The Ocean Oracle: Journey to the Shore and Beyond...

Thank you so much Shelley!
Yes this is the beautiful story I wanted to hear again, and again it brings me to tears!

There are many layers to the shells, and I think about how when the shells are living, when they are in the oceans occupied by their animals, they are involved in dramas no less magnificent and rich than our own. So that when you imagine for a moment all of us as "light beings" working thru our lessons whether it be instinctual or some other kind of motivation, we truly are just mirrors for each other no matter the species. Just what you said so beautifully!

If we are compassionate as invertabrates or vertebrates or carnivores or vegetarians...well then, perhaps it should be compassion and ability to help another soul that counts as evolved or dare I say, civilized.

I continue to be struck tho at how you so easily translate the message of the shells Shelley. It is such a gift. I think that you are like the Shell Ambassador if ever there were one. And as such I wonder if you are one of the Mer folk, come to human form to teach and educate us of the ways of the ocean.

Have you ever dreamt you were a mermaid, Shelley? I ask this is in all seriousness. Truly, you must have the soul of a Mermaid, or perhaps an Abalone because the language of the shells is your tongue and they have no better champion upon dry land.

What a beautiful story, Shelley!!

So fitting an interpretation and so applicable to humans....or to any being inside whatever "suit" it has been zipped into.

Thank you!!

terri

Post Workshop Reflections

Well it was a great day.

I walked into Shelley's living room and she had shells all laid out and tagged ready to be discussed.

And then in the case, rows and rows and rows of shells, and sitting high up on a glass shelf a gorgeous huge abalone.

The energy of the area was really calm and peaceful and all I could think was that I was sort of being welcomed, that some kind of ceremony was taking place.

I got to see Shelley's childhood journal, her books on shells, her foreign language decks and her teaching flipbook complete with gorgeous pictures of the shells, as well as the real shells as we discussed them.

I made sure to touch every shell, in some way greeting them and trying to incorporate their energy into my own system. I really wanted to be in community with the shells and try to soak in as much of the information as possible.

Shelley really knows her shells. Not only does she have a divinatory meaning for the 200 in the book, but for all 500 in the house! It was astounding.

When I got home I was trying to convey some of the stories to my husband and I was just so overwhelmed. I felt on the verge of tears a couple of times because the information is so huge, so very deep when you hear Shelley talking about the animals and how our higher selves work with the shells to try and reach out to us....to help us with our lessons.

So when I got home and the enormity of the information was sinking in, and my own amazement kept growing I was pretty overwhelmed is all I can say.

And my husband turned and looked at me and said, "You are shell shocked." LOL, that was what I needed to hear! I cracked up. And he kept saying it to me as I was describing what I was feeling. He became the shell doctor saying, "Yes, that is exactly what happens to people who are shell shocked."

It was pretty funny.

I have visions of cowries and cones and octopus and starfish dancing in my head right now. I'm totally shell shocked truth be known. And I'm hoping that by morning my brain will have organised some of the information together for me.

I want to thank Shelley for her time and the energy she put into the workshop. It was really packed with info. I could easily go back for another round and still not get enough of listening to her speak the language of the shells. It is pretty fascinating because I walked away from the workshop really feeling elevated and clearer.

Of course this could be because as we sat talking about shells I was having some allergy symptoms. I"ve been sick for a few days, but my sinus stuff started to really clear up halfway thru our time together. It was amazing when I could suddenly breathe!

It really was a healing time, and this might sound weird but I feel like I was able to actually heal some stuff for myself just by listening to Shelley talking about the shells and describing shells that resonated with me and seemed to point to different people in the family. It was so strange recognizing people's patterns thru the behaviors or Shelley's descriptions of shell definitions.

What happened was as she described shells and divinatory meanings I was flashing on people in my life, and on myself and realizing that these patterns don't have to continue, particularly once you see the shell that holds that energy and then you see another shell that might help to change the energy.

It was amazing that the shells Shelley was talking about seemed to be just the ones I needed to hear about!

