Make a Wish

By Carol Anne Lake

At first glance, the wishing stone might not catch your eye when searching a shoreline for treasure. Generally, we see the soft glow of quartz or the frosty aqua of sea glass before we would notice a smooth dusky gray rock, or a polished jet-black rock recently washed by a wave. But among the more eye-catching discoveries lies a unique rock called the wishing stone. The wishing stone has a distinctive feature that makes it sought out by those who understand the lore and the legend.

Wishing stones are not rare or hard to find. They are most often a dark gray or black rock that looks like many others strewn along a riverbed or shoreline, except for one unique distinction. They are encircled by a single, unbroken white ring which has powers beyond that of the four-leaf clover or rabbit’s foot.

The mysterious ring is usually formed when pressure inside the rock causes a single unbroken fracture without breaking the rock in two. Over time, deposits of calcite or quartz collect inside the fracture adorning the rock with the unbroken white ring. The occurrence of a wishing stone is fascinating in itself and involves a certain amount of luck to start with.

While the shade of the rock is of little importance—being gray, black, tan, or even the varied colors of granite—the one sole feature that makes it a wishing stone is the single, white line that goes completely around the rock without a break, and without branching off. Also, the stone should not have any other markings. With this type of stone in hand, you are now ready to unleash the powers of the universe to fulfill the wish you desire and have voiced in the simple ritual.

The ritual varies among those who are witchy enough to believe in the superstition. A simplified ritual is to hold the wishing stone in your hands, gently warming it. Then, closing your eyes, make a wish and toss the stone back into the body of water where it was found.

Other rituals have those practicing the enchantment by moving the stone from the receiving hand to the giving hand, then rotating the rock three times, and ultimately tossing it into the body of water after making your wish. I have yet to relinquish my find back into the universe. My ritual involves the wish and then tossing the stone into a plastic box with other wishing stones that someday may go through a polishing process.

For those interested in strictly collecting this unique formation, these stones can be found with multiple rings, crisscrosses, and zigzags. They can be found anywhere near a body of water. If you happen to come across this fascinating find, may your wishing stone bring you good luck in all your beachcombing adventures.

Learn more about beach rocks.

Learn more about beach rocks including agates, Cape May diamonds, Yooperlites, fulgurite, puddingstone, and more. Articles ›

This article appeared in Beachcombing Magazine Volume 43 July/August 2024.