Published September 2014 • Updated August 2024 • Read Time: 7 minutes
Fossilized Shells are the preserved remains of ancient marine animals. They are sometimes found near modern bodies of water. Curiously, they can also be found on the tops of mountains or in dry deserts, a sign of where water used to flow in the long ago past. Shell fossils play an essential role in the ideological battle between modern scientific reasoning and religious dogma. Shell fossils can help us to be open to new ideas. They can also help us to emotionally regulate so that changes to our thoughts or environment don’t throw us horrible off balance. They are fantastic talismans for introverts who need a break from an extroverted world.
Shell Fossil Healing Energy
Spiritual Healing Properties
Fossilized Shell reminds us that we are always growing and being given opportunities to become an even better version of ourselves. It teaches us an amazing kind of balance – showing us how to protect the soft parts of ourselves so they don’t get traumatized or jaded, while simultaneously showing us how to remain open to the full experience of living. When we walk in this balance, our spirit remains filled with Light and we are happy and peaceful. Intimately engaged with everything around us, yet strong and grounded within ourselves.
| Vibrations | Shell Fossil |
|---|---|
| Chakra | Root |
| Element | Water |
| Numerology | 2 and 8 |
| Zodiac | Virgo and Pisces |
Emotional Healing Properties
Fossilized Shell helps us to feel relaxed and at ease no matter where we are. It connects us with the sea of our own emotions and teaches us to recognize that our emotions are constantly shifting, rising and ebbing, like the tides. This type of thinking helps us to become less attached to our feelings, to simply enjoy the good feelings when they arise and to be gentle with the painful ones in their turn. Fossilized Shell also encourages us to cooperate and work well with others when joined in service for the Greater Good. It helps us to go with the flow a little easier and to not take every moment, or our own egos, so seriously.
Mental Healing Properties
Fossilized Shell stimulates our intuition, imagination and adaptability. It helps us to clearly understand and categorize our mental processes and to make swift and good decisions. Fossilized Shell encourages us to be curious and willing to embrace new innovations. It helps us to stay organized and focused on whatever is most important and to continually seek more efficient ways of being. However, Fossilized Shell also reminds us to be careful lest perfection becomes the enemy of the good. Fossilized Shell gently nudges us to seek the good and to rejoice in it without constantly trying for better.
Physical Healing Properties
Fossilized Shell is recommended for introverts who tend to feel emotionally and physically drained by the energies of other people. It reminds us that it’s perfectly reasonable to retreat into own quiet sanctuary and re-energize ourselves with activities that relax and restore our equilibrium. Fossilized Shell encourages us to live in balance with our own natural rhythms and with the rhythms of the natural world, rather than trying to keep pace with the intense bustle of human society. It is an excellent talisman for problems associated with the skeletal system, particularly the spine.
Geology of Shell Fossil
Where does Shell Fossil come from?
Fossils are found around the world, but large deposits are relatively rare. Some of the best deposits are protected areas and the fossils remain in place. There are many varieties of Shell Fossils, but most of the Clam Shells on the market come from Madagascar and the United States.
Mining and Treatments
Most Fossils are mined from the primary deposit and typically in their original relationship with the host rock. Fossils may be found on the surface of the earth or uncovered in any kind of mining environment. Except in the case of extremely valuable fossils, such as dinosaur bones, most fossils are mined as a secondary finds. Shell fossils may be found near the ocean or far away.
While fake fossils can be made, it is typically only worthwhile if the fossil is exceptionally valuable, such as a dinosaur. Most common fossils such as Petrified Wood or Shells are real.
Shell Fossil
Mineral Family
A fossil is the remnant or impression of an organism which lived in the past. Fossils come in many different forms and, depending on what is being preserved, the fossilization process can also be very different. The three most common forms of fossils are unaltered preservation (most shells, fossil teeth, and organic material in Amber), mineral preservation (Petrified Wood and most dinosaur bones), and fossil impressions (leaf prints and footprints).
Unaltered preservation typically involves marine or lake dwelling invertebrates, such as coral, mollusks, sponges, etc. The organism is fossilized in an unaltered state, a process aided by the fact that the animals’ skeleton is calcareous (calcium carbonate) and can remain virtually unchained when fossilized. Calcium carbonite is also the main chemical components of Aragonite and Calcite. Most shell fossils are grey or tan, just like the surrounding sedimentary rock. But occasionally, shells may be also be agatized which creates bright rainbow colors. This most famously happens to Ammonites.
