Eggcorn Forum

widdershins – 216,000 ghits
windershins – 1,390 ghits
widow shins 5 ghits

To move ‘widdershins’ is to go anti-clockwise, or against the sun. The ‘windershin’ variant is puzzling, though if the ‘wind’ is a verb, ie to move in a circular or sinuous manner, it is a reasonable image to impose on the otherwise nonsensical original. It would, however, require a change in sound, ‘wid’ to ‘wine’, and I can’t see why that should happen (though there is a variant ‘withershins’ with over 37,000 ghits which is hard to explain too).
‘Widow shins’, for one person at least, represents witchlike legs circling in this deliberately unlucky manner. It suddenly strikes me that ‘withered’ shins might also support this stereotypical witch image?

I had always assumed that “widdershins” derived somehow from “widow shins,” though I was never quite sure what that had to do with anything (something about …
www.kith.org/journals/neology/2006/02/ – 55k – Cached

And I drove three times around the block widow-shins to make my circle. When I’m practicing my religion, there should be a provision in the law that allows …
occultforums.com/archive/index.php?t-5732.html – 13k – Supplemental Result – Cached

She began to walk windershins around on the mud and as she walked, it expanded in ever widening circles and became the land. ...
freemansgarden.blogspot.com/2006/04/three-sisters.html – 22k – Cached

Release them in a windershins/counter-clockwise motion. Close the circle moving in a windershins motion. You can sing a little chant. ...
www.omgili.com/preview/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5t … 04MjA2Mw== – 16k – Supplemental Result – Cached