I really can't wait for the next book. It takes the whole system to another level. Personally, I need tapes of Shelley talking about the shells and talking about the way they interact with each other, and what each shell means if you like or dislike it. This is a powerful system of illuminating issues and patterns where you get stuck energetically then being led to healing and transformation.

Swimming in here just to say THANK YOU ALL for posting I have been reading with delight these posts and every one I have learnt - felt something important for me at this time.

Cant WAIT till my oracle arrives in the post!

MARINA

(OH yea and I studied Marine Science at University too,a nd I have a pisces north node - just swimming!)

When I read this thread, I am transported to the shore of a deserted white sanded beach and as each person tells their story, its like having good friends sit beside me as we stare beyond the horizon through some distant headlands, wiping the hair off our faces, twidling out toes in the sand, and watching the tide come in.

I am so grateful to everyones posts, sharing their thoughts and experiences - especially Shell Oracles vivid descriptive personal approach and experiences about 'that book'!! I am in that space right now, and your words have heped me look at my dillema I face, in a different light. I feel the pressure release - not unlike the Nautilus, who I have a fond admiration for.

Thankyou elf!

Many Blessings
Elven x

Thank you for the narrative, elf!!

I just reread the Chambered Nautilus...how apt for what we do as we go through life learning.....

I was reminded of my recent long stay in the hospital...I was critically ill and my husband was downstairs in the same hospital...same length of time, my dog was home ill, being taken care of by a loving couple, Tony was facing at least two weeks in a rehab....

On the day before I went home, the dam broke and the tears gushed....I began the rise...when I got a call from my oldest stepdaughter who wanted to tell me something one of the others had said...that I ABSOLUTELY had to hear....I told her five times in five different ways...I don't want or need to hear it!!

She got the point and I don't think I have ever made the point as strongly.

The next day, the dam broke again...and although I felt as though I was near a complete breakdown....(most of this was because my body was so sick, electrolytes shot, had lost 10 pounds in 12 days)....I gushed tears again.

But once again, like the Nautilus, afterwards, I felt myself rise....up to the level where I knew I was dealing with old stuff and finally closing off more chambers.......

No doubt, I will fill with water again and need to rise by releasing the pressure, but hopefully will learn more as I ascend.

I will have these images of the Nautilus clear in my mind....these stories and narratives of yours, Shelley, stay with me once I read them carefully and digest the meaning.


Thank you!

My book and deck still haven't arrived, but I hope they will.

terri

I am very touched to learn how much healing is taking place for all of you working with the shells. Your willingness to share your experiences is such a gift for me, and I thank you! I do hope to be their ambassador…my name makes me one of the shells, the Shell with the vocal cords, and if you see the value in my seashell partners, then I feel that I have served them. At the same time, I learn from your postings and feedback. I value everything you write. Acadia and elf have both added to my knowledge from comments they made in the workshop. I am blessed to be able to use all of this information to improve upon my readings for the clients who follow.

This thread is such a joy for me, although it is becoming addicting. What a delight to meet other people who love the shells too. I feel as if we are in one big classroom, and we take turns as teachers. For my contribution, I can’t help but to be inspired when one of you mentions a particular shell. I checked back, and on my last posting, I mentioned that I would like to discuss cockles and starfish due to previous postings from other people. I like to keep my promises, so…..

Lark said:
For years she has been buying bags of shells at the dollar store and using them as decorative linings on the outside of her flower beds. “It looks so pretty and fresh, flowers and shells just seem to go together so well.”
In her observations, she included the childhood rhyme:
Mary, Mary quite contrary how does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells and pretty maids all in a row.

I wanted to tell you that the cockle animal that makes the shell has a very powerful foot muscle…so powerful that cockles are jumpers. For this reason, in divination, my cockles all have jumping themes. The common cockle means “So happy you could jump for joy”


Elf mentioned a starfish lantern.
Starfish teach about survival. They represent survival against all the odds in a situation that disgusts you. This message is derived from two anatomical features of these animals: First, when some species of starfish are cut into sections, each piece containing a portion of the central core is capable of regenerating into a completely new starfish. A few species can regenerate an entire starfish from a single arm, producing several starfish from one that is torn apart. Since starfish dine upon oysters, they are the bane of oyster fishermen’s existence. Some enterprising fishermen, in an effort to reduce the starfish population in their area, hauled as many starfish as they could aboard their fishing boat and chopped them into pieces. They then tossed these sections of starfish back into the sea, unknowingly multiplying their problem.

