Radiesthetic Colors
The classical radiesthetic colour circle — electric and magnetic phases, Negative Green (V−) — plus the woods, crystals and metals dowsers work with. Choose an entry to explore it.
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Tap a node to read it · Positive Green (V+) sits opposite Negative Green (V−)
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Researched by Alex Mihnea — Pendulum Magic Art
What Are Radiesthetic Colours?
The radiesthetic colour spectrum comes from radiesthesia — the French dowsing tradition named by Abbé Alexis Bouly in the 1920s–30s. In the 1930s researchers Léon Chaumery and André de Bélizal, building on the work of Enel (V. Skariatine), mapped a system of subtle "colour" vibrations they believed every object, shape and living being emits. Their findings were published in Essai de radiesthésie vibratoire (1939), the founding text of "vibratory" or "wave" radiesthesia.
In that classical model the vibration field around a person or object forms a 12-colour circle, divided into an electric phase and a magnetic phase, with a 24-colour electromagnetic phase formed by their coupling. The tradition also places five invisible "colours" around the sphere: infrared, black, white, ultraviolet and Negative Green. Between black and white, the Negative Green band was itself divided into twelve further emissions named with Greek letters.
A note on terminology: radiesthetic colours are a classification used in dowsing, not the optical or electromagnetic spectrum of physics. Where this guide overlaps with chakra colour symbolism or later systems, each entry says so.
The Two Phases: Electric & Magnetic
Described in the tradition as beneficial to life and health — calming, regenerative and harmonising (the one exception being Negative Green). Modern practitioners use it for cellular regeneration, chakra alignment and emotional calming.
Described as active, penetrating and detrimental to health: electric-phase yellow, orange, red and infrared were classed as inflammatory (mild to grave), while black and Negative Green were linked to serious disease. In geobiology such emissions are associated with electric smog and geopathogenic zones.
Combines the electric and magnetic fields — 24 colours in all, eight of which correspond to points on the visible light spectrum. These are the colours read on an undifferentiated Universal Pendulum.
Infrared, black, Negative Green, white and ultraviolet are the five "invisible" emissions placed around the radiesthetic sphere — the deeper and higher bands beyond the seven visible colours.
Key Radiesthetic Bands
The shortest and most penetrating vibration in the tradition. Chaumery & de Bélizal split the band between black and white into twelve emissions. De Bélizal distinguished an electric Negative Green (blamed for illness and cell disintegration) from a magnetic, "mummifying" Negative Green said to be applied to tumours. Considered both potent and — in its electric form — hazardous.
Positive Green (the North-pole green) stands opposite Negative Green on the circle. Enel found green oscillating between the positive and negative poles, so it marks the balance point. Some early researchers called Negative Green "grey" because it lies midway between black and white.
High-frequency vibrations of the upper sphere. In dowsing they are associated with psychic purification, aura shielding and higher attunement; in chakra terms they map to the crown and higher centres.
The deep, low bands. Infrared is the final, most serious of the electric inflammatory colours, and black is the threshold of the invisible spectrum — read as physical grounding, heavy clearing and the "magnetizer's" colour.
Gold is not part of the base 12-colour circle. Later radiesthesia and radionics describe "higher harmonics" of colours — notably the Higher Harmonic of Gold (HHG) and Higher Harmonic of Ultraviolet (HHU) — valued for protection and sealing.
BG3 belongs to BioGeometry, the separate system developed by Egyptian architect Dr. Ibrahim Karim. There BG3 is a "centering" qualitative energy tied to specific shapes — not a colour of the Chaumery & de Bélizal circle.
The Classical 12-Colour Circle
Chaumery and de Bélizal described twelve colour vibrations arranged around a circle or sphere: seven visible — violet, indigo, blue, positive green, yellow, orange and red — and five invisible — infrared, black, negative green, white and ultraviolet. On a meridian the order runs V− · white · ultraviolet · violet · indigo · blue · V+ · yellow · orange · red · infrared · black. Every hue repeats in both the electric and the magnetic phase, so the same twelve names yield the 24 colours of the electromagnetic phase.
