of danger. The Chinese emperor Yu, who lived around
2,000 BCE, was said to be a dowser.
Predicting the future was often perilous to the health
of the diviner. Although ancient Rome used divination
of all kinds, usually the bloody entrails type, there are
records before 400 BCE of Roman diviners being
executed for using a pendulum for this purpose, usually
in an attempt to use the information against the Roman
government.
One of these types of cases, recorded by Ammianus
Marcellinus (c. 352-392 CE), explains the condemnation
and execution that occurred because the diviners were
using the information gained in just such a matter.
Marcellinus was a noble Greek by birth and also a
Roman historian. He told of a group of Roman
conspirators during the first century CE who plotted the
assassination of a man who would succeed the Roman
emperor. In order to know who this next emperor would
be, they suspended a ring on a thread from a tripod over
a circle with alphabet letters around the edge. Using the
pendulum like a Ouija board, the conspirators learned
the man's name. Before they could carry out the
assassination, they were arrested and condemned.
Another account from ancient Rome tells us of a
pendulum being used in another manner similar to the
Ouija board. In this case, a round pendulum was held
inside a glass. The user slowly recited the alphabet
letters. When the correct letter was said, the pendulum
tapped against the side of the glass.
The use of various tools for dowsing continued
through the centuries without much negative comment
or repercussions until the Middle Ages. Then it came
under attack by the Christian Church.