Vibrational frequency: where the idea comes from
Vibrational frequency is a dowsers’ phrase for a number said to describe a person or a place, with no possible measurement behind it.
- belief
- image
- inner state
Vibrational frequency at a glance
For you, the notion remains an image: that of an inner state more or less at peace, which you can describe in your own words, with no number or dial.
Where the phrase comes from
The phrase circulates in dowsing circles, where people speak of a scale called the Bovis scale, after the dowser André Bovis. According to this idea, every thing, place, or person would have a numbered level, which one would read with a pendulum on a graduated dial. It is taken up today well beyond dowsers, including about practitioners, in very varied contexts.
What is known
No unit is defined, no device reads this frequency, and no standard allows two results to be compared. In controlled trials with dowsers, where no one knew the answer, results stayed at the level of chance. This is why Versana draws no vibrational frequency dial: a displayed number would seem more solid than it is, and it would depend mostly on what you hope for as you read it. The percentage chart, for its part, places a feeling, nothing more.
Human vibrational frequency
Applied to a person, the phrase refers to a level said to rise in moments of calm, openness, or joy, and to fall with tiredness, anger, or fear. Lists circulate that assign numbers to emotions or to people; the ones you come across cite no unit, no instrument, and no protocol. What they describe remains familiar: mood varies, and certain moments, certain encounters, leave you lighter than others. Versana keeps this observation and leaves the number aside: no page on the site gives a person’s frequency.
Spiritual vibrational frequency
In the spiritual currents that use the phrase, “raising your vibrational frequency” means moving forward on an inner path: meditating, praying, forgiving, living more simply. The image echoes old metaphors of elevation, present in many traditions. Taken this way, it speaks of a direction, not a measurement: no one can say where you stand in your place, and a number assigned from outside risks turning a personal journey into a contest. If the image helps you, keep it as a compass, with no dial.
What remains useful
The image keeps some interest: speaking of an inner state more or less at peace, more or less agitated. Rather than a number, describe it in your own words: calm, tense, light, tired, open. This description is worth more than a pendulum reading, because it comes from you and can change from one day to the next. Write it down if you like keeping a journal.
Blind tests have done no better than chance: the movement is thought to come from small involuntary movements of the hand. Never ask a pendulum a question about health, money, or the law: see a professional.
Vibrational frequency: your questions
Can you measure your vibrational frequency with a pendulum?
A pendulum can point to a number, but that number measures nothing established: there is no unit and no standard, and the results of double-blind trials stay at the level of chance. The movement first reflects the expectation of the person holding the chain. Use the chart instead to name your state of the moment.
Can you raise your vibrational frequency?
Since the phrase refers to no measurable quantity, you can neither measure it nor prove that it rises. Many people use it to speak of a felt well-being: taking a quiet moment, surrounding yourself with things you like, walking outside. These gestures have their own value, whether or not a number is put on them.
What is a human being’s vibrational frequency?
No number can be given: with no unit and no instrument, a person’s vibrational frequency cannot be measured, and the numbers in circulation change from one source to another with no published protocol. The phrase mostly serves to say that you feel well or less well. Describing that state in your own words will teach you more than a number read from a pendulum.
Why is the phrase so widespread?
Because it gives a simple image to something hard to put into words: feeling well or not. A number reassures; it gives the impression that you can compare and progress. Versana reports it as a common belief, without mocking it and without attributing to it a measurement that nothing can establish.
Sources
- Pratiques de soins non conventionnelles : comment s’y retrouver ? (nonconventional care practices: how to find your way, French government health portal)Santé.fr (March 7, 2024), read October 15, 2026
- Pratiques de soins non conventionnelles : un complément, jamais un remplacement (nonconventional care: a complement, never a replacement, French regional health agency)ARS Nouvelle-Aquitaine (December 9, 2025), read October 15, 2026
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