ORGONE PHYSICS

1. "Dowsin0" as an Object cif Orgonamic

Researcb (1946)

By WILHELM REICH, M.D.

Prefatory note.

It should be stated to begin with that Me following report rests on one single observation only. No une at our research laboratory e-ver practiced "dowsing" before or after Mis single observation. However, the proficiency of Mis unigue observation warranted its recording in the Orgone Energy Bulletin. We must leave whers, more experie-nced in Mis field, to delve more thoroughly into Me problem of Me "dowsing rod." We alio assume that Me discovery of life energy has made Mis long-observed function of nature accessible to dynamic understanding.

The discovery of water veins or concealed springs in the earth occupied a peculiar position in natural research for a long time. On the one hand, the use of the dowsing rod was laughed at; "divining," as it is called, was dis- carded as mystical or charlatanry by "rigorous, objective, physical scientific research." No serious scientific researcher, so it was said, believed in the fairy tale of the dowsing rad. On the other hand, as is wicleIy known, farmers and mountainecrs used the "mysterious" dowsing rad to uncover springs. The dowsing rod furnishes in practice what "exact physics" so far had not suc- ceeded in accomplishing: 1t discovers water in Me ground. In World War I the dowsing rod was highly esteerrted ia the dry Alpine arcas ("Karst"). In World War II the English Royal Air Force is said to have used the dowsing rod with great success. But the nature and rnechanism of the discovery of water springs by means of the dowsing rod remain"d a mystery, exposed to the suspicion of charlatanry and mysticisrn.

In 1949, 5. W. Tromp, professor of geolog-y in Cairo University, had de- t34

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j40 WILHELM REICH

voted some effort to the elucidation of the finding of water by way of dowsing. (PS YCHECAL PH YSICS, Elsevier Publ. Co., New York, 1949.)

Orgone physics carne to contribute to the understanding of dowsing in 1946 when I had a man who was supposed to practice dowsing corne to Orgonon. This man displayed no special traits of character which would

have marked him as a mystic. He explained to me that he had for many years —without asking money for it—been occupied with the discovery of water springs. He had learned the art long ago from a farmer's wife. He could, so he claimed, find any water veio which was not more than fifteen feet under the surface af the earth.

I had him introduce me to his art while I led hirn into the neighborhood of an old, concealed well. He cut a V-shaped branch from a young apple tree and !telt' it firmly with both hands so that the point of the V was direcred

upward and slightly forward; it was about the height of the pit of his stom-ach. When he approached the region of the concealed well, the freely-moving end of the branch turned with grear force toward his body. One could sce that the man had to exert himself strenuously to hold the branch firrn. I con-fess that I had rhe impression of a mystical process; 1 did not understand what was happening.

How was it possible that the branch turned at ali? The man explained that one must cut the branch fresh from the tree if one wanted to obrain good results. Old, dead branches do not function.1 had at first believed that the

branch was drawn to Me earth in the neighborhood of the water. This !ater proved to be erroneous. In dowsing as we saw it, to be sure, it appeared as if the discovery of the water wcre an accomplishment of the branch. This erroneous conception is at the basis of rhe mystical interpretation of the process. The farmers in this neighborhood call the process of discovering water by means of the dowsing rod "divining," which reveals the religious-mystical explanation cIearly enough.

I had the man, with his dowsing branch, walk over a location where a water pipe which supplied the laboratory with water, was buried five feet under the surface. Exactly ar the spot where the pipe was huried, the branch turned downward, even though not as strongly as ar thc well. The man showed no sign of trance or any similar condition. He only appeared to he very attentively concenrrating on the branch.

He walked now, with the branch in his hands, over a part of the terrain around the laboratory. At a certain place the branch began to turn down-ward. The man followed lhe direction. The tnovement cif the branch

ORGONOMIC RESEARCH ON -DOWSING" 1 41

becarne increasingly strong until finally the man could hardly hold it. "Here, at chis spot," he said confidendy, "lies a water source not deeper than littera feet. You can depend on that."

Since the dowsing rod had ah-eady twice designated the presence of water unknown co the dowser, I had no reason to doubt that the man was also right this time. Twa years later, it turned out that water was accumulating on this spot deep in thc ground, due to a special hollow formation of the terrain which permirted water coming down to remain there.

