Wishing stones are ordinary-looking rocks marked by a continuous band of white or pink mineral material. According to coastal folklore, finding one can bring good luck or even grant a wish. Here’s what you need to know.
Although we live in California, my wife has a family homestead on the northern coast of Maine, which we visit often. One autumn, on a particularly overcast, cold and windy morning that hinted of winter, we walked along the steely gray North Atlantic with eyes glued to the pebble-strewn beach.
A local greeted us and asked what we were doing. “Beachcombing for pretty rocks,” we replied. She then asked, “Then why are you leaving behind all these Wishing Stones?” “Wishing Stones?” we asked. She bent and picked out a drab gray rock with a belt of white quartz. “Wishing Stones,” she repeated.
How to Identify a Wishing Stone
A wishing stone is typically a rounded beach rock crossed by a natural band of white or pink material that forms a complete loop around the stone. The band is often quartz or calcite, although the surrounding rock can vary. The defining feature in the folklore isn’t the type of rock but the unbroken line encircling it. “Wishing stone” is a folk name, not a geological rock or mineral classification.
Wishing Stone Meaning and Legend
Legend has it that if you find a rock with a white or pink line all around it, you have found a Wishing Stone. The stripe is usually quartz or calcite. If you trace your finger around the line while closing your eyes and making a wish, then throw the stone into the sea as far as you can or give it to another person, your wish will come true. Make a wish on behalf of a person other than yourself; then ALL your wishes come true. The very best Wishing Stone has a single continuous line wrapping around it, a line unbroken and uninterrupted by other lines or streaks.
Ever since that chance encounter, whenever we go beachcombing—whether in northern Maine, southern California, or the shores of Scotland—we look not only for rocks with pretty colors but for those drab but magical Wishing Stones.
Do they work? Well, I can’t say, but Nancy and I have been traveling this Earth for over 60 years. We have two wonderful kids and a healthy new grandson in far-off Scotland and a wise old cat and energetic Australian shepherd to keep us company. What more could you wish for?
This story about wishing stone lore and legend previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Jim Brace-Thompson.
