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The Haus Of Belwickett
A young coven celebrating Mother Earth and Father Time
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A Sea Witch’s Guide to Seashells
A handy guide to properly cleaning shells, when and how to collect them, and a few creative ideas for using them in witchy matters or altar decoration!
By rainy-day-witchcraft
Cleaning
Seashells, whether inhabited by an organism or abandoned on the beach, almost always have that funky sea smell~ which can only grow as they are dried and left out. When cleaning shells, there are many different techniques. You can:
Boil ~ Gently drop your shells into a stove-top pot and turn up the heat until the water reaches a boil. After a few minutes, turn it down to about half that heat, and let them simmer for 20-30 minutes. Tips: Shells must be dropped into the water while it is still lukewarm, so they gradually heat and do not break or crack from the cool to hot transfer / Take caution not to let the pot boil over, as the water is salty and will leave a residue that will need to be cleaned afterwards.
Bleach ~ Soak your shells in a 50/50 water/bleach ratio for an hour or so. There is no set time, but be careful not to leave them in for too long, as the bleach will break them down!
Baking Soda scrub ~ Mixing a paste-like mixture of water and baking soda, take an old toothbrush and scrub the shell for a few minutes. If you are dealing with a sand doller, be sure to scrub more gently and in small circular motions.
Burying ~ Because barnacles, tiny organisms, or bits of the previous shell-owner can be left in hard-to-reach areas of the shell, burying a shell 18 inches into the ground for a few weeks is a useful technique to get rid of any stink-inducing sea thing. Because it is buried at this depth, it allows insects, larva, and ants to eat the remains of the organism and leave the shell with no reason to smell after cleaning! If using this technique, bury it opening-down; it works especially well to preserve glossy shells, as most of the other methods may cause de-shining.
If you are more of a pro-collector, consider using:
Muriatic acid ~ Dipping a shell in this chemical can majorly restore color and finish. However, on OLIVE shells (seashells that already have a shiny finish) this will do the opposite, and dull them.
Shell Collecting
The best times to collect shells are during the New Moon and Full Moon, when the tide is at it’s most powerful. Beginning your collecting an hour before and after low tide is also a key time when seashells end up on the sand! While searching near the wet sand usually yields fresher shells, make sure you also do a little digging or check near the high-tide line.
The DON’T’s
Fragile shells, such as sand dollars, can crumble if cleaned too harshly or left in the sun.
Do not clean with any type of vinegar! Vinegar can erode calcium, which is a main component in almost all shells.
If you find two shells sealed tightly together, or anything that resembles a live clam or shellfish, do not collect these! There is an organism living inside, and it is illegal at many beaches to collect living seashells. Do the little guy a favor (and the environment) and throw it back into the ocean or leave it be ~
If any trace of sea creature is left inside or outside the shell, it will mostly never loose the fishy smell.
Putting Shells to (Magickal) Use
In addition to looking nice or being cleaned/polished and made into decoration, they can also be used as:
Offering bowls
Talismans or Amulets
Representation of ocean or sea related gods/goddesses
Various magickal utensils (Magickal tools adorned with seashells, decorated on bowls or cups, hung as ornaments or charms, etc.)
In magick and witchcraft, they represent and are useful in:
The element of Water/West direction
Rounder, whiter shells can represent the moon, because of its influence on the ocean tides
Spells for emotion (water = emotion), protection (a shell is the protective covering for an ocean organism), creativity (water also = creative spirit), love (in reference to Aphrodite), and prosperity (used as currencies around the world long ago)
Particular shells also have their own meaning, such as these~
Abalone - General use and containment of empowered herbs and stones.
Clam shells - Purification and love.
Conch shell - Love.
Cone shell - protection.
Cowrie shell - Prosperity, money - if you look at a cowrie shell, it also looks very ‘feminine’).
Whelks - Dramatic positive change.
Limpets - Courage, confidence, strength.
Scallops - Travel, movement.
Sand dollar- Prosperity, good luck.
(Information gathered here)
Leave a message for Rainy-day-witchcraft if you have any questions, comments, or would like to see similar witchy guides! ➺ Rainy
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Chat it up with Star and her wifey on snapchat gorgeouseyes56
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Legendary Dragons Hand Painted on Gemstones by
Alvia Alcedo
If you were born in the Year of the Dragon , you are familiar with the various types such as water, wood, fire, earth and metal dragons. But sunrise and flower dragons may not ring a bell, unless you play online games DragonVale, Dragon Cave and Dragon City which present numerous winged creatures. There are a lot more dragons out there and a cult following for them. Artist Alvia Alcedo happens to be familiar with the new ones in existence, and has painted many on agate and jasper stones
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Pagan Pocket Pals the new pagan / witch pen pal service is now open and taking submissions. Please come and check us out!
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The universe is inside All of us
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Hello! How is everyone for the upcoming spring equinox?
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It’s a lavender day today!
New Amethyst and Lavender Jade pieces to be added to the etsy store soon!
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Traces of coca and nicotine found in Egyptian mummies - WTF fun facts
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"Can I just tell you, I think it’s the most beautiful thing about young people today, it gives me so much hope for the future, that they don’t really recognize race the way my generation does. - Viola Davis for the LA Times, 2012
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Hi! I was wondering if you guys still had a coven for teenage pagans in the Seattle area, and where I would find this coven and possibly open circles hosted by that coven? Thanks so much!
We're situated in with Reyn in California, Ash in Seattle, and Rowan and Star in tri-cities washington. You can easily contact any of us through facebook. It's the only social media we can really be contacted on.
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