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Water technology from the counter flow

Moved by nature; Viktor Schauberger

By EB v Loon

A water wizard is what he was called now and then. Viktor Schauberger (1885-1958), Austrian forester, nature scientist and researcher, knew the forces of water indeed very well. His insights and discoveries amazed many. He is most known for his waterways for tree transportation and studies of trout swimming up against the currents. That Schauberger also made and invented machines, among others flying saucers, and ploughs for agricultural use, is much less known. That a man of his genius should still be so unknown is quite baffling.
Since this article was published for the first time (2002), the world seems to be more and more confronted with floodings and other natural disasters. If one is looking for solutions, one truly will not be able to get around Schauberger .

Katrina, September 2005

Prague, August 2002

A forester’s family in Austria

Viktor Schauberger came from a family of foresters. His great-great grandfather came from Bavaria and had moved to Austria around 1680 where he settled himself at the foot of the Dreisselmountain. He started a branch of the family that almost solely occupied itself with forestry and game. Even as a young boy, it was clear to Schauberger that he wanted to follow the footsteps of his ancestors. For days on end, he would roam in the forests exploring plants and animals or following the winding ways of endless small streams. Especially this last subject, water, had his keen interest. What are the characteristics and laws of water? In what way is the temperature and movement of water connected?

Viktor (German: Viktor) Schauberger

He learned a lot from his father and other elderly foresters that could not be found in books:

‘ They relied upon what they saw with their own eyes and what they felt intuitively. Above all, they recognized the inner healing power of water, and understood that water, directed through irrigation canals at night can yield a significantly greater harvest than that of the neighboring meadows and fields.’(1)

In this way Schauberger learned, by studying water, step-by-step it’s forces and laws. For example that coolness and darkness strengthen water. A dried up spring started flowing again after a wall had been built around it, to protect it from the sun. This wall had been taken away earlier, after which the spring had dried up. He also found out that the optimal temperature for water is 4 degrees Fahrenheit The fish looked for areas with this temperature to breed, the vegetation along the sides of these spots was the richest. Also, the movement of water plays an important part in its well being; water tends to meander out of itself, and makes circling, winding movements. In 1918 the first possibility presented itself to bring these discoveries into practice. It was winter, and because of the First World War fuel was scarce, and the working horses that were used to carry wood from the forests had all been sent to the front. The magistrate of Linz gave Schauberger the chance to solve the problem of fuel for the city. Except for a few streams, there weren’t any big rivers to transport the trees from the forests to the city. The stream was discarded as means of transportation by the foresters. But Schauberger decided it was possible, namely in early morning hours by full moon, when, according to him the water was at it’s strongest. He succeeded in transporting 1600 cubic meters of forest trunks into the valley. With this method, which Schauberger later on developed into water viaducts for tree transportations, he became greatly acclaimed. By ensuring the right temperature of water, and supporting it’s own, meandering movements, huge tree trunks could be transported on a very thin layer of water.

Schauberger construction for wood transport (1930's)

Machines from the counterforce; water and air

By examining trout in the streams, Schauberger discovered the existence of a counter stream in streaming water; not water, but a stream of life forces, moving in opposite direction. The trout make use of this counterforce to swim up against the current. He describes one midnight experience as follows;

‘ In the moonlight falling directly onto the crystal clear water, every movement of the fish, gathered in large numbers, could be observed. Suddenly the trout dispersed, due to the appearance of a particularly large fish, which swam up from below to confront the waterfall. It seemed as if it wished to disturb the other trout and danced in great twisting movements in the undulating water, as it swam quickly to and fro. Then, as suddenly, the large trout disappeared in the jet of the waterfall, which glistened like falling metal. I saw it fleetingly under a conically shaped stream of water, dancing in a wild spinning movement, the reason for which was at first not clear to me. It then came out of this spinning movement and floated motionlessly upwards. On reaching the lower curve of the waterfall, it tumbled over and with a strong push reached behind the upper curve of the waterfall. There, in the fast flowing water, with a vigorous tail movement, it disappeared’ (2)

