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Eco-Technology
The Water Wizard – The Extraordinary Properties of Natural Water
More energy is encapsulated in every drop of good spring water than an average-sized power station is presently able to produce.
Viktor Schauberger (1885–1958)
Water – all life depends on it. Yet how often do we stop to consider its true significance, its essential nature? The Water Wizard, the first volume of the Eco-Technology series which presents the original, passionate and convincing research of Viktor Schauberger in translation for the first time, looks at the importance of water to our daily lives.
Schauberger was a pioneering genius who combined keen observation of Nature with intuitive brilliance and a sharp engineer’s brain. One of the first genuine environmentalists, he was predicting ecological catastrophe when no-one else could see it coming. In the era of global warming, deforestation and desertification, Schauberger’s predictions are now being proven right. A fearless exponent of natural energy who revelled in doing battle with contemporary orthodox scientists, his work is enjoying a worldwide revival because he was able to convey how an understanding of Nature’s subtle energies is essential to our survival.
Schauberger made a lifelong study of water – from mountain streams to river flows and from domestic supplies to advances hydraulics – developing profound and radical theories about its inherent energies, which earned him the name of ‘the Water Wizard’. According to Schauberger, water is akin to blood in the human body – the most important life-giving and energy-empowering substance on the planet. Yet, with incorrect, ignorant handling, it becomes diseased, affecting human, animal and vegetable life alike, causing physical decay and, in the case of people, their moral, mental and spiritual deterioration as well. Sadly, the same extractive and water management policies that Schauberger indicts in The Water Wizard, which brought devastation and widespread pollution in his day, are still being practiced today, leading to a revival of interest in Schauberger’s work.
Themes covered in The Water Wizard include:
The Nature of Water The Quantitative and Qualitative Deterioration of Water The Conduction of the Earth’s Blood Temperature and the Movement of Water and Other Unpublished Texts on River Engineering Fundamental Principles of River Regulation and Status of Temperature in Flowing Water The Natural Movement of Water over the Earth’s Surface The Rhine and the Danube The Dr.
343 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 5, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 15, 2016
I really wanted to like this book which is why I find myself a little disappointed in it.
If you don't know anything about Viktor, he is considered to be the Tesla of water. I don't want to go into a biography right here but he was Austrian and not much of his work was translated into English for quite a long time.
This series of 4 books (Water Wizard is Vol. 1) is considered the ultimate English translation available. I found it to be a difficult read because:
-I don't know much about water to begin with.
-Viktor had a radically different view of water than mainstream science.
-He was hesitant to be more specific at times due to concerns over patent rights.
-He would either generalize a concept thinking his analogy should suffice or provide lots of factual detail.
To be fair, many of the articles included in this compendium were originally published in journals of hydrology so I'm not really the target audience.
Another strange complaint is that at times Viktor sounds like a pompous braggart. I actually pictured him as Donald Trump at times. He would say something like, "Give me control of your rivers and I will make them so great you won't even believe they are the same rivers. I can't tell you how I'm going to do it because I can't spoil my patent claims but it will be so amazing." I'm paraphrasing here but that's the gist of it.
Here's my final complaint before I get to the positives. Viktor's concept of the water cycle is amazing but he never has any thoughts about the permaculture idea of slowing down rainfall runoff to allow it to soak into the ground and recharge the groundwater before it ends up in a stream or river and running away from it's distribution point.
So what did I learn from this book?
Plenty of new things and plenty of reinforcement for other ideas.
-Viktor repeatedly states that water is the life blood of the earth. I would add that it is also the lymphatic system of the earth as that portion of the fluid cycle is underappreciated. Water provides the earth with what it needs to provide the plants that higher species need to survive.
-Water wants to be at +4 C/+39.2 F. This is the temperature at which it is most condensed. Anything above or below is a point of expansion. A waterways twists and turns and whirlpool vortices are an effort to cool the water.
-Water wants to be shaded from the sun. An area that has been clear cut will create a disturbance in the flow.
-Viktor considers the finest drinking water to be spring water. However, even the best spring water will deteriorate over time. If you carry spring water any distance from it's source you will receive degrading benefits the further you go/longer time to consumption.
-Drinking naturally energized spring water, at least 20% of the water volume will be directly transferred to the body as energy.
-Bottled water is dead.
-The best pipes for transporting water are wooden.
-Pipes should be rifled and contain turbine shaped blades to promote a rotation of the water.