1 now took up the rod rnyself and held it in my hands exactly as he had shown me. I walked across the same terrain, and quickly my doubting academism vanished. There was no doubt about it: The branch moved down-ward, slowly at first and then more strongly. The same rhing happened when I walked over the water pipe in the ground, and when 1 approached the old well; more weakly at the pipe than at the well.

Still I did not understand how this attraction was possible. A half-hour later the riddle was less obscure.

I repeated the procedure severa! times while I changed the position aí the branch. Held laterally to the body, the branch gave no reacrion in the same piare where it had reacted strongly in the original position in front of the upper abdomen. The movement of the branch thus had something to do tuith its position relatirie to Me body of the water fender.

The branch reacted weak]y ar not at ali if one held ir far away from one's own hody, just as it had little effect when one held it lateral!), to the body. Now it struck me that the freeiy moving point cif the branch moved most strongly at the height of the pit of the stomach. That could be explained only if the middle af Me body moved Me branch TowARD rrsELF. The finding of the water is thus not at all an accomplishmenc aí the branch or rad. The brami: only plays the role of an indicator. Ir is Me organism of Me dowser which reacts to the water in Me ground. This reaction is expressed in the farra of an attraction of Me frecly moving end of the branch to Me body and not to Me spring. 'nus it became understandahle why the branch always turned toward the body and never away from the body to the earth, at least according to this single observation.

I had severa! experimental workers at the lahoratory repeat the procedure. One assistant failed to react ar ali. Another felt a weak pull in bis hands, a resistance of the branch against movement away from the body. A third and a fourth each felt a similar peculiar sensation in the solar plexus, when the branch was attracted.

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WILHELM RE1CH

The next step was the following conclusion: The organism reais (without any perception) to Me spring in Me ground

with orgonotic excitation, !ince bath the organism and Me water are strongly

orgonotic and represent taco orgonotic systems. It seems as if it were the

plexus solaris in particular which reacts with excitation and attraction to the water. And it has been known for a long time that orgone energy and water are mutually attractive. In this way the riddle of the attraction of the branch

is solved. The following drawing is to iliustrate what has been said:

THE ORGONOTIC INTERRELATION BETWEEN ❑OWSER,

WATER AND ROD (INDICATOR)

orgonotic sydern of dowser

Dowsing rod (arrow s'no.vs arèraction toword body of dowser)

orgonotic mutual extitoflon

5w-face of ground

Á ar

Ground

The attraction between moving paims (see Xray picture of orgonotic

excitation, this Builetin 1/2, 1949, p. 50), the scenting tal water by dogs and

other animais, etc., are akin to these functions.

Sumtnarized: 1. The dowsing rod does not move to the water, bus is attracted by Me

body of Me dowser.

2. Not the dowsing rod, bus the bio-energetic life apparatus of the dowser

reacts to the water in thc ground.

3. The attractive reaction of the dowser apparcntly depends upon excita-

ORGONOMIC RESEARCH ON - DOWSING" 143

tion of the bio-energetic system, which is accompanied by increased attrac-tion in the orgonotic field surrounding the body.

4. The organism and the water react upon one another as any two orgonotic systems with excitation and attraction.

5. The dowsing organism must apparendy be orgonotically vigorous in arder to react with excitation to water and to attract the dowsing rod. Anorgonotic ar armored organisms will get little ar no reaction since the attraction in the orgone cnergy field is toa weak to attract the branch.

Thus, again, the faia-energetic structure and sensitivity of the observer enters into the observation and detection aí natural functions as a decisiva factor (cf. the section on "Organ Sensation as a Tool of Natural Research," in ETHER, GOD AND DEvrt, ch. III). No mystical operation whatever is here involved.

In arder to test the given interpretation of the function of dowsing, I had to be afale to reproduce it also without the presence of water. If eny explana-tion were correct, that the dowsing rod effcct depends upon the excitation and attraction in the contact of twa strong orgonotic systems, then the same effect must result if the organism approaches a strong orgone energy accumu-lator. This expectation was confirrned:

The branch was attracted to my body when I steppecl into the metal-fined orgone energy roam. The effect was strengthened, clearly and irrefutahly, when I approached the 20-fold orgone energy accumulator from the outside or when I sat in it. it was a further va]id proof of ¡lie correctness aí the explanation, that the attractive influence ire the accumulator was especially strong when 1 subjectively felt the well-known lumination sensation of "prickling" warmth in my

The orgonotic porency of an organism can be roughly rneasured by means of the lumination of the incandescent hulb at the orgone field meter.' The lumination of the incandescent filament stands in direcr reIationship to the orgonity of the organism. Our dowser showed the strongcst lumenation at the orgone energy field meter, fully corresponding w the strength of the attraction of the rod in his hand. My reaction was somewhat weaken those persons who had not reacted with the dowsing branch showed thc weakest lumination at the apparatus.

The heretofore so mysteriously conceived function of dowsing mas/ fali into line with the many other bio-energetic observations already well known for a long time:

1 CI. Tia DISCOVERY 01' TH ORGONE, V01. II, pp. 124-127.

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WILHELM RE4CI-1

The tirar-cut attraction felt between one's paims during mutual approach alternating with removal.

The ability af certain individuais to attract growing, green branches of certain flowers by approach and remova! of their palms.

The activation of a Geiger-Miiiier device with the orgone energy field of the paira in bio-energetically strong organisms.

The orgonotic sensation of the presence af unseen persons in the dark. 1 hclieve that these facts speak a tirar enough language, but they should

be carefully tested from the standpoint of orgone biophysics. Their function submits without contradiction to the theory of orgone biophysics. The dis-covery of water sources by means of Me dowsing rod, and similar functions, dernonstrate the organism and Me orgonotic sensation as bois of natural

research in Me clearest light. The scientific conception and undersranding of the function follow from the knowledge af the specific laws which govern orgone energy, i.e., Life Energy. The orgonotic contact between Me living

organism and a part of nature gains great importance as a principie of explora-

tion aí nature.

There are some people who no rnatter what msracles taok place around Mero would adi go on complacently picking their noses.—GocoL

Projeto Arte Org Redescobrindo e reinterpretando W. Reich Caro Leitor Infelizmente, no que se refere a orgonomia, seguir os passos de Wilhelm Reich e de sua equipe de investigadores é uma questão bastante difícil, polêmica e contraditória, cheia de diferentes interpretações que mais confundem do que ajudam. Por isto, nós decidimos trabalhar com o material bibliográfico presente nos microfilmes (Wilhelm Reich Collected Works Microfilms) em forma de PDF, disponibilizados por Eva Reich que já se encontra circulado pela internet, e que abarca o desenvolvimento da orgonomia de 1941 a 1957. Dividimos este “material” de acordo com as revistas publicadas pelo instituto de orgonomia do qual o Reich era o diretor. 01- International Journal of Sex Economy and Orgone Research (1942-1945). 02- Orgone Energy Bulletin (1949-1953) 03- CORE Cosmic Orgone Engineering (1954-1956) E logo dividimos estas revistas de acordo com seus artigos, apresentando-os de forma separada (em PDF), o que facilita a organizá-los por assunto ou temas. Assim, cada qual pode seguir o rumo de suas leituras de acordo com os temas de seu interesse. Todo o material estará disponível em inglês na nuvem e poderá ser acessado a partir de nossas páginas Web. Sendo que nosso intuito aqui é simplesmente divulgar a orgonomia, e as questões que a ela se refere, de acordo com o próprio Reich e seus colaboradores diretos relativos e restritos ao tempo e momento do próprio Reich. Quanto ao caminho e as postulações de cada um destes colaboradores depois da morte de Reich, já é uma questão que extrapola nossas possibilidades e nossos interesses. Sendo que aqui somente podemos ser responsáveis por nós mesmos e com muitas restrições. Alguns destes artigos, de acordo com nossas possiblidades e interesse, já estamos traduzindo. Não somos tradutores especializados e, portanto, pedimos a sua compreensão para possíveis erros que venham a encontrar. Em nome da comunidade Arte Org. Textos da área da Orgonomia Física. Texts from the area of Physical Orgonomy. ---------------------- International Journal of Sex Economy and Orgone Research ----------------- Orgone Physics ----------------- 01 Wilhelm Reich. Thermical and Electroscopical Orgonometry 1941 International Journal of Sex Economy and Orgone Research Volume 3 Number 1 1944 Interval 6-21 Pag. 1-16 02 Wilhelm Reich. Orgonotic Pulsation I 1944 International Journal of Sex Economy and Orgone Research Volume 3 Numbers 2 3 1944 Interval 1-54 Pag. 97-150 03 Notes. The Orgone Energy Early Scientific Literature 1944 International Journal of Sex Economy and Orgone Research Volume 3 Numbers 2 3 1944 Interval 95-101 Pag. 191-197 04 Wilhelm Reich. Orgone Biophysics, Mechanistic Science and Atomic Energy 1945