| Colour | Group | Magnetic phase (anabolic) | Electric phase (catabolic) | Chakra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violet | Visible | Spirituality, invigorating, balance and justice. | No healing function; linked to the 50 Hz mains frequency; avoid. | 7th |
| Indigo | Visible | Neutral radiation; favours spirituality, inspiration and positive actions. | No healing function; 50 Hz; avoid. | 6th |
| Blue | Visible | Harmoniser at all levels; spiritual peace; radiation of positive telluric places; eases bacterial infection; reduces inflammation with magnetic V+. | No healing function; 50 Hz; avoid. | 5th |
| Positive Green (V+) | Visible | Carrier of vitality; found wherever life is sustainable and in beneficial places; carries other radiations. | Pathogenic zones, electromagnetic and chemical pollution; the green of the pyramid's mummification process. | 4th |
| Yellow | Visible | Intellectual and study work; best all-round protection; regenerative; effective against general ailments. | Mild inflammation. Between magnetic V+ and electric yellow it is said to reveal pancreas problems. | 3rd |
| Orange | Visible | Anti-infection; favours intellectual and creative processes and concentration. | Inflammation. | 2nd |
| Red | Visible | Strength and vitality; activates the healing process; protects against infections, cancer and degenerative disease. | Strong inflammation and rheumatism; in geobiology reflects damp places. | 1st |
| Infrared | Invisible | Strengthens internal energy and resistance to viruses; spiritual force. | Not dangerous; acts more strongly than yellow on inflammation. | 2nd (posterior) |
| Black | Invisible | High healing properties; promotes self-healing and the healing of others. | Cancer and serious disease; oppressive or psychically influenced atmospheres; with electric white it indicates nervous degeneration or multiple sclerosis. | 3rd (posterior) |
| Negative Green (V−) | Invisible | Energy at all levels; destruction through excess dynamism; carrier frequency. | Similar effects; antipode of positive green; associated in the electric reading with cell disintegration. | 4th (posterior) |
| White | Invisible | Therapeutic carrier wave; arthritis, rheumatism, pneumonia, multiple sclerosis. | Terminal disease stages, mucus and final-stage lung disease; with electric black it indicates nervous degeneration or multiple sclerosis; sometimes used to dry ulcers. | 5th (posterior) |
| Ultraviolet | Invisible | Heightened sensitivity at all levels; extrasensory perception. | No healing function; 50 Hz; avoid. | 6th (posterior) |
Note: the attributes above are the therapeutic claims recorded by André de Bélizal and later exponents. They are not medically validated and are not a substitute for professional care.
How the Two Phases Are Detected
When a pendulum is swept over a sphere or a colour witness, the direction of its spin indicates the phase: clockwise = electric, counter-clockwise = magnetic. Each phase repeats the same colours, mirrored across the circle.
De Bélizal chose the names from simple tests: the magnetic radiation is stopped by magnetic bodies such as iron, while the electric radiation passes iron but is shielded by insulators such as Bakelite.
The equator is divided into 400 degrees. Negative Green is the "point 0–400", the meeting-line between the visible and invisible halves. The negative-green sector was itself split into twelve emissions named with Greek letters.
The position of the detected colour is read as vitality: electric blue→violet ≈ 50%, the same range in the magnetic phase = 100% (equilibrium); magnetic negative green = 2–5%, its electric extreme = 1–2%. A healthy person shows 1–2%; there is said to be no absolute zero of electric negative green. Any colour other than the one expected indicates disturbance — in the electric meridian, a serious condition.
The Universal Pendulum ("Louxor"), the chromatic pendulum and the virtual cone are the classic tools. Jean de la Foye added the equatorial disk — a 30 cm board with a copper L-needle, north at 0°, witness at 180° (magnetic V+) and 320° to clear influences — plus the "Escargot" selector disk with 13 or 21 grooves.
Negative Green (V−): The 0–400 Point
Negative Green is described as the shortest and most powerful vibration in the system and the exact antipode of the visible (positive) green. De Bélizal called it "a mysterious vibration, a true hyphen between life and death" — able to burn and destroy, yet also to "conserve life in potency outside space and time". He recorded that the Egyptians were said to use it to dehydrate their dead against decay, and patented a way of producing it (French patent no. 816,132, 10 April 1936).
The band between black and white was divided into twelve emissions named with Greek letters — de Bélizal said the letters designated, by analogy, the magnetic waves of radioactivity. Reported values place black near 366.5° on the 400° scale, with emissions such as epsilon, zeta, nu, xi, theta and beta running toward the white end; the exact assignments vary between editions.
De Bélizal's own warning: his collaborator Léon Chaumery died on 27 February 1957, "completely dehydrated" by the V− ray. The antidote was later identified as V+ (positive green), said to neutralise radioactivity stored in the body. This is why the tradition treats the electric reading of Negative Green as advanced work requiring shielding and training.
Pioneers & Timeline
Dowsing and "shape" researcher, later called a father of modern geobiology and pyramidology; an influence on Chaumery and de Bélizal.
The French priest who coined the term radiesthésie in the 1920s–30s, giving dowsing its "scientific" name.
Radiations des Formes et Cancer (1951). Grouped the colours as positive/acid (yellow, orange, red, infrared, black) and negative/basic (blue, indigo, violet, ultraviolet, white), with green detected as both.
Essai de radiesthésie vibratoire (1939). Mapped the 12-colour circle, built the Universal Pendulum and patented the radiesthetic battery (1936).
Physique micro-vibratoire et forces invisibles (1976). Expanded the theory of shape waves and documented the negative-green ray.
