For over 2400 years, the wishbone from a hen has been used to make wishes. In fact, the wishing bone tradition probably began with the Etruscans. These ancient people believes that chickens were prophetic birds and were capable of seeing into the future. After a sacred divinatory hen was killed, the collarbone was cleaned and dried in the sun.
For the Etruscans, the wishing was easy. They did not break apart the hen’s collarbone like we do today. Instead, they kept the wishbone in a safe place and whenever they desired to make a wish, they would stroke the bone while thinking of what they wanted.
Why Is It Magical?
While chickens were used as oracles to divine the future, their wishbone was shaped like a woman’s crotch. All things in ancient history that were either yonic or phallic in shape were regarded as sacred. The feminine sacred involved the divining arts (as well as the sacred phallic) and represented birth. Rubbing on the tonic wishbone was like giving birth to a wish.
Marriage
Besides being useful for making wishes, the wishbone was also good for predicting marriage. One old superstition involved placing a broken wishbone over the front door. The first woman to enter the door would soon be married.
The yonic symbolism of the wishbone being broken meant the end of virginity.
Sources:
1. Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences …
2. Superstitions and Why We Have Them. Max Cryer.
