Collecting & Using Snail Shells in Folk/Traditional Magic
The use of snail shells in ritual and spellwork is fairly common across magical traditions, as well as in the creation of charms, hex bags, and other curios. In my own practice—as well as a number of others—these shells are used in protective magic and in the creation of protective charms (like bags, bottles, and cords like the Witch’s Ladder). They can be used whole or ground into a power to add a protective element to any magical working, particularly if the intention is to strengthen protection around yourself or your home. Beyond protective magic, snail shells also have applications in manifesting personal growth, patience, prosperity and good luck.
From the perspective of my own practice, the symbolic significance of snail shells comes—as it does with most magical curios—from the practitioner’s understanding of and communication with the spirit of the curios and its source. The belief here is that there is a spirit in all things. There is also a connectedness between that spirit and other spirit elements, including the spirit of the specific snail that it came from, the archetypal spirit of the snail, the needs and intentions which the snail spirit can bring aid to, and the various messages and knowledge that the snail can bring as an ally.
Despite their small size, the snail shell brings a powerful spirit to magical work due to the nature of the shell itself. Firstly, a snail grows its shell over time. Unlike certain kinds of crabs, snails do not outgrow and trade in their shells during their lives. They grow them, increasing their size as they get older and larger. This means that the snail’s connection to its shell is strong, just as another animal’s would be to their heart or their skull. Secondly, the snail’s shell always bears a connection to death. A snail cannot live without its shell. When we find these shells, it means that the snails that inhabited them have died, usually because they’ve been eaten by birds or insects. This is an important point to keep in mind not just as we work with the spirit of the snail and the snail shell, but as we collect them. While it can be exciting to find a large collection of snail shells for our work, we should remember that each one represents a life—however small it may be.
Although the snail shell can be a powerful tool in magical work, it can also be a difficult one to find in metaphysical shops. Metaphysical wholesalers, which sometimes sell items like cowrie shells and hag stones, typically do not sell snail shells alongside other natural materials. This, in turn, means that most shops that source from these wholesalers do not often have them on their shelves either. You may be able to find them on Etsy, in shops that sell supplies for making jewelry; but, because these shops typical sell the larger, more attractive specimens, they often cost a good deal more than snail shells are worth.
Fortunately, for many of us, snail shells are easy to come by (if you know where, when and how to look) and can quickly turn into a collection. I should note that, whenever I am interacting with my curios (whether I am harvesting/collecting it or actively crafting with it), I am engaged in the intentional process of communicating with and focusing on the spirit of whatever I’m working with. In doing this, I’m not just communicating my intentions and my gratitude—but also allowing that spirit to communicate with me and building a relationship. Each time you work with that spirit or ally, that relationship will become stronger and that communication will become easier; which will also make it easier to use this spirit in workings in the future. A practitioner using this method slowly becomes attuned to a given spirit (and that spirit to them).
1. Look for snails and their shells in “water places”. Snails love moisture. And birds spend a lot of time around water because of the many bugs and other creatures that are drawn there, which they like to feast on. This makes the rocks and dark spaces near water (as well as the bottoms of shallow areas of water) the ideal place to look for snails. Because birds love to snack on snails, it can be fairly easy to find a large number of snail shells by rivers, streams, and other bodies of water. Working (as always) from the standpoint of a practitioner of European folk magic, there is an added level of appeal in that “water places” are considered holy and liminal spaces. (This is true of many other traditions as well.) Thus, curios collected from such areas may be particularly powerful.
2. Look for shells after a heavy rain. Even if you do not live near a body of water, you may find snails living closer to your house than you might expect. Check outside of your home—on porches, sidewalks, front stoops and even your foundation—after a heavy spring or summer rain. Snails can live in a number of small, dark spaces that you may not normally have access to, but they often come out during a good rain to take in moisture. I recommend going out first while the ground is still wet to make note of any areas where you see live snails hanging around. You likely won’t find any empty shells at this point. Walk away for a while and let the ground dry. Come back again (possibly the next day) to look for any shells that have been left behind.
3. Create conditions around your home to attract snails. In my experience, it is easiest to find snail shells in places that have a tendency toward quickly changing temperatures; such as rocks and cement, which can quickly become to hot for a snail to survive once the sun comes up. However, creating a habitat that attracts snails may still be helpful to your snail shell collection. Having snails around makes it a lot more likely to eventually find snails. You can set up snail habitats using pieces of flat rock or wood to give them a nice, dark place to hang out. Put these habitats close to trees and sidewalks to increase your likelihood of actually finding empty shells. You can also use flower pots of leafy plants like ferns to encourage snails to set up house. If you have snails and want to draw them out, pour or spray water over your patio or sidewalk to coax them out during the day.