International Journal of Sex Economy and Orgone Research Volume 4 Numbers 2 3 1945 Interval 3-6 Pag. 129-132 05 Wilhelm Reich. Experimental Demonstration of Physical Orgone Energy 1945 International Journal of Sex Economy and Orgone Research Volume 4 Numbers 2 3 1945 Interval 7-24 Pag. 133-146 06 Notes Editorial. Is the Orgone Atomic Energy? 1945 International Journal of Sex Economy and Orgone Research Volume 4 Numbers 2 3 1945 Interval 80-81 Pag. 202-202 -------------------------------- -------------------------------- Orgone Energy Bulletin ------------------------------- Orgone Physics ------------------------- 01 Wilhelm Reich Orgonotic Light Functions 1942-1944 McF 208 Orgone Energy Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 1. Jan. 1949 Interval 5-7 Pag. 3-6 02 Wilhelm Reich A Motor Forece in Orgone Energy 1947 McF 208 Orgone Energy Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 1. Jan. 1949 Interval 7-9 Pag. 7-11 03 Wilhelm Reich Orgonotic Light Functions II 1947 McF 209 Orgone Energy Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 2. Apr. 1949 Interval 2-4 Pag. 49-51 04 R. H. Atkin. The Second Law of Thermodinamics and the Orgone accumator 1947 McF 209 Orgone Energy Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 2. Apr. 1949 Interval 5-9 Pag. 52-60 05 Wilhelm Reich Orgonotic Light Functions III 1948 McF 301 Orgone Energy Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 3. Jul. 1949 Interval 3-4 Pag. 97-99 06 Alexander Lowen. The Impressionists and Orgone Energy 1949 McF 302 Orgone Energy Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 4. Oct. 1949 Interval 16-23 Pag. 169-183 07 Notes of the Orgone Energy Observatory 1950 McF 303 Orgone Energy Bulletin, Vol. 2, No. 1. Jan. 1950 Interval 26-27 Pag. 46-48 08 Jakos Baumann. Some Observations of the Atmospherie Orgone Energy 1950 McF 304 Orgone Energy Bulletin, Vol. 2, No. 2. Apr. 1950 Interval 16-20 Pag. 74-83 09 Wilhelm Reich Metereological Functions in Orgone-Charged Vacuum Tubes 1949 McF 306 Orgone Energy Bulletin. Vol. 2, No. 4. Oct. 1950 Interval 17-21 Pag. 184-193 10 Myron R. Sharaf. From the History of Science 1951 McF 307 Orgone Energy Bulletin. Vol. 3, No. 1. Jan. 1951 Interval 20-22 Pag. 35-38