Schauberger came to the conclusion that the fish themselves create a strengthened counterforce, by taking in water and letting it stream out of their fins with another current. Because of this, they can lie still in the water, or move as fast as an arrow up against the current. (3)The same goes for birds, according to him; the wings suck up counter forces within the air, which causes the bird to rise. “ Birds do not fly, they are flown, fish do not swim, they are swum." (4)He wished to reproduce these phenomena in his machines. Schauberger tells of enormous stones that are lifted at night and move upwards against the current. Not all stones do this, only the egg-shaped ones.(5)

Another observation, related to this previous one, was that energy builds up whenever air or water is brought into rotation. Water can vitalize itself this way.(6) It is an implosive, centralling force that can cause a rising movement. Schauberger uses these principles while making machines for enlivening water, later on also with his machines for power supply through water and air. He worked on this mainly on his own, around the 1930s. Not a lot is known about it. That is, except for his flying machines which looked rather like flying saucers. It is known that one model passed several tests successfully. The flying saucer worked according to the bird-principle; air from the outside is sucked in, is transformed to ‘energy’ inside, and then streams out again. Through this, a vacuum layer is formed around the flying saucer, causing it to move through the air without any resistance. It was under pressure of the Nazi-regime that Schauberger continued his work on this, together with a group of prisoners.(7) One time, a model shot into the air, leaving a trail of blue-green, later silvery glow behind it.(8)

One of Schauberger’s models for flying

He was never able to develop the flying machines any further; the Russians confiscated the models he had at home (and blew up the whole house afterwards, just in case they had forgotten something) as Schauberger had worked with Russian prisoners of war, it is likely they took part of his knowledge with them on their return to the Soviet Union.
The Americans too, showed interest and came barging into his working place, right after the first saucer had gone up in the air which had destroyed the roof. Schauberger wrote: ‘A few days later an American group appeared, who seemed to understand what was happening and seized everything. Then, after a very thorough investigation by a high-ranking officer, I was taken in protective custody, and guarded by no less than six policemen for about six months’ (9)
After the war, the Americans held him in custody; for six months 6 military men guarded him day and night. When he was released, they forbade him to do any more research on the subject. Nevertheless, Schauberger went on with his research, even though he refused to accept foreign funds, causing him to work with very restricted means, all by himself.

Another model

Revitalizing the earth

Schauberger also busied himself with the revitalization of earth. In this research, he was inspired among other things by unorthodox old farmers, who still farmed in their own, very unique way. A lovely example of this can be found in his account of a visit he paid to an old farmer, who used some very eccentric methods of agriculture and was looked upon strangely by his neighbors. His harvests were nevertheless the richest of the whole region. Schauberger visited the farmer one evening, and found him in the barn. The man was stirring rhythmically with a wooden stick in a big BAK with water, all the while singing tunes and throwing some earth in the water. Singing upwards, he stirred against the clock, singing downwards, he stirred clock wards. This ‘VirginHymne’, as the farmer called this mixture, he scattered over his land. It functioned as a thin layer of ‘skin’ that lies as a violet colored filter on the earth. It enabled the earth to ‘breathe’ just right. From passed traditions, this method of making the earth breathe was called ‘clay-singing’. Schauberger concluded that the stirring of the clay in the water creates a neutral ‘voltage’. Thrown out over the land, after the water has evaporated, a very fine crystal-like layer remains, ensuring just the right temperature of the earth beneath it of, also here, 4 degrees. The farmer also told him that he harvests by hand, with scythes. He had discovered that hand-made scythes functioned much better than machine-made ones. According to Schauberger, one of the reasons for this is, that when a scythe is cast on a wooden background, mechanical tension is built up, that is spread across the land during harvest. (10)

Around 1930 king Boris of Bulgaria asked Schauberger to find out why in recent times, the harvests of his country had gone down so drastically. During his journey Schauberger noticed that Turkish farmers had harvests that were clearly better than those of the other farmers. He discovered that they were the only ones still working with wooden ploughs. The other farmers had switched to iron ploughs, which had recently been imported, as part of the agricultural reformation for Bulgaria. Schauberger concluded that iron ploughs threaten the fertility of the land.(11) Further investigations showed him that, that iron particles in water remove the energy, causing it to become lifeless. In addition, iron heats up quickly. Working on the land with iron ploughs thus creates a fine layer of iron dust, causing the water on the land to become lifeless. Furthermore, the movement of the plough heats up the iron, causing the earth it cleaves through to heat up and dry out. Schauberger started looking for suitable materials for agricultural machines. He found copper, in combination with wood. Copper keeps and protects the coldness necessary for the optimal fertility of the ground, and does not disrupt the strength of the water or the magnetic field of the earth. He made design for a plough. Like his water machines, this plough had a spiraling form, closing in towards the end.

