A Dictionary of Dream Symbols
by Eric Ackroyd
(1) A sea shell, owing to its resemblance to the vagina and its association with the-sea, is a feminine symbol. As such it may represent your mother or your mother-attachment; and, for a man, it may represent the anıma or be a straightforward sexual symbol. (For anima, see Brother / Sister, sections (4)-(6).) See also Mother.
(2) Because of its association with the sea, it may, like the sea, symbolize the unconscious.
(3) A tortoise- or snail-shell may symbolize protection, or a hiding- place; withdrawal from reality, or from social or sensual contacts; or a ‘defence mechanism’.
(4) An eggshell may symbolize fragility, vulnerability.
See also Egg.
(5) An artillery shell may have the same sexual symbolism as Rocket.
See also Bomb.
The Big Dictionary of Dreams
by Martha Clarke
The shell symbolizes fertility and eroticism. Do not forget that on the one hand, two female characters of great mythological importance, such as Venus and Aphrodite, were born into a shell; and, second, in Argentina, it represents the genitals of a woman. Consequently, this dream can have a clear erotic reading. In another sense, the heavy shell of a turtle can express your desire for protection. Something similar happens with the eggshell, whose fragility indicates that your feelings are too vulnerable.
Shells that appear in dreams predict that something very strange will happen.
Islamic Dream Interpretation
by Ibn Seerin
(Husk, Peel, Rind, Shuck, Skin) Almond, walnuts or the like nutshell in a dream signify clothing or sustenance. Ifa pregnant woman sees nutshells in her dream, they mean a miscarriage.
A shell or a husk in a dream represents hypocrisy, affectation, ostentatiousness and a swelled head.
(Also see Skin)
