Witness

In dowsing, the witness is an object or sample that stands for the person, place or thing being searched for: a photograph, a lock of hair, a handwriting sample, a fragment of material. The dowser places it near the pendulum or on the chart in order, so they say, to connect with what they are looking for. The witness also serves as a point of comparison, for instance a water sample when searching for a spring. It should not be confused with the Witnesses of geomancy, which are figures in the chart.