The Real Magic Behind Centuries-Old Wishing Wells

Old wells have no verified magical powers. What they carry is a very specific tradition —silver or bronze instead of 2-euro coins, a full moon, a secret wish— whose chemical side, the antimicrobial action of silver, has been documented since 1893.

## What Makes a Well "Old"

An old well is not just any hole with water. Tradition requires it to be **more than 100 or 150 years old** and to have supplied several **generations** of local residents. That continued use is what, according to defenders of the practice, accumulates a sacred charge that a newly drilled well would not have.

Shopping mall fountains are out. The argument is almost mathematical: anyone passing by or the property owner can pick up the coin, so the deposit ends up being a commercial donation.

Ideally, they say, the well should be secluded, overgrown with brambles, unknown. And with water inside. A dry well is reduced to a vulgar hole.

## Silver and Bronze Instead of Two Euros

The tradition calls for **silver** or bronze coins, not legal tender like the 2-euro coin. The reasoning is that mineral value has a deeper historical root than fiat money, whose backing is a state convention.

There is one fact that plays in silver's favor, albeit by another route. The Swiss botanist **Carl Wilhelm von Nägeli** described the oligodynamic effect in **1893**: silver and copper ions kill microorganisms at very low concentrations. That is why water was stored in silver vessels for centuries. Bronze, an alloy containing copper, shares part of that property.

From there to a coin purifying a well is a leap nobody has proven. One coin does not disinfect thousands of liters.

## The Night, the Wish and the Silence

The protocol is completed by the calendar. A clear night, a full moon and, preferably, the start of the summer solstice, which falls in the northern hemisphere between **June 20 and 22**.

You bow, draw water with a cauldron and drink a little. Then you throw the coin, flicking it between thumb and index finger, and shout the wish into the well. No revenge and no material goods.

And a final warning: the wish is not told to anyone.

## Drinking From the Well Is Not a Good Idea

Water from an abandoned well over a century old does not pass health checks. It may contain nitrates, bacteria or heavy metals from the ground. No tradition replaces a lab test.

If anyone wants to trinc the ritual, better to leave the cauldron on the ground. For health matters, listen to a doctor.