Abalone Shells
Abalone jewelry, masks and decorative bowls have been used by many ancient cultures due to abalone meaning and properties. In Native American cultures, the abalone shell is used as a smudge bowl to burn sage in. They believed that the abalone and sage together will carry their messages up to heaven. In the Apache culture, abalone is used in The Sunrise Ceremony, a ritual that marks a girl’s passage into womanhood. According to Apache myth, The Sunrise Ceremony celebrates the White Painted Woman who survived the great flood in an abalone shell, and came to land to be impregnated by the Sun and the Rain. The son born from her communion with rain, creates water. The son born from her communion with Sun, is the Killer of Enemies who defeats the White Painted Woman’s enemies. Victorious, she bestows a puberty rite upon all Apache women.
The believed abalone healing properties of today are very similar to ancient beliefs of the shell. Abalone healing carries energies of protection and emotional balance. It brings with it a natural shielding that blesses the person holding it with tranquility. Abalone healing is especially helpful for those going through emotional turmoil or those having a hard time dealing with a situation in a relationship. Through it’s soothing energy, it provides a layer of protection that perches the spirit up with the confidence necessary to view situations from a new, more understanding perspective. If you think of abalone as representative of water, like many cultures do, it is the water that will tame the flames of one’s emotional strif