Shell Fossil’s energy works well with its family – other Fossils. Try it in combination with Agatized Coral, Petrified Wood, Sand Dollar Fossil, Turritella Agate, and Vatican Stone.
Mussel Shell Fossil
Shell Fossil Formation and Crystal Associates
Fossils are remnants of organisms living in a past geological age. Most are preserved in fine-grained sedimentary rock such as limestone or shale. Typically the soft parts of the organism decompose quickly and the hard parts, such as shells and bones, remain in place longer. Eventually the remains gradually turn into stone. The Shell Fossils sold on Moonrise Crystals are a type of ancient Clam.
Shell Fossil’s energy works well with its “friends” – crystal associates formed in the same geological environment. Try it in combination with Carnelian and Chert. The chert is typically white, but try these more colorful varieties of Chert: Buddstone, Dragon’s Blood Jasper and Mookaite Jasper.
| Mineralogy | Shell Fossil |
|---|---|
| Rock Type | Fossil, typically unaltered preservation |
| Major Minerals | Calcite and Aragonite |
| Color | Varies. Often grey or tan, but can be quite colorful depending on the mineral preservation |
| Texture | Varies, often has vitreous layer on top with dull rock beneath |
| Transparency | Opaque |
| Special Features | If agatized, may be irridescent |
History of Shell Fossil
Seashells and Fossilized Shells have only recently begun to be explored by the metaphysical community. As a result, they are typically not included in lapidaries, texts that describe gemstones and their powers. While there are a variety of legends and myths about fresh seashells, their fossilized cousins sit squarely at the center of one of the greatest controversies between science and fundamentalist Christianity. How old is the Earth?
On many mountaintops, far above sea-level, fossilized shells have been found. How did they get there? All parties agree that these fossils belong to marine animals and at some point their resting place must have been underwater. For centuries, many Christians have pointed to the fossilized shells as proof that the story of Noah’s Ark and a great worldwide flood should be seen as a literal fact. Few dared to question this idea prior to the modern era. One early exception was the Renaissance artist and scientist, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) who wryly wrote in one of his journals that clams do not move fast enough to climb from the ocean to the tops of mountains in a mere 40 days and 40 nights. Moreover, there is not enough water on the planet to cover the mountains. However, most European Natural Philosophers (the name used by early scientists) were also members of the clergy, and so few dared to explore alternative ideas. In 1650, James Ussher, an Irish bishop and scholar provided a definitive calculation for the age of the Earth, based on the Bible. This calculation states that Creation began at nightfall on Saturday, October 22, 4004 BC. Modern “Creationists” still use this calculation for the argument that the Earth is a mere 6000 years old.
The first serious challenge to the Flood story was by James Hutton (1726-1797), the Father of Geology. He was intrigued by fossilized shells, and other odd rock formations in the rocks near his Scottish farm. Over the course of twenty-five years, he studied the rocky features, ultimately concluding that today’s land is not the “original” land of creation, but rather a composition land formed over a lengthy geologically time span by secondary causes. As a result, the current land had once been under water where marine animals thrived and left their remains to be fossilized. Later on this land was elevated by various forces in the Earth to its current above sea-level position. Hutton’s observations produced a firestorm, and many contemporary scientists tried to debunk his claims. But as more and more scientists studied the rock record evidence, it was increasingly clear that Hutton’s theories were correct Today, geologists estimate that the Earth is 4.5 billion years old.
By 1840, Creationism had been essentially abandoned by serious scientists (although the exact age of the Earth continued to be argued over.) But, in 1902, George Macready Price (1870-1963), an American Seventh Day Adventist and schoolteacher revived the Creationism model. Despite having no training in geology or paleontology, Price wrote numerous books explaining among other things, how Noah’s Flood was responsible for carrying shells from the ocean to the mountaintops. Following in his footsteps, modern Creationists reject all scientific evidence which suggests anything other than a literal reading of Genesis.
The debate continues to this day, with Creationists arguing that their viewpoint should be taught in public schools, so that students are given a wide range of ideas. The scientific community, by contrast, loudly considers the Creationist view to be nonsensical and each of its points are regularly debunked. But whenever the debate is brought up, rest assured that fossilized seashells will soon be brought up!
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