Well

The well is a man-made hole in the ground used to draw water from the underworld with the help of a vessel. Symbolically, it represents a connection between the outer and the inner world; a conscious link to the unconscious or to the water of life. It can also be seen as a symbol for the ego-Self axis – a healthy connection with one's inner self. 

In earlier times, the well was the village’s source of life, a place where people gathered, serving as a kind of center of daily life. In many myths and fairy tales, a significant encounter takes place at a well.

Magical Source

The well, like a spring, is something of a miracle: the life-giving water drawn from or spontaneously emerging from the earth. This makes the well magical and invites positive connotations. At the same time, the mysterious hole in the ground evokes eerie and mystical associations. 

Feminine deities are often linked with wells, such as nymphs, moon goddesses, and the Virgin Mary. In folk tales like Grimm’s "Mother Hulda", the well is associated with feminine beings.

The Source of Wisdom

Odin sacrificed one of his eyes in Mimir’s Well to gain wisdom. In this way, he has one eye in the unconscious (wisdom) and the other in the conscious world. (See also Blindness.) Odin is also capable of traveling between the worlds of the living and the dead, which symbolizes his ability to exist in both the outer conscious world and the inner unconscious one. The well as a source of wisdom, knowledge, and truth is a widely spread symbol.

Connection or interface

Demeter mourns her daughter Persephone, who was abducted by the god of the underworld, at a well. There, she meets three women who ask for her help, leading Demeter to attempt to make a child immortal. Mourning at a well thus symbolizes being between the conscious and unconscious (this world and “the other”). Note that the water in the well is completely passive, much like the grieving figure.

Thus, the well is a symbol of a deliberate connection with the unconscious (the other world, death, etc.). The wishing well illustrates this: one throws a coin into the water in the hope of receiving help from the other side, just as one gives a coin to the ferryman to cross to the other side.

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