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 idea that water housed deities or had been placed there as a gift from the gods, since water was a source of life and often a scarce commodity. The Germanic and Celtic peoples considered springs and wells sacred places. Sometimes the places were marked with wooden statues possibly of the god associated with the pool.

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  • 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 idea that water housed deities or had been placed there as a gift from the gods, since water was a source of life and often a scarce commodity. The Germanic and Celtic peoples considered springs and wells sacred places. 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. Water was seen to have healing powers and therefore wells became popular with many people drinking, bathing or just simply wishing over it. People believe 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. That wish would then be granted by the guardian or dweller, based upon how the coin would land at the bottom of the well. Traditionally coins were made of copper or silver and had biocidal properties which kept the water from going sour (bacteria produces various acidic compounds which affect the taste, notably Hydrogen sulfide). It was thus lucky to throw coins in the well. The tradition of dropping pennies in ponds and fountains stems from this. Coins would be placed there as gifts for the deity to show appreciation. In November 2006 the "Fountain Money Mountain" reported that tourists throw just under 3 million pounds per year into wishing wells. This may be a left over from ancient mythology such as Mímir's Well from Nordic myths, also known as the ¨Well of Wisdom¨, a Well that could grant you infinite wisdom provided you sacrificed something you 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.
  • Der Wunschbrunnen ist ein Begriff aus der europäischen Folklore. Er meint einen Brunnen, der jeden an ihm vorgetragenen Wunsch in Erfüllung gehen lässt. Hintergrund war der Glaube, dass das Wasser göttliche Wesen in sich trage oder von Gottheiten an einem bestimmten Ort platziert worden sei. Die Tradition, Münzen in Brunnen zu werfen, entstammt dieser Idee. Die Münzen stellen das Dankeschön für die erfüllten oder noch zu erfüllenden Wünsche dar. Einer der bekanntesten Wunschbrunnen der Welt ist der Trevi-Brunnen in Rom.
  • Un pozo de los deseos es un término del folklore europeo para describir los pozos en que se piensa que cualquier deseo expresado sería concedido. La idea que un deseo sería concedido vino de la creencia de que había dioses contenidos en el agua o de que había sido colocada allí como regalo de los dioses, puesto que el agua era una fuente de la vida y a menudo era una materia escasa. El agua se consideró que contenía energías curativas y por lo tanto los pozos llegaron a ser populares entre mucha gente que bebía, se bañaba o simplemente expresaba deseos sobre ella. La gente cree que los guardas o los habitantes del pozo le concederían su deseo si pagaban un precio. Generalmente, después de pronunciar el deseo, uno debía arrojar monedas al pozo. El deseo entonces sería concedido por el guarda o el habitante, basado en cómo la moneda aterrizaría en el fondo del pozo. Si la moneda aterrizaba cara arriba el deseo sería concedido. Si la moneda aterrizaba cruz arriba el deseo no sería concedido. La tradición de lanzar pequeñas monedas a charcas y fuentes proviene de esto. Las monedas serían colocadas allí como regalos para la deidad en forma de agradecimento.
  • En önskebrunn existerar oftast i sagor, beskriven som en vanlig vattenbrunn, där man kastar ned pengar. Samtidigt med denna akt, önskar man sig någonting.
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  • 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 idea that water housed deities or had been placed there as a gift from the gods, since water was a source of life and often a scarce commodity. The Germanic and Celtic peoples considered springs and wells sacred places. Sometimes the places were marked with wooden statues possibly of the god associated with the pool.
  • Der Wunschbrunnen ist ein Begriff aus der europäischen Folklore. Er meint einen Brunnen, der jeden an ihm vorgetragenen Wunsch in Erfüllung gehen lässt. Hintergrund war der Glaube, dass das Wasser göttliche Wesen in sich trage oder von Gottheiten an einem bestimmten Ort platziert worden sei. Die Tradition, Münzen in Brunnen zu werfen, entstammt dieser Idee. Die Münzen stellen das Dankeschön für die erfüllten oder noch zu erfüllenden Wünsche dar.
  • Un pozo de los deseos es un término del folklore europeo para describir los pozos en que se piensa que cualquier deseo expresado sería concedido. La idea que un deseo sería concedido vino de la creencia de que había dioses contenidos en el agua o de que había sido colocada allí como regalo de los dioses, puesto que el agua era una fuente de la vida y a menudo era una materia escasa.
  • En önskebrunn existerar oftast i sagor, beskriven som en vanlig vattenbrunn, där man kastar ned pengar. Samtidigt med denna akt, önskar man sig någonting.
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  • Wishing well
  • Wunschbrunnen
  • Pozo de los deseos
  • Önskebrunn
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