Radionics is a relatively new development of the ancient art of dowsing. But, whereas dowsing involves sensing targets or objects, with radionics you can interact and proactively influence them. Developed by Albert Abrams (1863-1924) a doctor and Stanford researcher at the beginning of the 20th century through a series of personal experiences and practical research. he came up with a two part system of analysis and treatment. This was based on the evidence of an energy field surrounding the body which could be acted on at an atomic level.

One of his discoveries was the energy that made up this field is similar enough to electrical current and radio waves to the degree that it can be conducted through metal wires and broadcast and received. Being a doctor his first attempt was to use it as a part of allopathic (conventional) medicine but, as you may imagine, it was rejected in the USA and the UK despite some convincing evidence that the system worked. Fortunately the “If it works, use it and we’ll research the science behind it later” minded of the magickal and psychic communities took it up. Much as Alchemists such as Jechiele who, in the 13th century, wired up a door knocker to an early type of wet cell battery to shock unwelcome visitors without worrying too much about the science behind it.

To get around the medical ban Radionics researchers and practitioners went back to their roots patenting various devices and practices as being a form of dowsing. The best known example of this was the “Hieronymus Machine” patented by Dr. Thomas Galen Hieronymus in 1948 as a form of mineral detector. As such it neatly sidestepped any issues with the medical authorities, while at the same time attracting interest from the dowsing and magickal communities who recognised the principles on which the device worked. It also showed that Radionics could do a lot more than heal people which lead to an explosion of people practicing the art.

Needless to say the simple principles quickly became complex, much as generalised folk magick lead to focused types of ritual magick. Until the advent of the internet this specialised knowledge was hard to get hold of as it was the provenance of more or less closed groups and organisations. It was only with the advent of practitioners of Psionics, such as Charles Cosimano, who were independent researchers and had books published on the subject that opened it to the Pagan community as a whole. Groups such as the Technomages and Chaos Magicians embraced Radionics and Psionics wholeheartedly, but a significant number of groups and individuals were against using it.

The main two reasons were that it upset the established hierarchy, and that people could wield a lot of power with little personal development. Strangely, to me anyway, it was the challenge to the established power structure in covens and societies that upset the most people. It quickly became clear that the key reason people ran them was not so much to help others, as for a sense of power over them. It also made large holes in the theories and practices of the time. Traditionally it took time to build up “contacts on the inner planes” and develop skills such as clairvoyance and work with thoughtforms. But with Radionics you could tune in to the thing you wanted to see, or entity you wanted to work with, in a very short time once you understood the principles.

Naturally, this lead to a lot of evolutionary-style “Survival of the most adaptable” amongst people using Radionics and Psionics in magick and ritual. Without even minimal self-development would-be Mages started acting on their impulses of what they thought would make them happy. Rather than take the time to become aware of their true nature, develop their potential, and appreciate what they already had in their lives. There were also cases of people contacting energies and entities they weren’t ready to deal with. Also, quite a few people suddenly discovered the person they were trying to influence was more experienced in the art, or protected by people who were. All very amusing if you were an observer, not so much if you were involved in the situation in any way.

Traditional magickal practitioners of a more open-minded bent were surprised at the way someone could bypass magickal protection such as the classical circle, and magical wards, with little effort. The more progressive Mages integrated it into their techniques, much as many Pagans use cheap coffee grinders to grind herbs to a powder and then transfer them to the traditional mortar and pestle for final empowerment. It was a tool that made things easier, rather than something that supplanted tradition. The principles of radionics also explained many of the phenomena that had puzzled them with regard to why spells and rituals only worked at certain times and with particular states of mind.

In the next article we will take a closer look at these principles, and how you can employ them using simple items found around the home. In the meanwhile researching some of the names and terms mentioned in this article via the internet may greatly enhance your skills and add to your spiritual Path. Just be careful how you use what you learn, bearing in mind the cautionary words from the previous paragraphs.