11 Wilhelm Reich. The Anti-Nuclear Radiation Effect of Cosmic Orgone Energy 1950 McF 307 Orgone Energy Bulletin. Vol. 3, No. 1. Jan. 1951 Interval 33-34 Pag. 61-63 12 Wilhelm Reich The Storm of November 25th and 26th 1950 McF 308 Orgone Energy Bulletin. Vol. 3, No. 2. Apr. 1951 Interval 8-9 Pag. 72-75 13 Wilhelm Reich Dowsing as an Objeet of Orgonomie 1946 McF 309 Orgone Energy Bulletin. Vol. 3, No. 3. Jul. 1951 Interval 13-16 Pag. 139-144 14 Wilhelm Reich Thre Experiments with Rubber At Electroscope (1939) 1951 McF 309 Orgone Energy Bulletin. Vol. 3, No. 3. Jul. 1951 Interval 16-16 Pag. 15 Wilhelm Reich Integration of Visual Orgone Energy Functions 1950 McF 310 Orgone Energy Bulletin. Vol. 3, No. 4. Oct. 1951 Interval 4-12 Pag. 188-200 16 Wilhelm Reich The Geiger Muller Effect of Cosmic Orgone Energy (1947) 1950 McF 310 Orgone Energy Bulletin. Vol. 3, No. 4. Oct. 1951 Interval 12-29 Pag. 201-234 17 Wilhelm Reich The Orgone Charged Vacuum Tubes (vacor) (1948) 1950 McF 310 Orgone Energy Bulletin. Vol. 3, No. 4. Oct. 1951 Interval 29-45 Pag. 235-266 18 William Steig. Some Notes Inspired by Reich 1952 McF 311 Orgone Energy Bulletin. Vol. 4, No. 1. Jan. 1952 Interval 18-20 Pag. 32-36 19 Werner Grossmann. Observation of Orgone Energy Lumination 1952 McF 311 Orgone Energy Bulletin. Vol. 4, No. 1. Jan. 1952 Interval 31-32 Pag. 58-60 20 R. H. Atkin. A Space-Energy Continnuum McF 314 Orgone Energy Bulletin. Vol. 4, No. 4. Oct. 1952 Interval 16-21 Pag. 197-206 21 A. E. Hamilton. Childes-Eye View of the Orgone Flow 1952 McF 314 Orgone Energy Bulletin. Vol. 4, No. 4. Oct. 1952 Interval 25-26 Pag. 215-216 ------------------------------- ------------------------------- Orgone Energy Bulletin ------------------------------------------- Orgone Physics 2 Accumulator -------------------------------------------- 01 Walter Hoppe. My Experiences With The Orgone Accumulator 1949 McF 208 Orgone Energy Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 1. Jan. 1949 Interval 10-15 Pag. 12-22 02 Notes Editorial. Regarding the Use of the Orgone Accumulator 1949 McF 208 Orgone Energy Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 1. Jan. 1949 Interval 22-23 Pag. 37-38

03 Notes. Questions Regarding Orgone and the Orgone Accumulator 1949 McF 209 Orgone Energy Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 2. Apr. 1949 Interval 20-20 Pag. 82-83 04 Notes. Questions and Answers Regarding the Orgone Accumulator I 1949 McF 301 Orgone Energy Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 3. Jul. 1949 Interval 21-23 Pag. 131-134 05 Notes. Questions and Answers Regarding the Orgone Accumulator II 1949 McF 304 Orgone Energy Bulletin, Vol. 2, No. 2. Apr. 1950 Interval 24-25 Pag. 91-93 06 Administration of Cosmic Orgone Energy Accumulator 1952 McF 314 Orgone Energy Bulletin. Vol. 4, No. 4. Oct. 1952 Interval 9-10 Pag. 183-185 07 The Orgone Energy Accumulator, its Scientific and Medical Use, 1951 McF 518 The Orgone Energy Accumulator, its Scientific and Medical Use, 1951 Interval 1-31 Pag. 1-58 08 Construction of a Three-fold Orgone Energy accumulator and Five-fold shooter McF 520 Construction of a Three-fold Orgone Energy accumulator and Five-fold shooter Interval 1-11 Pag. 1-6 09 How to use the orgone energy accumulator McF 521 How to use the orgone energy accumulator Interval 1-3 Pag. 1-3 --------- CORE. ----------------- Orgone Physics ----------------- 01 Charlesd R. Kelley. Orgone Energy and Weather 1954 McF 318 CORE. Vol. 7, No. 1,2. Mar. 1955 Interval 20-35 Pag. 54-67 02 Wearner and Doreen Grossmann. Wind Flow and Orgone Flow 1955 McF 319 CORE. Vol. 7, No. 3,4. Dec. 1955 Interval 11-18 Pag. 114-129 03 Maria Courie. Plant Respose to Orgone Energy 1955 McF 319 CORE. Vol. 7, No. 3,4. Dec. 1955 Interval 55-56 Pag. 203-204