the.com/wishing well

means A well, fountain, or similar spot where people toss coins and make a silent wish, trusting plain water to moonlight as magic.

from Rooted in old well-worship — many cultures believed springs and wells housed spirits or gods who could be bribed with small offerings for luck, health, or favors. Coins, pins, and trinkets turn up in wells and sacred springs across Europe going back centuries, long before 'wishing well' became a cute phrase. The custom survived folk religion and got cheerfully commercialized into fountains, with the coins now funding charity instead of appeasing a deity.