Patented plough design, 1950

Schauberger organized some tests with neighboring farmers, with great results. Soon the news about this spread around, and many farmers in the Salzburg-region started talking about the ‘Golden plough’. In 1948, Schauberger signed a contract with a factory for large-scale productions. Soon after this however, a local magistrate who dealt with agricultural investments, paid him a visit. The man had a deal with a local fertilizer factory, and foresaw a drastic drop of income. Was Schauberger willing to give him a share of his income, he asked. Schauberger refused, after which his contract with the factory was suddenly cancelled. Moreover, representatives of agricultural organizations started warning farmers that the plough would cause their income to fall, because their bigger harvests would bring down the prices.(12)
Schauberger went on improving his ploughs and asked a patent for it in 1950. He also developed several other methods and machines, like compost heaps shaped like an egg, or small machines people could use in their own gardens. His recommendations for working with ‘power water’ are fascinating, created by a machine called the ‘repulsator’, which causes the earth to recuperate again, and which could possibly turn deserts into fertile grounds.

Morality and technique

Viktor Schauberger was a researcher and inventor, who we can place in the line of Tesla and Keely, two other researchers at the end of the 19th, beginning of the 20th century, who also made discoveries derived from the natural forces.(See Zachariel-Links) Where Tesla concerned himself especially with electricity, i.e. ‘fallen light’, and Keely was mostly occupied with sound, one can say that Schauberger concentrated mainly on movement and water. He was an extraordinary observer of life forces; how they work, what strengthens or weakens them. That he tested his observations with his heart, is clear among other things, from his very fundamental insight that, since the pollution was caused by the techniques that were used, there must be something fundamentally wrong with the principles and methods out of which these techniques work. Common technique for getting energy worked from movement by explosion, disintegration, dispersion and heating. These movements were contrary to the movements Schauberger worked with, straight from the life forces themselves; cold, centering, building movements of implosion and sucking force.

Schauberger had great respect for the forces of nature, and saw nature as a living organism. Schauberger describes how on one sunny afternoon, he decides to go swimming. Before he goes in the water, it suddenly starts circling, faster and faster, sucking floating tree trunks to the middle of this spiral. Having reached the center, they stand up straight, and disappear down under. The water becomes calm again. But not for long:

"Suddenly the bed of the lake began to rumble. Without warning, a waterspout of at least the height of a house shot upwards from the middle of the lake. A noise like thunder accompanied the turning cuplike pillar of water. Then, as suddenly, the spout collapsed upon itself. Waves hit the banks of the lakes as the water began to rise in a mysterious way, and I was forced to leave hurriedly.’(13)

Since this experience, Schauberger was convinced that water is a living entity, which can revive itself, but can also die. This last thing worried him greatly. Already in the 1930s he raised his voice about the future of nature and can therefore be seen as one of the first environmental activists. He offered his help for the river Rhine, which flooded quite often and was already then becoming brackish and silting up. His idea was to strengthen the spiraling movement of the water, thereby helping it to center. This could be realized by placing simple spiral evoking forms in the bedding of the river. (see picture) His offer was refused.

The Rhine became a dying river; nowadays the meandering movements have almost totally been cut off, the shelter on the sides is mostly gone, both sides of the river have been heightened greatly, and every year the river has to be dregged, which costs great amounts of money. Slowly, these days they are starting to give the river some more space.

A section of the Rhine in the Black Forest, 1836. The map was drawn when long deliberations
were taking place regarding control and straigthening of the river.
One can see the plan for the intended navigation super channel, which was in fact partly realised.

Schauberger was very much afraid that his discoveries would be misused for wrong ends. It must have been very painful for him that his waterways for the transportation of tree trunks played an important part in enabling faraway forests to be stripped in no time.

