Scallop Shell Symbolism

Shells have been with us since time immemorial and who hasn’t picked one up from a beach to take home as a souvenir?

The nimbus of the Cross is considered to be a sun symbol.  In Christianity baptismal fonts were often shell shaped and a shell was used to scoop water up and then pour it over the person being baptised’s head. This emphasizes the shell’s association with water as it’s thrown up by the sea onto the shore.

It’s also associated with fertility and, in particular, the goddess of love, Venus.  In Botticelli’s celebrated painting, ‘The Birth of Venus’, the goddess is portrayed as standing on a large scallop shell.

The    scallop design symbolizes the many European starting points from which medieval pilgrims began their journey, all drawn to a single point at the base of the shell, Santiago de Compostela. Today in Spain cement scallop shell markers along the Camino reassure participants that they have not taken a wrong turn and local residents decorate their gardens and houses with shells in solidarity with the pilgrims.

References: Books And other resources.