workshop was a 7-circuit Classical design – I find this design resonates well with most people and it is the most versatile design to use. I was planning to quickly lay this out with five stakes, line marking paint and rope using Robert Ferre’s method. I like this technique not only because it is relatively quick to do, it is also surprising and almost magical the way the rope swings round the stakes to reveal the curves of the labyrinth – when it is done properly, that is. Sadly, this was not one of those occasions! At two points we went somewhat awry and ended up with a path that was ‘closed’ with no connection to neighbouring paths. Not for the first time I found myself wishing that I had brought some green paint to correct mistakes! However, it is something of a maxim with labyrinth construction that something will go amiss at some point during the process, so I have long since ceased to worry about these mishaps.
The labyrinth completed, we adjourned for lunch, then for the rest of the afternoon we worked with the labyrinth, using conceptual models involving the chakras and the planets mapped onto the different paths to gain various personal insights. These are left-brain methods of working with the labyrinth, but they are what makes the labyrinth such a powerful transformational tool.
We concluded the afternoon by guiding each other, eyes closed, into the goal using Gardner’s Double Appleton, a wonderful labyrinth movement I ‘discovered’ a couple of years ago. This caused much confusion and hilarity, but it was a fitting end to the afternoon.
Dowsing the energy line before, during and after the afternoon’s walks revealed that it had gradually expanded until it was wider than the labyrinth diameter on its ‘downstream’ side – a common effect when labyrinths are properly created on power centres and walked frequently. This would fade naturally over the course of a few days if the labyrinth is not used. On the ‘upstream’ side of the energy line was a wonderful green man site guardian (left), who we paid our respects to before energetically closing down the labyrinth.
All in all, a very successful day; my thanks to everyone who came along, and particular thanks to Camilla for her generous hospitality and the use of her garden, not to mention her wonderful soup and cakes.
I shall be repeating this workshop at the American Society of Dowsers’ convention in Lyndonville, Vermont on Thursday June 6 2013, so this Comrie labyrinth was a good rehearsal for that. Hopefully I will be able to construct the labyrinth without errors next time round!
Grahame Gardner is a professional dowser and geomancer specialising in house-healing work involving geopathic and technopathic stress, and the creation of sacred spaces. He is a Registered Tutor with the British Society of Dowsers, is listed on their Professional Register, and is the current President of the Society. He is also a founder member of The Geomancy Group. This article is from his personal blog Western Geomancy.
WANT TO PUBLISH THIS ARTICLE? Non-commercial publication of this article is permitted as long as the tagline (above) with links is included and no changes are made to the article. A courtesy copy of your publication or link would be appreciated.
Over the years I have prepared and given – and been subjected to – many PowerPoint lectures/presentations. When you know your subject well it is tricky knowing how much detail to go into, what assumptions to make about the audience, what handouts you should have to distribute, how much to say when diverted by an interesting question, and when to stop. No matter how well you have prepared, no matter how often you give the same presentation, each one will be different. Which is probably how it should be; after all, each audience is going to be different.
If you have had Grahame as a tutor at a course or workshop, some- or maybe much- of this book will be familiar. Which is the intention: this book has as its starting point Grahame’s lectures and articles. However, it covers not only what you may have seen and heard in his prepared presentations, it also includes the “extras” that you only got if you were in a particular audience at a particular time.
One advantage of writing a book on your subject, especially one based on experience of giving, and constantly honing, presentations on that subject, is that the audience doesn’t interrupt- obviously you’re not present when they are reading, but you have a very good idea of what needs to be covered to satisfy the majority. Another advantage is that more people get to share your expertise. The disadvantage is the inability to respond to questions and points raised.
“Dowsing Magic”, not only shows how thoroughly he knows his subject, he also is discriminating in how much detail he goes into. It is, therefore, appropriate for anyone new to dowsing, as well as of interest and help to those who have more “time-served”. He is essentially practical in his approach and offers guidance that is sensible and possible for anybody to follow. The enthusiasm and patience he shows when giving a presentation, workshop and demonstration, come through clearly in his writing. There are all the advantages and none of the disadvantages that I mention above- and I write as somebody who has been to several of Grahame’s courses and presentations.
This “Book One” covers all of the basics. There are sections on working with a pendulum, with rods, with an aurameter, a bobber; there is guidance on dowsing for water, map dowsing, using witnesses, dowsing for lost objects and missing people; there are historical stories and references, contextualising dowsing across time and cultures. And there is plenty on earth energies, leys, grids and theories thereof. He also touches on geopathic stress and the nature of reality.
Because Grahame is quite pragmatic in his world-view (I hope that’s OK to write, Grahame!) he explores theory without clouding issues with magical gobbledegook.
But it’s not just theory- this is a book for practitioners. Either those currently (sorry about the pun) who dowse or those who wish to dowse. It matters not what your level of expertise may be. There is something for everyone in this book.
When meeting members of the public when out dowsing it is not unusual to get into conversation with them; many are curious. There are a number of books and websites to which I refer these people. This book, “Dowsing Magic” will now go to the top of the list.
It is, I suspect, also a book I shall use for reference. The stories and anecdotes are worth another look; and as a refresher…a reminder of what is possible and the best way(s) to get results…it will be invaluable. I look forward to more in the series.
“Dowsing Magic, from water finds to dragon lines” by Grahame Gardner
published by Penwith Press, 2012.
ISBN: 978-0-95333 16-5-9 at £9.95.