‘It is clear how man can become the master as well as the servant of all creation. Yet this possibility is held on a knife edge, and one mistake could plunge him in the abyss. The man who understands creative transformation is like a god. The one who manipulates this for his own ends is a servant of the devil, who can destroy the whole world.’. (14)

Nothing worried Schauberger more than nuclear energy, and his last efforts were focused on finding alternatives for this. It appears that in the last years of his life, he managed to build a different constructive basis for his technology. It is known that in 1953 he worked on a house-generator with spiral-formed pipes, with which one could get cheap and clean energy for the household. This finally resulted in his request for an extensive patent based on the principle of the ‘up rolling movement.’ Several patent bureaus refused to take his request in consideration, because they reasoned this was not a discovery in the classical sense of the word, but a discovery of a new natural law.

Schauberger with a model of his house generator, 1953

Schauberger was exhausted and felt bitter. At the end of 1957 he was visited by two Americans who invited him to come to America for three months, in order to set up an implosion-project with the use of unlimited means. He was also asked to take all his models and documents with him. Schauberger decides, contrary to his principles, to accept the invitation. Shortly before leaving he said: “ None of you Europeans wanted this, now it is going to cost you a great deal to get it back from America again.”

Schauberger in the period before he left for the USA

In the scorching heat of the Texan desert Schauberger and his son were practically taken prisoner, while an American team (among them nuclear scientists) elsewhere, searched through all his materials and documents. He was not given any opportunity for research. After three months, Schauberger demanded to be taken back home again. The Americans pressured him to work for them and live in Arizona. Schauberger finally ends up signing a document where he obliges himself to refrain from transmitting knowledge to anyone, except to Robert Donner, the head of the American research project.
Then they allowed him to leave. He had lost all his research materials and documents. This psychological blow had struck him hard. Repeatedly he was heard to be saying: “they took everything from me, everything. I don’t even belong to myself anymore”. Five days after coming home he died, 73 years old.

Until now, his research has been continued only marginally. This is unbelievable, considering the revolutionary inventions he made and the relative simplicity of application of these findings. Make sure there is enough forestry on the sides of the water streams, strengthen the water’s own movement, use copper on ploughs, etc. Work along with what water shows you already. That is very down to earth, practical and deeply moral at the same time. There can be no reason for any country NOT to start working with these findings. The latest news: a UN commission warns that in 2025 two third of the population in the world will have a water-shortage.

Notes:

1. P. 19, O. Alexandersson, Living Water, Victor Schauberger and the secrets of natural energy, Gateway Books, Bath

2. P. 22, Living Water
3. The earlier mentioned water temperature of 4 degrees plays an important role here; a bucket of hot water stream upwards will cause the trout’s to stream along like twigs.
4. Living Water, p. 85. You can say that fishes and birds go along with an ether stream. Interesting question is, if there are birds that can fly like a spear against the wind. Most probably, this should be possible; in air too, this counterforce is likely to be present.
5. According to Schauberger, the egg-shape is one of the most ideal forms for enlivenment. He used this form for his water machines, as well as for his compost’s of earth, to make it fertile.
6. … and does this indeed, out of itself; just look at the water coming from the tap; if you turn the water on a little bit, you see the automatic spiraling movement the water goes into. Another nice example for those lucky bath-owners; look at the movement of the water being sucked into the drain.
7. Already in 1934 a meeting took place between Schauberger and Hitler, who was willing to give him all necessary research-equipment, after Schauberger had spoken for an hour. It never happened, because Schauberger refused to cooperate with certain technicians and scientists. From these circles there have been efforts, in 1938 (after the incorporation of Austria) to let him be forcefully admitted in a psychiatric clinic. In 1943 he was given the choice; be hung, or set up a research team in the Mauthausen concentration camp.(LW17)
8. With these machines, he worked with the principle of suction power.
9. P. 93, Living Water
10. The biodynamic agriculture, initiated by Rudolf Steiner in 1924, worked with specimen, which were prepared rhythmically, and then scattered over the land. Less known is the fact that Steiner also advised to use different ploughs, preferably wood instead of iron.
11. I’m afraid it’s not mentioned what king Boris did with this advice...
12. In 1951-’52, the chemical agricultural experiment department of Linz (Austria) did some more tests with the copper plough. The results showed that the quantity (about 30%) and the quality of the harvests went up quite clearly. The potatoes on the tested field were also interestingly not plagued by the Colorado-bug, a true attack where the surrounding fields suffered greatly from.
13. Remarkably enough, the tree trunks didn't come to the surface again. This happened at the Ödlakes (Ödseen)near Hetzau. P.54 Living Water
14. P.115 Living Water