Oysters, sea-shells, the snail and the pearl figure constantly in
aquatic cosmology as well as in sexual symbolism. They all
participate, indeed, in the sacred powers which are concentrated
in the Waters, in the Moon and in Woman; they are, moreover,
emblems of these forces for a variety of reasons--the resemblance
between the marine shell and the genital organs of woman, the
relations between oysters, waters and the moon, and, lastly,
the gynæcological and embryological symbolism of the pearl
formed within the oyster. Belief in the magical virtues of oysters
and of shells is to be found all over the world, from prehistoric
until modern times. ¹ The symbolism that lies at the origin of such

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