Second, the starfish has a very interesting digestive aparatus. It possesses two stomachs: the cardiac and the pyloric. The cardiac stomach is centrally located just above the starfish’s mouth. When a starfish has pried open an oyster, it is confronted by an oyster that is too big to fit into the starfish’s mouth. To remedy this, the starfish turns its cardiac stomach out of its mouth into the oyster’s open shell. Once the cardiac stomach has partially digested its prey, this food is passed inside the starfish where the digestion is completed through the pyloric stomach. This unusual arrangement permits the starfish to hunt prey much larger than it could possibly fit into its mouth. After absorbing the nutrients provided by this meal, the starfish swallows its stomach back into its body. This “turning its stomach out of its mouth” represents the situation that turns your stomach, or disgusts you. Starfish energy is designed to create a safe environment for you to confront hidden feelings of disgust. Contrary to fearing that acknowledging this disgust would destroy you, (the reason for burying these feelings) the starfish are encouraging you to notice that this confrontation is necessary for your survival. By hiding or denying these feelings, you are not living your truth. Whether you are deceiving yourself or others, you diminish yourself by expending a great deal of energy in order to keep these feelings buried…energy that could be employed in much more productive ways.

Since elf saw the starfish on a lantern, I could not help but think, what a great way to throw some light on the subject

Elf also said:
"If we are compassionate as invertebrates or vertebrates or carnivores or vegetarians...well then, perhaps it should be compassion and ability to help another soul that counts as evolved or dare I say, civilized."

This comment leads me to the desire to discuss the shell linked to compassion…razor clam. But, elf’s husband also taught me something. I have begun to realize that this thread is spoiling me. There is so much to share, that I may be giving out too much information to handle at once. I don’t want to leave anyone else in shell shock (how very clever of him I apologize, and I have to learn patience. I had a lifetime to learn all of this, so let me show some compassion and slow it down to allow time for you to absorb everything here.

More wonderful material, Shelley!

I recently bought starfish earrings for a colleague who is retiring, and included the story about the starfish that had washed up on the beach....a person was throwing them back in one by one and when someone questioned the futility of the act,

"What does it matter? You can't save them all."

The reply was:

"It matters to this one."

I know you know this story...but Elf's story about compassion for creatures, made me think of this one....

will be following.....I have a subscription to this link and save some time to
"digest" the information...I hope my deck and book arrive today.

terri

Dear Ms. Voice of the Shells ~

I am truly enjoying your imput to our board - and yes, it is quite addicting, isn't it?? !!

I wanted you to know that I am letting down my reserve to purchase yet another card set to get yours. I love the sea, lived for 3 years in Guam also, and you have peaked my curiosity. Thanks for joining us here!

I agree - it does take time to "digest" and integrate all this information. So - while you rest up for the next go-round, I'll get to work!!

{love the puns, by the way!}

Take care ~
Ann
*S*

Ok. so my next question for the group is whether people want to study the deck card by card, shell by shell?

That way we would have our own index at some point, and would be able to go a little deeper into the system. I think we would get more out of the Oracle if we did it this way...

Personally I'm all for it.
I'm going to talk to Simone about it, but, really I'd like to know what people are thinking.

I think that it looks like such a big system, especially for those of us used to intuitive reading, but once you start discussing the shells and see why the names are named the way they are and start looking at the meanings it sort of comes together.

I just picked up a few books on shells today, purchased from the antiquarian bookstore and received an additional 30% off at the register! I was psyched! The best one is a children's book, a Golden Nature Guide! Sea Shells of the world! I'm off on my shell study now! I'm trying to get the kids involved and make it a family hobby, but my daughter sort of smiled at me and said, "No thanks Mom." Oh well. She'll come around I'm sure.