4. Know where your snails hang out. Snails enjoy dark, damp conditions and their delicate skin makes cool weather most suitable for them. For this reason, they are most active at night and in the early mornings, when the area is still dewy. Head out in the early mornings and make note of any snails you see hanging around. These areas are more likely to have lingering snail shells once the sun comes up.
5. Know how find and collect “dead” shells. Depending on the type of snail you have around you, it may be somewhat difficult to determine whether or not there is a snail actually inside a shell. You can sometimes find out by holding the shell up to the light—as is the case with the Upland Pillsnail, which are common in my area. Pillsnail shells which are empty tend to be somewhat translucent, whereas shells that are still “living” are darker and more opaque. Other kinds of snails have a trap door that they use to shut themselves safely away from danger. If you find this, you likely have found a living snail or, at the very least, a shell with a dead snail still inside it. The best idea in that case is to put the shell back where you found it. If you are still unsure if your shells are empty or living, you can always lay terrestrial snail shells out for a short time to be sure. I recommend putting them in a shallow dish or in a flower pot filled with dirt out of doors and letting them sit overnight. Because snails are most active overnight, any living land snails you’ve unintentionally brought home will likely come out and find more a more suitable home before morning.
These tips will help you in the physical process of finding and collecting snail shells for your practice. (Sidenote: Be aware that your collection maybe slow to grow. Where I live, snails are most active in the spring and summer and not seen much the rest of the year. And, even in their most active seasons, it can be pretty common to pick up only a few snail shells at a time.) If physically collecting the shells is enough for your practice, you don’t need to do anything else. For my own practice (and probably many others), there is level of preparation that goes beyond the actual harvesting and taking home of curios. Along with the physical process, there is also the process of nurturing and understanding the spirit of the curios. For many practitioners of spirit-based magic, that is how connections are built between a practitioner and their curios, as well as between curios and the practitioner’s magical working.
When attempting to make a connection to that spirit, to form a working bond or alliance with the creature or with the curios, different people will have different methods that work for them. I have heard many people swear by the practice of meditating on the animal, sometimes using images or focusing on various traditional understandings of it symbolism. In my opinion, every practitioner’s relationship with their practice is different—even if one is part of a strict tradition—and it’s important to find what works for you. With that in mind, here are some things that work for me:
Don’t focus on collecting the snail’s shells as your goal. For me, the goal of physically being in the spaces where I often collect my snail shells is not to hunt and collect the shells specifically. My focus is primarily on taking the walk, having time to reflect, building my relationship with the space, and finding what that space wants to offer me. If I find snail shells or other supplies, that’s great. But that’s not the goal.
Develop an affinity for snails. When working with animal parts—whether you’re using shells, bones, fur, teeth, etc.,—it is always best to work with animals that you have a sincere interest in or calling to. This can make it easier for you to communicate with and connect to the spirit for magic or spirit work. If you don’t have a particular fondness for snails and you wish to use them in your craft, consider doing your research and learning about the animals of even spending some time studying and observing them first.
Visit snail habitats often. This goes along the same lines as the first two pieces of advice. When you locate a good place to find snails, make a habit of coming back often. Build a relationship with the place, with the animals in it, and with the spirits of the place. Leave offerings. Tread lightly. Sit and spend time there. Visit with living snails. It is my belief that, when you have that relationship with a location and its spirits, those places (and your journeys through them) will provide.
Collect ethically and with respect for life. Personally, I never use an animal part that is not provided by my surroundings or ethically sourced by someone that I trust to trade with. I find that what works best for me is to never kill an animal or to buy an animal from another source that is not for food. So I never remove a living snail from its habitat or from its shell. I treat living snails gently and with respect to honor their lives and the relationship I’ve grown with them.
After you have collected your shells, you can clean the visible dirt from them by soaking them in water for about three days. Depending on the type of snail you have access too, you may be able to soak the shells in salt water—which may help to remove more dirt—or in bleach water to remove germs. Snail shells, once cleaned, can be used whole in jewelry, hex bags, and knot magic. They can also be carried themselves as a protective amulet or, if they are small enough, be used in a bottle. To process snail shells for use in powder, use a hammer or mallet to break them into pieces and the use a mortar and pestle to grind them up further into a finer powder, which can be used in bottles and dusts. If you are going to use your snail shells in protective jewelry, you can also shine them with mineral oil to restore their luster.
Disclaimer: Each of the Crowsbone writers and guest bloggers has their own magical background, beliefs, traditions and practices. These post represent the opinions, research and beliefs of the individual writers. We do not believe that they represent beliefs and rules associated with all magical practice or witchcraft; nor do they represent the beliefs and opinions of all of the Crowsbone community.