-Stones in a river are it's "bread". The tumbling of these create salts that nourish the water.
-The silt in a river bed is there to protect the adjacent ground water from the passing current.
-The ideal method of controlling a waterway is with the application of warm or cold water.
-Contrary to common sense, the friction involved in water passing over a rock or spinning in a vortex actually decreases the temperature of the water rather than raising it as the laws of thermodynamics would necessarily require.
-Most of the science you think you know is bullshit.
-Implosion is a natural counterbalance to explosion. It is a productive force in contrast to its opposites destruction.
Mr. Schauberger is an awesome figure in history and everyone should know about him. I will be reading the rest of this series and will report on it once I have.
I should probably give this five stars. It just wasn't written for the me of this moment.
If you don't know anything about Viktor, he is considered to be the Tesla of water. I don't want to go into a biography right here but he was Austrian and not much of his work was translated into English for quite a long time.
This series of 4 books (Water Wizard is Vol. 1) is considered the ultimate English translation available. I found it to be a difficult read because:
-I don't know much about water to begin with.
-Viktor had a radically different view of water than mainstream science.
-He was hesitant to be more specific at times due to concerns over patent rights.
-He would either generalize a concept thinking his analogy should suffice or provide lots of factual detail.
To be fair, many of the articles included in this compendium were originally published in journals of hydrology so I'm not really the target audience.
Another strange complaint is that at times Viktor sounds like a pompous braggart. I actually pictured him as Donald Trump at times. He would say something like, "Give me control of your rivers and I will make them so great you won't even believe they are the same rivers. I can't tell you how I'm going to do it because I can't spoil my patent claims but it will be so amazing." I'm paraphrasing here but that's the gist of it.
Here's my final complaint before I get to the positives. Viktor's concept of the water cycle is amazing but he never has any thoughts about the permaculture idea of slowing down rainfall runoff to allow it to soak into the ground and recharge the groundwater before it ends up in a stream or river and running away from it's distribution point.
So what did I learn from this book?
Plenty of new things and plenty of reinforcement for other ideas.
-Viktor repeatedly states that water is the life blood of the earth. I would add that it is also the lymphatic system of the earth as that portion of the fluid cycle is underappreciated. Water provides the earth with what it needs to provide the plants that higher species need to survive.
-Water wants to be at +4 C/+39.2 F. This is the temperature at which it is most condensed. Anything above or below is a point of expansion. A waterways twists and turns and whirlpool vortices are an effort to cool the water.
-Water wants to be shaded from the sun. An area that has been clear cut will create a disturbance in the flow.
-Viktor considers the finest drinking water to be spring water. However, even the best spring water will deteriorate over time. If you carry spring water any distance from it's source you will receive degrading benefits the further you go/longer time to consumption.
-Drinking naturally energized spring water, at least 20% of the water volume will be directly transferred to the body as energy.
-Bottled water is dead.
-The best pipes for transporting water are wooden.
-Pipes should be rifled and contain turbine shaped blades to promote a rotation of the water.
-Stones in a river are it's "bread". The tumbling of these create salts that nourish the water.
-The silt in a river bed is there to protect the adjacent ground water from the passing current.
-The ideal method of controlling a waterway is with the application of warm or cold water.
-Contrary to common sense, the friction involved in water passing over a rock or spinning in a vortex actually decreases the temperature of the water rather than raising it as the laws of thermodynamics would necessarily require.
-Most of the science you think you know is bullshit.
-Implosion is a natural counterbalance to explosion. It is a productive force in contrast to its opposites destruction.
Mr. Schauberger is an awesome figure in history and everyone should know about him. I will be reading the rest of this series and will report on it once I have.
I should probably give this five stars. It just wasn't written for the me of this moment.
February 2, 2021
O carte la frontiera științei. O recomand.
April 24, 2013
A bit of technical/scientific jargon to wrap your head around, but really amazing insights into the properties of water. Highly recommended for those who work in water management/conservation/hydrology... it will change the way you view and interact with water!
December 15, 2019
on a path to broaden my previous understanding of anthroposophy in childhood education and agriculture--this time it is about water
October 30, 2013
It's worth reading. Callum Coats' books are worth reading. I'd like to attend a seminar of Mr. Coats'. Mr. Shauberger had a very difficult life. I find two or three of his ideas and designs very interesting. He was a dedicated environmentalist, and considered healthy water and healthy fish very important.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 15, 2014
water is alive.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews