seashells as tools
(… from Sandra Kynes' Sea Magic, 2008)
The most natural, and obvious, tool for Sea Magic is the seashell. On the most basic level, you realty only need one shell to hold sea water, but additional ones on your altar can help boost energy and serve other functions, too. And they do not have to be extravagant or exotic specimens. As you will see, even a broken shell can hold wonderful energy.
As a water vessel, a scallop, clam, or cockle shell works well. So does a chambered nautilus, placed in a shell stand that holds it securely with the opening pointing up. This idea has been around for a long time: eighteenth-century goldsmiths created elaborate chalices from nautilus shells. But as an altar vessel it is needlessly large. In addition, the nautilus is endangered, so unless you already happen to have one I would not recommend getting it for this purpose.
Shells can also hold sand or sea salt; consider a scallop, clam, mussel, or cockle. If you find a complete shell with its hinge ligament intact, it can be used for a unique presentation of other small shells.
Although some shells may seem extremely delicate, most are rather tough. They have to be to prevent attacks from predators and to withstand the constant knockabout in the tides. Many of them handle heat well and can serve nicely as incense burners. (Be sure to set them on a heat-resistant tile or surface before lighting.) I have a six-inch-wide clam shell that I frequently use for this purpose. When it's not in service on my altar, it sits the other way around on a table in my living room. It's a beautiful and simple shell, but if you pick it up and turn it over you see the blackened area on its inner surface.
Consider letting shells represent the compass points on your altar: navigating the seas requires knowledge of the directions. Certain shells are especially suitable.
Shells for the Cardinal Directions
West: Represents dusk and the element water. Water is a force that shapes our physical world and symbolically cleanses our souls. Use a shell with the colors of the setting sun or one filled with water.
North: Represents night and the element earth. Earth is the solid foundation of our world. Use a dark-colored moon shell, a sand dollar, or a starfish. Unlike fish and other ocean dwellers, these critters spend their time in contact with the earth on the ocean floor.
East: Represents dawn and the element air. Air is the breath of life. Use shells the color of the rising sun. A yellow or pink scallop can represent radiant beams of light. Alternatively, jingle shells are delicate and light as a breeze.
South: Represents midday and the element fire. Fire is the spark of spirit that burns within us and connects us with the Divine. Use a white clam shell the color of the noonday sun which can also serve as an incense burner.
Seashells can be used in the same way crystals and gemstones are used. and vice-versa. Coral and pearls, too, can be used in place of shells.
Many legends note that magic mirrors were used by undines and mermaids. Gluing seashells or sea glass around a mirror frame is a way to create a scrying tool. However, that is about as far as I would go with “decorating” items for Sea Magic. I agree with Veronica Parker Johns, who noted that seashells don't have to, “do something or be done unto rather than merely being allowed to be.” After all, we find them on the beach. They simply are, and that is their beauty and power.
Shells offer potent visual symbols, too. The round single-shelled mollusks that sport a spiral design—such as the Moon Snail (Polinices duplicatus), Giant Sundial (Architectonica maxima), Ram's Horn (Marisa cornuarietis), and Common Periwinkle (Littorina littorea) — are particularly relevant on a sea altar. The spiral is one of the oldest and most enduring symbols of the Great Mother Goddess. On a seashell, of course, it represents Mother Ocean.
The yoni symbol of female (pro)creative power has been linked with the cowry shell (Cypraea moneta or C. annulus) since ancient times. Shells that represent male energy include the Florida Horse Conch (Pleurovloca gigantean), Crown Conch (Melongena corona) with its strong bull-like horns, and the giant Eastern Murex (Hexaplex fulvescens). A Pink Conch, also called a Queen Conch [Strombus gigas), and a Horse or a Crown Conch together on an altar represent the balance of male and female energies.
(pages 56-58)