Sea Magic Seashell Divination

Although the form of seashell divination presented in this book employs the use of cowries, it is not the Diloggun, a system that originated with the Santeria, an Afro-Cuban spiritual practice. The method described here was created to provide a simpler type of reading using nine cowries.

In Sea Magic Seashell Divination nine shells are used because it is an amplified sacred number (three times three) and based on the attributes and associations found in numerology.

Seashell divination is not only concerned with seeking one’s truth, but also bringing truth to a situation. It is intended to help us live our individual truth by learning more about who we are. As the famous phrase from the Oracle of Delphi states: Know thyself.

Like tossing a coin, divinatory objects need to have a fair chance of landing one way or another without ambiguity. Because cowry shells have a rounded side, this would be impossible to achieve and so the cowries need to be cut. While it would seem easier to use a flat shell like a scallop, I like the symbolism of the cowry as an oracular mouthpiece, which is only one of its sacred associations.

The cut shells have a wide opening where the belly was removed and the natural, narrow opening on the opposite side. This narrow, serrated opening is the mouthpiece and is the side that we count when tossing the shells.

Four is the number of this throw with serrated sides showing.

Throwing the Cowries
Place a soft cloth on a table or the floor where you are doing a reading. Begin by holding the shells in one hand in front of your heart. Shake the shells in your hand as you would a set of dice and then gently release them onto the cloth like dice. Count the number of shells that fall with the serrated (oracle mouthpiece) up. This will be the number for that throw.

The shells will be thrown three times. Gather all of them and then throw them two more times, noting how many land with the serrated sides up on each subsequent throw. The number from the first throw is the issue or life aspect that is calling for attention. The numbers from the second and third throws are complimentary to the first supporting or further explaining it. In addition, these can point to a solution for a potential problem.

If all three throws produce the same number, this could indicate that you need to examine various perspectives of one life aspect. For example, the number four is concerned with community and so this is the life aspect you would want to examine closely.

Life Aspects and Attributes of the Numbers Thrown

One: Self
Beginnings, creativity, independence, individuality, isolation, leadership, loneliness, originality, will power.

Two: Relationships
Balance, division, duality, harmony, partnership, solidarity, tolerance.

Three: Family
Abundance, comfort, energy, family, fertility, fulfillment, self-expression.

Four: Community
Concrete reality, dedication, dependable, luck, manifestation, order, stability, strength, truth.

Five: Purpose in Life
Change, communication, curiosity, freedom, knowledge, logic, restlessness, seeking, travel.

Six: Service
Beauty, devotion, duty, equilibrium, fidelity, longevity, love, perfection, service, sympathy, wholeness.

Seven: Spirituality
The ethereal, faith, introspection, other-worldly realms, religion, spirituality.

Eight: Achievement
Achievement, confidence, power, strength, success.

Nine: Higher Self
Charity, compassion, generosity, healing, humanitarianism, selflessness.