The magic of Cowrie Shells

I have been looking forward to writing this post :) I wanted to share some of my all time favourite shells that my partner Hive account@mikepedro and I have found over the years. We try and get down to the ocean once a day, and as it warms up here in Australia I have a feeling we might be making it a twice a day thing!!!

But as I started collecting them from the window they adorn in my studio I thought I'd actually share a little bit of their history with you too!

Cowrie shells have actually been used in many cultures through out history as currency!!! How cool is that?! They were originally used by Native Americans, then gained popularity and became more widely used throughout the world. There are records of them being used as Chinese currency and used to trade in India. Because of their tie into our history as a currency, the are seen as symbol of wealth and power.

The other cool thing I wanted to share is that according to African Legends, the Cowrie Shell represents the Goddess of Protection, and this Goddess is said to be connected to the power and strength of the ocean.

I just thought this was a cool thing to learn about, they are so much more than just pretty shells!

I spent some time taking photos today to share the nicest ones we have found over the years that we have been collecting them. These 6 are my all time faves :) As I was photographing them I realised the colours really weren't showing up very well. They all have such unique patterns on them but the camera wasn't picking it up!!! So I bought out a little bowl of water and dunked them in before I took the photos... It worked!!!!