Every Wish

…Who said that every wish,
Would be heard and answered,
When wished on the morning star
— Kermit the Frog

 

Ah, making a wish.

I’ve always been a big believer in the power of wishing! I guess you could call it the power of positive thinking, if that’s not trademarked?

I also practice attributing it to the wish when things work out; it’s such a dreamy, magical way to think and it appeals to the part of my brain that refuses to age beyond sixteen years.

I think this alleged area of my brain has existed since the moment I first wished that I could be Andie Walsh [pivotal Molly Ringwald role] in Pretty in Pink [pivotal John Hughes film]. Love her; she’s still one of the greatest young female characters in film (IMO).

But I digress, as I was saying…I’m a wisher. I’ve employed eyelashes, but let me be very clear here…you cannot pluck them out…they must be found. Also, once you make your wish; you close your eyes and blow the eyelash off your fingers. And, as always, unless under extreme duress, you do not share your wish!

Basically this goes without saying.

I remember in university, having a feverish crush on a cute boy. I would walk home at night and upon glimpsing a star in the sky…the very first star my eyes found, I would recite this mantra in my head, or aloud; then stop, close my eyes and always wish very hard.

Or if I’d had a few drinks, I’m pretty certain I’d belt it out in song, too. Naturally I was wishing for that magical relationship I’d always dreamed of, pretty much my whole entire, girly life…all twenty years of it. Typical ‘female seeks male’ stuff.

Officially this is said to go back to ancient times, with the verse itself an old English nursery rhyme. Now it’s known the world over.

This practice is much easier to complete than, say, shooting stars, but always be on the lookout for those, too. They might be considered the crowning glory of star wishing.

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Admittedly I was a late-comer to the practice of making a wish whenever I happen to look at a digital clock at exactly 11:11. I thought it was a cool time to be checking a clock, but I didn’t know it was a thing? I’m willing to get on board though.

From what I’ve read, in Numerology there’s the belief that events linked to the time 11:11 appear more often than can be explained by chance or coincidence, and this belief is related to the concept of synchronicity. Some authors claim that seeing 11:11 on a clock is an auspicious sign, while others claim that it signals a spirit presence?

I did feel surprised to find that there’s a wikihow page for this, and it includes ELEVEN steps? (The ehow page for How to Make a Dandelion Wish only has 5) The first three seem to all be about planning ahead though. As well, it states you can wish for someone else or yourself, oddly ordered, but nice sentiment.

Strangely, step 10 tells you to get a Wishing Watch, is that a real thing? My favorite part is most definitely at the end:

Warnings

• If your wish doesn’t come true, don’t throw a fit.

Thanks for that.

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Personally I have in the past blown on a post-flowering dandelion, scattering the white wisps, while wishing. That is until I found out that is how you get more dandelions! It has been compared to plucking the petals off of a flower while reciting He loves me, He loves me not. Maybe if I started eating the greens in my salad I would be able to wish on them again, because I wouldn’t mind them on the lawn? Hmm, highly unlikely.

As for wishbones from the Thanksgiving turkey…I like this in theory, but it also takes planning, and unlike cartoons led us to believe, it cannot come right from the turkey ready to be snapped.

In fact, it must be cleaned and allowed to dry out for at least a few days. Then you and another can each pull until it snaps, while you’re both wishing. Whoever gets the larger half will have their wish come true. Kind of competitive, really. It’s either, take a gamble for (younger) kids, and some adults, prone to tantrums…or possibly use it as a teaching moment? While an equal split, a bit of a rarity, is supposedly a win for both participants.

And who hasn’t thrown a coin into a fountain? (Or had their child fish them out, but that’s a whole different subject…) I have quarters, nickels, dimes, pennies and even kronor (Swedish) coins, scattered about the world; that I have thrown into various fountains or wishing wells while I wishing for all sorts of good news, good luck and good fortune.

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But for me there are no more desirable times for making a wish than on your birthday. Traditionally a birthday cake would have been the vessel for me, but as seen above, I have also adapted a donut, back in 1987. Nowadays cupcakes are very popular, too. Don’t do confections? No problem.

The most important required implement, at least for me, for a birthday wish to be completed is a candle! As well as a lighting tool. At that point you can stick it in virtually anything, from fruit to mashed potatoes. Pretty much whatever you’re eating will do.

As a young girl it was popular to cut the cake with a large kitchen knife, then as it was slid out everyone would crane their necks to see if there was any frosting remaining on the knife. If so, you’d likely hear a chorus of “oooooos”, much like the Little Green Men in Toy Story.

Because if there was frosting, you were supposed to tell everyone the name of your crush (boyfriend, girlfriend, true love, etc.). Honestly this could be quite a tense moment in the life of a teenage girl. (yes, I know this personally) You must choose to play along and risk embarrassing yourself, or refuse and risk being lame while pissing off all your friends.

When you’re older you can do this for fun and embarrass your children and tease your husband. I mean I would never do that, but there’s probably someone out there who might…

Turns out putting candles on cakes goes way, way back; the Ancient Greeks made round cakes to pay tribute to Artemis, the Moon Goddess, and lit candles on them to represent the light of the moon. And for religious reasons, Germans put large candles into the middle of cakes to symbolize the “light of life”.

Many peoples have believed that the smoke from the blown out candles carried their wishes up to gods who lived in the skies. Others believed the smoke would ward off evil spirits.

But regardless, making a silent wish before blowing out the candles was popularized on birthdays, with many going so far as believing the wisher must blow out all the candles in order for the wish to come true and then they’d have good luck throughout the following year.

And, some even insist that if it takes more than one breath, or if a wish is divulged, it will not come true.

Trick candles can be used to prank the birthday wisher, too. Ha ha.

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Have fun, indulge yourself and make a wish if the opportunity arises. Will it come true? How the heck should I know?

Maybe don’t wish for things your life depends on…

 

Some Lesser Known “Wishes” 

— “Touch blue and your wish will come true.”
— Put a watermelon seed on your forehead and make a wish before it falls off.
— Make a wish when you see three birds on a telephone wire.
— Make a wish each time you eat a green M&M.
— Find a penny, wear it in your left shoe, and your wish will come true.
— Make a wish on a new pair of shoes before you wear them for the first time.
— Wishes made on Midsummer’s Eve (June 23) are most likely to come true.

PS…my feverish crush became my boyfriend…just sayin’

 

— Raina K Morton October 7 2014

*Title from my kids favorite childhood bedtime song request, Kermit the Frog’s The Rainbow Connection, of course.

 

Wishing Bundles

I found these fun ideas online (and while there may be age old connections to spells and whatnot associated with them, I promise I mean it all for lighthearted fun) and you can come up with some pretty cute themes and ideas!