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 waterhoused 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.[1] 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.[2][3]

A Wishing Well in Barrmill, Scotland.

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 dropcoins 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 hadbiocidal 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 [1].
This may be a left over from ancient mythology such as Mmir'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. Mmir 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.[citation needed]
A celebrated wishing well, the Upwey Wishing Well, is situated just north of Weymouth, England

Shooting star symbolizes a brief fleeting moment in ones life just like the brief wonder of seeing
a shooting star race across the night sky. They can also be a symbol of reaching ones ultimate
destiny.
Shooting stars, asteroids, and the movement of the heavenly bodies in the night sky have
always fascinated to humans. Some cultures have always had strong beliefs and superstitions
in the meaning of shooting stars. Traditionally shooting stars also meant a new birth and
changes in ones life and also a wish for a better life.
http://www.tao-of-tattoos.com/shooting-s
In old Greece falling stars were believed to be rising or falling human souls. Aristophanes spoke
of "souls of poor people, drunkenly walking home after they had dinner at a rich star". According
to Jewish and Christian tradition fallen stars reflect fallen angels and demons
Nowadays, in certain parts of Asia people believe a falling star is a bad omen: the "tears from
the moon about the lost sunbride" would predict war, death or demise of a close person.
According to more common belief though, it's a good omen, cause when one makes a wish
when one sees a falling star, the wish will come true.
In Europe at the time when the Greek astronomer Ptolemy's (ad 127-151) view of the cosmos
as a universe of interlocking spheres became the orthodoxy, there was a widely accepted and
very poetic explanation for "falling stars" which was entirely consistent with other deeply held
beliefs of the time.
It was thought that the gods, overwhelmed with curiosity, would sometimes look at the earth
from between the spheres, and that in that instant a star or two might slip through the gap and
become visible as a falling or shooting star. Since the gods were clearly peering down at that
very moment, it was considered an excellent opportunity to voice one's wishes with the
guarantee that the gods would hear them.
This is probably where the idea of wishing on a falling or shooting star comes from. Similar
superstitions are widespread even in cultures remote from Europe: in Chile, you must pick up a
stone in the same moment, and in the Philippines tie a knot in a handkerchief.

Most children are familiar with the superstition that a wish made on a shooting star will
come true. While no one knows exactly where or when the tradition of wishing on a shooting
star arose, it is undoubtedly linked to the beauty and relative rarity of shooting stars and
humanity's eternal fascination with the heavens. Stars have been associated since ancient
times with divine powers, and even today, some people associate shooting stars with
angels, so wishing on a star may be akin to offering a prayer.
Shooting stars are actually not stars at all, but meteors. A meteor is the glowing trail that
appears in the sky when a meteoroid, a piece of debris in space, enters the Earth's
atmosphere. Most meteoroids that come near to the Earth burn up before they reach the
planet's surface, so shooting stars are often all people see of a meteoroid. Meteors appear
to the human eye as glowing lights similar in size and color to stars, so to the imaginative or
the uninformed, thinking of them as falling or shooting stars is quite natural.
Shooting stars may be considered lucky and ideal for wishing because they are relatively
rare to see, especially in modern cities with significant light pollution, and because they
come and go so quickly. Wishing on shooting stars is actually somewhat of a challenge,
since they disappear almost as soon as one sees them. Therefore, it's difficult to disprove
the claim that wishes made on shooting stars come true.