Ondes de Vie, Ondes de Mort (1975). Deduced 24 electric/magnetic colours with a magnet, showed a zinc–copper pair could convert one phase into the other without changing the colour, and linked the colours to Hebrew letters.
Radiesthésie et Santé. Summarised the electric-phase inflammatory colours and the magnetic-phase "birth colours".
Founder of BioGeometry, a separate Egyptian system that introduced the BG3 "centering" quality — not one of the Chaumery–Bélizal colours.
Woods, Crystals & Metals in Radiesthesia
Beyond colour, dowsers describe the materials they handle by the radiesthetic colours they are said to emit — their core essence — and by how they behave on the pendulum. The explorer above lists 11 woods, 12 crystals and 7 metals in the same format as the colours. Switch category with the tabs at the top of the browser.
Lignum vitae is described as carrying the BG3 essence (HH Gold, HH UV and H-Negative Green); African blackwood and ebony as a dense Negative Green plus infrared shield; oak as a strong infrared stabiliser; olive and maple as ultraviolet with HH Gold.
Clear quartz is treated as a universal transmitter and Negative Green carrier wave; amethyst as violet and ultraviolet; citrine as yellow and HH Gold; smoky quartz as infrared; galena as a strong Negative Green broadcaster.
Gold carries the HH Gold essence; silver is read as a reflective, lunar white; copper as strong infrared; lead as a heavy Negative Green that blocks radiation; iron as infrared and red; mercury as a fluid Negative Green.
Safety note: lead, galena and mercury are toxic. Handle them with care or use coated or sealed pieces. As with the colours, these descriptions come from dowsing practice rather than laboratory measurement.
Are Radiesthetic Colors Scientific?
Radiesthetic colours belong to the dowsing tradition rather than mainstream physics. Their emissions have not been confirmed by scientific measurement, and pendulum movement is generally explained by the ideomotor effect — unintentional muscle micro-movements. This guide documents the tradition faithfully for practitioners and the curious; it is educational and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
They were mapped in 1930s France by Léon Chaumery and André de Bélizal, building on the research of Enel (V. Skariatine), and published in Essai de radiesthésie vibratoire (1939). The tradition holds that all matter, shapes and living beings emit a characteristic subtle vibration that a dowser can read with a calibrated pendulum.
Chromotherapy uses visible light — photons through coloured lamps or silks — to influence mood and wellbeing. Radiesthesia works instead with claimed micro-vibrational emissions linked to shape, magnetic orientation and "carrier" fields, which optical instruments do not measure. The two are often blended in practice but are conceptually distinct.
The tradition's instrument is the calibrated Universal Pendulum ("Louxor") and its chromatic/colour versions, with an adjustable disk for selecting and transmitting a specific wavelength. Later practitioners also use Virtual Cone and dedicated colour pendulums.
Negative Green (V−) is described as the shortest, most penetrating vibration, divided into twelve emissions between black and white. De Bélizal separated an electric form said to cause illness and cell disintegration from a magnetic, "mummifying" form. Practitioners therefore treat it as advanced work requiring shielding and training.
No. BG3 comes from BioGeometry, the separate system of Dr. Ibrahim Karim, where it denotes a "centering" qualitative energy associated with particular shapes. It is not one of the Chaumery & de Bélizal radiesthetic colours.
Seven visible colours — violet, indigo, blue, positive green, yellow, orange and red — and five invisible ones — infrared, black, negative green, white and ultraviolet. Each appears in both an electric and a magnetic phase, and their coupling gives the 24 colours of the electromagnetic phase.
By the pendulum's direction of spin (clockwise electric, counter-clockwise magnetic) and by shielding tests: the magnetic radiation is stopped by iron, while the electric one passes iron but is blocked by insulators such as Bakelite (de Bélizal). Later practitioners also read a health-rate — electric blue→violet ≈ 50%, the same range magnetic = 100%.
Sources & Further Reading
- Léon Chaumery & André de Bélizal, Essai de radiesthésie vibratoire (Paris: Desforges, 1939; reissued by Dervy) — the 12-colour circle and the Universal Pendulum.
- André de Bélizal & P. A. Morel, Physique micro-vibratoire et forces invisibles (Desforges, 1976) — the negative-green ray, the 400° circle and the Greek-letter emissions.
- Enel (V. Skariatine), Radiations des Formes et Cancer (Cairo: Al Maaref, 1951).
- Alain & Claudie Bouchet, Radiesthésie et Santé — source for the electric- and magnetic-phase colour descriptions and for de Bélizal's double-phase attributes.
- Jean de la Föye, Ondes de Vie, Ondes de Mort (Robert Laffont, 1975) — 24 colours, zinc/copper phase conversion, and the equatorial disk.
- Dr. Ibrahim Karim, BioGeometry — origin of the BG3 qualitative energy.
- Abbé Alexis Bouly — originator of the term radiesthésie; Antoine Bovis and the early "physical radiesthesia" school.