The Wishbone: A Tiny Ritual with Ancient Magic

We’ve all seen it, that slender, V-shaped bone tucked away inside roast poultry, usually saved for a cheeky little tug-of-war between two hopeful souls. You make a wish, pull, and whoever ends up with the bigger piece is said to have their desire granted. It’s a sweet, slightly silly tradition but beneath the playfulness lies a thread of ancient magic that stretches back through centuries of ritual and reverence.
Long before turkeys became a centrepiece of celebratory feasts, the wishbone was part of a sacred practice amongst the Etruscans, an ancient Italian civilisation that flourished around the third century BCE. These early mystics believed that chickens were more than just barnyard birds. They saw them as oracles, wise creatures who could commune with the divine and reveal messages from the unseen world.
When one of these sacred birds passed, the Etruscans would preserve the clavicle bone, what we now call the wishbone, allowing it to dry in the sun. People would then stroke it and make silent wishes, hoping to tap into the bird’s lingering power and prophetic insight. It was a quiet, reverent act of divination, a ritual of possibility.
As the Roman Empire expanded and absorbed Etruscan beliefs, they adapted this bone magic in true Roman fashion. Instead of simply wishing on the bone, they turned it into a duel of fate, two people would each grab an end of the bone and pull. The one left with the larger piece was believed to receive good fortune, their wish blessed by unseen forces.
This tradition migrated through Europe, transforming as it travelled. When it reached English shores, it became associated with geese. And later, as settlers brought their customs to the New World, it found its way to the Thanksgiving table, now paired with turkey and wrapped in modern festivity.
But even in its light-hearted modern form, the wishbone ritual retains a spark of the old magic. Each time we pull on that delicate bone, we’re not just making a wish, we’re reaching across time, connecting to ancient rites of prophecy, hope, and the belief that the future can be shaped by our intentions.
So next time you’re holding that wishbone, take a breath. Feel the history in your hands. And know that your little wish might just be cradled in centuries of spellwork.