A shooting star stands for the fleeting chance and the moment when the sky itself seems to listen. That streak of light across the dark is also a metaphor for the luck that only the prepared can catch.
One ancient root of wishing on shooting stars reaches back to the astronomer Ptolemy in the second century. He wrote that when the gods peer down between the celestial spheres, a star sometimes slips through — and that instant, with the heavens briefly open, was thought the perfect moment for a wish to be heard. Similar beliefs echo through folklore the world over.
A shooting star stands for the fleeting chance and the moment when the sky itself seems to listen. That streak of light across the dark is also a metaphor for the luck that only the prepared can catch.
The old rule is to finish your wish before the star fades, and to keep it secret until it comes true. Watching during a meteor shower like the Perseids gives your wishes plenty of chances.