Touchstones for Today – Designing for Earth Harmony with Stone Arrangements
by Alanna Moore
The subtitle of this new book by Alanna Moore is ‘Designing for Earth Harmony with Stone Arrangements’, but it could equally well be ‘Everything You Need to Know About Stones’, such is the range of the subject matter. This is an updated and greatly expanded version of her 2005 book ‘The Magic of Menhirs & Circles of Stone’.
The first part of the book looks at the traditional uses of stones and stone formations in cultures around the world, from the healing (and cursing) stones and stone altars of Irish folk tradition to archaeo-astronomical configurations of calendar stones, medicine wheels and other stone structures. This section also covers petroglyphs, fairy lore and the use of stones as boundary markers or kingship stones (such as the Lia Fial and Stone of Destiny), and explores the shamanic and ceremonial uses of stones as spirit portals and other sacred mechanisms.
We enter more familiar territory with subsequent chapters dealing with dowsing and the telluric energies found in stone circles and other arrangements. The association of stones with underground water flows is covered, with mention of Guy Underwood’s geodetic lines, Tom Graves’ ‘fifth band’ reaction on menhirs, and of course Alanna’s favourite Irish round towers. Dowsers familiar with the research conducted by the British Society of Dowsers’ Earth Energies Group will be comfortable with many of the names and concepts cited here.
One of the shorter sections looks at rock art and petroglyphs, concentrating mostly on their relevance as astronomical markers although mention is given to David Cowan’s research into the energetic resonance generated by cup-marks.
The latter half of the book is of a more practical nature, with instructive chapters on constructing and working with stone circles, labyrinths, medicine wheels and other ceremonial constructions. Again, all this will be recognisable to EEG members, but for those dowsers unfamiliar with the field this book is a little goldmine of useful information.
Alanna’s writing is always engaging, if a little economical at times. Her extensive research is presented in a clear, no-nonsense fashion with little extraneous commentary, so what you get is an easily accessible concentrated repository of information on all things petrous.
Grahame Gardner is a professional dowser and geomancer specialising in house-healing work involving geopathic and technopathic stress, and the creation of sacred spaces. He is a Registered Tutor with the British Society of Dowsers, is listed on their Professional Register, and is the current President of the Society. He is also a founder member of The Geomancy Group. This article is from his personal blog Western Geomancy.
WANT TO PUBLISH THIS ARTICLE? Non-commercial publication of this article is permitted as long as the tagline (above) with links is included and no changes are made to the article. A courtesy copy of your publication or link would be appreciated.
BSD member Tom Jones visiting the site, with circle designer Duncan Lunan and BSD President Grahame Gardner
The Sighthill Stone Circle is a modern astronomically-aligned stone ring that was designed and built in 1979 under the direction of local astronomer and SF writer Duncan Lunan. It is situated in the centre of Glasgow right
Imbolc greetings everyone. This year has felt like it has really struggled to get going, but with Imbolc we can start to feel the seeds of our inspirations, sown last Samhain, begin to stir and show above the ground as the land awakens and starts to come back to life. And so it is with
This has very little to do with geomancy, but I do have an interesting connection with it – when I came across this projection mapping video by Joel Sebastian, I was pleasantly surprised (and flattered) to discover that Joel is using one of my sacred geometry diagrams for his logo at the end of the
The Spine of Albion, by Gary Biltcliffe and Caroline Hoare
I have not anticipated the publication of a book for longer than this one. It’s been in the pipeline for over 15 years, and now at last it’s finally here!
Following the ‘serpenteering’ tradition popularised by Hamish Miller & Paul Broadhurst, The Spine of
Once again, my podcast ‘Adventures in Dowsing’ that I produce for The British Society of Dowsers, has been nominated in the European Podcast Awards. In the 2011 awards, the show placed 8th in the UK non-profit category. It would be fantastic to do even better this year! If you enjoy listening to the show, please
At the Canadian Society of Questers’ Conference in Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia at the beginning of May, Conference organiser Merlin Beltain told a tale over breakfast one day about a strong energy vortex that, as far as I could gather, was somewhere in the vicinity (bear in mind that my geographic knowledge of BC
(The house) felt weird for a few days, but it soon passed and we feel a lot better now, thank you.
Colin Thomson
Labyrinth
We have a beautiful classical labyrinth in our garden, which Grahame designed and directed the building of. The builders had never done this kind of project before and were a bit bemused and unsure, but Grahame directed them clearly and precisely. He provided the lovely central standing stone - and...
Janette Kidd
Grahame is delightful, fun, and charming in addition to being a brilliant dowser.
Thanks very much for coming over. I feel very reassured now.
Jane McKay
I'm very glad we decided to go ahead with your visit.
M. N.
Grahame is an amazing dowser/geomancer and confirmed as much for me on a field trip to Royston Cave. I do not claim to be much of a technical dowser myself as I tend to work more on an intuitive level, but Grahame is a methodical and technically brilliant dowser. I...
Peter Quiller
House feels more peaceful
Since Grahame came to our house... there has been a decided change for the better. The problem we had was resistant, but now the house feels more peaceful than it has ever been. We are experiencing improved quality of sleep and the uncomfortable feelings have gone. Grahame took time to...
I'm Grahame Gardner, and you've found your way to my personal geomantic corner of the interweb. Here, you will find details about my dowsing and geomancy work, together with a mixed bag of articles, thoughts, ruminations and other belly rumblings connected with these esoteric subjects.
