wishing well
{{Short description|Well where wishes are thought to be granted}}
{{other uses}}
File:Fleetwood round table wishing well - DSC06564.JPG wishing well, The Esplanade, Fleetwood, Lancashire, England]]
A wishing well is a term from European folklore to describe wells where it was thought that any spoken wish would be granted. The idea that a wish would be granted came from the notion that water housed deities or had been placed there as a gift from the gods. This practice is thought to have arisen because water is a source of life, and was often a scarce commodity{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}.
History
= Germanic and Celtic traditions =
The Germanic and Celtic peoples considered springs and wells sacred places.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}} Sometimes the places were marked with wooden statues possibly of the god associated with the pool. Germanic peoples were known to throw the armour and weapons of defeated enemies into bogs and other pools of water as offerings to their gods.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070823185437/http://www.strongbowsaga.com/showwik.asp?WikID=38 The Strongbow Saga Viking Site: Viking Use of Archery]}}
As water is necessary for life, wells became popular places not only to get life sustaining water, but also as a social area. This has now related to town centers having wells in the center of them. Water was also seen to have healing powers, and wells became popular, with many people drinking the water, bathing in it, or simply wishing over it. Some people believed that the guardians or dwellers of the well would grant them their wish if they paid a price.
After uttering the wish, one would generally drop coins in the well. The wish would then be granted by the guardian or dweller, based upon how the coin would land at the bottom of the well. If the coin landed heads up, the guardian of the well would grant the wish, but the wish of a tails up coin would be ignored. It was thus potentially lucky to throw coins in the well, but it depended on how they landed.{{cn|date=July 2017}}
Since 2021, excavation of an ancient wooden wishing well has been underway in what is now the town of Germering, Bavaria, Germany. More than 13,500 artifacts have been found, dating from the Bronze Age to the early Middle Ages.{{Cite web |last=Nalewicki |first=Jennifer |date=January 12, 2023 |title=Wishing well used for Bronze Age 'cult rituals' discovered in Bavaria |url=https://www.livescience.com/bronze-age-wishing-well-bavaria |website=Live Science}}
The Celtic clootie well tradition and the English well dressing tradition appear to be related to this kind of ancient well veneration. The tradition of dropping pennies in ponds and fountains also stems from this.{{Cite web |date=2014-03-10 |title=Why We Throw Coins Into Fountains |url=https://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/03/throw-coins-fountains/ |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=Today I Found Out |language=en-US}} Coins would be placed there as gifts for the deity to show appreciation.
= Nordic myths =
The belief that deities inhabited wells in Germanic and Celtic traditions (explained above) may be a leftover from ancient mythology such as Mímir's Well from Nordic myths, also known as the "Well of Wisdom", a well that could grant the wisher infinite wisdom provided they sacrificed something they held dear. Odin was asked to sacrifice his right eye which he threw into the well to receive not only the wisdom of seeing the future but the understanding of why things must be. Mímir is the Nordic god of wisdom, and his well sits at the roots of Yggdrasil, the World Tree which draws its water from the well.{{Cite web |last=AncientPages.com |date=2018-04-11 |title=Giant Mimir And The Well Of Wisdom In Norse Beliefs |url=https://www.ancientpages.com/2018/04/11/giant-mimir-and-the-well-of-wisdom-in-norse-beliefs/ |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=Ancient Pages |language=en-US}}
= Oligodynamic effect =
Another theory is that people may have unknowingly discovered the biocidal properties of both copper and silver;{{cn|date=July 2017}} the two metals traditionally used in coins. Throwing coins made of either of these metals could help make the water safer to drink. Wells that were frequented by those that threw coins in may have been less affected by a range of bacterial infections making them seem more fortunate and may have even appeared to have cured people suffering from repeated infections.
Extent
In November 2006 the "Fountain Money Mountain" reported that tourists throw just under 3 million pounds sterling per year into wishing wells.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-wish/wishing-wells-contain-money-mountain-idUKL2825321520061129|title=Wishing wells contain money mountain|last=Hill|first=Jennifer|publisher=Reuters|access-date=23 November 2022|date=29 November 2006}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Wishing wells}}
- [http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/mquart/mq09766.htm Wishing Wells And Superstitions]
{{Spoken Wikipedia|Wishing_Well_Audio_Wikipedia_Article.ogg|date=12 May 2021}}
{{Superstitions}}
{{Lawn and garden ornaments}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wishing Well}}