Sand Dollar Shell Nature Jewelry
Known as The Playful Child, Sand dollars (aka sanddollars) are talismans for playfulness, safety and metamorphosis. They are also the BirthElement for the month of June. If you, or someone your love, has a Birthday in June, consider a piece of Sand dollar jewelry as the perfect gift.
What is the Spiritual Meaning of Sand Dollar Shell Nature Jewelry?
The spiritual meaning of the sand dollar is peace and creativity. If you've ever had the opportunity to find a sand dollar on the beach and broke it in half, you would have discovered little fragments of shell that are part of the internal workings of the Sand Dollar - they're shaped like doves - these are known as sand dollar doves! So, throughout history sand dollars have widely been associated with peace because of this connection to the dove.
In Christian belief systems, sand dollars also hold symbolic meaning. There are five small holes in the sand dollar, typically one at each point of the star shaped pattern and one in the middle. The four outer holes are said to represent Christ’s four wounds from being nailed to the cross, the fifth, represents the wound from a soldier’s spear. The star-shaped pattern in the center of the sand dollar is also symbolic to the Star of Bethlehem, an Easter lily and a poinsettia flower. The doves inside the sand dollar also play a part in Christian symbolism and represent peace and goodwill.
In other mythologies and folklore, sand dollars are believed to be mermaid coins, or lost coins from the city of Atlantis.
The Healing Powers of Sand Dollar Shell Nature Jewelry
Wearing Sand Dollar jewelry can evoke a sense of magic in your life. Sand Dollars are all about transformation and reminding you of the importance of protecting yourself while you put yourself out there. A Sand Dollar Necklace can be a daily reminder of how important it is to let yourself explore everywhere your heart wants to go in this life, AND that it is also important to protect yourself while you're doing it.
Sand dollars give us inspiration and encourage us to succeed in all that we do. They remind us to choose our own path in life and to protect ourselves, our values and to stand up for our own needs and desires. Wear a sand dollar when you need help making decisions, need inspiration or need to protect yourself.
What Does Sand Dollar Teach Us?
Sand dollars are talismans for playfulness, safety and metamorphosis. They teach us not to be afraid to make changes in order to grow and fulfill our needs. Even if it is uncomfortable at first, we will adapt. They remind us to let go of our past mistakes, to forgive ourselves and to allow ourselves to get excited about the present.
Sand dollars are an excellent talisman for those who are going through transformations in their lives. They remind us that we have the inner-strength and bravery to make those necessary changes. However, change does not need to be scary; a sand dollar talisman reminds us that we are safe and that if we approach growth with playfulness and an open heart and mind, we can become the best versions of ourselves. As social animals, sand dollars remind us that we are not alone. There is always support available to us, even when we don't realize it.
Popular Sand Dollar Shell Nature Jewelry Gift Ideas
Sand dollars are amazing talismans to wear during times of big transformation. Give a sand dollar as a gift to somebody who is ending a relationship, starting a new job or as a graduation gift, because sand dollar jewelry can be a powerful support to cultivate feelings of playfulness while also reminding the wearer to protect themselves.
Sand dollars really love to explore AND they're also really good at protecting themselves with their armour! They move around into all these unknown crevices and cracks and explore new depths, always holding a balance between being free to explore (and not allowing themselves to get stuck) but also understanding the sacred responsibility we have to protect ourselves even while we're exploring.
Sand dollars are also the BirthElement for the month of June. If you, or someone your love, has a Birthday in June, consider a piece of Sand dollar jewelry as the perfect gift.
Birthstones are a popular gift idea, especially for birthdays. While they are well-known and well-established, we wanted to take a new approach to this classic tradition. June’s birthstone is Pearl. Our BirthElement for June is Sand Dollar.
Our most popular Sand dollar gift is this beautiful Sterling Silver Sand Dollar Shell Necklace
Our Sterling Silver Sand Dollar Necklace - size small
This beautiful Silver Sand dollar Pendant is a popular everyday necklace. It has a lovely, comforting weight and can be worn with any outfit. Its cool, frosted finish is elegant and graceful.
Our Golden Sand Dollar Pendant - size large
A lovely weight makes you feel as if you are wearing an actual shell on your body, and so connected to the ocean. An everyday piece of jewelry that is grounding and will make you feel so beautiful.
Our Oxidized Silver Sand Dollar Earrings
These elegant and beautifully detailed earrings will make you feel as strong and alluring as the ocean itself.
How Does Wearing Sand Dollar Shell Nature Jewelry Enhance Your Life?
Wearing sand dollar jewelry can give you a tremendous sense of calm and peace and it can really help you cultivate a brave new beginning in your life. Also they are sooo beautiful!
Why I love the sand dollars in our collection so much is that they're extremely detailed and there isn't a hard edge on them anywhere - even though they're made of sterling silver, there's a softness to them that, time and time again blows away our customers (and us too!) I really love how they feel against the body, they are comforting wear and they're never too heavy.
Wear Sand dollar jewelry to remind you that life gives you permission to do what you need to do to follow your heart!
Where to Buy Sand Dollar Shell Nature Jewelry
Morning Moon Nature Jewelry is available in stores throughout BC as well as in the Yukon and California. And of course, you can always purchase jewelry on our website. Find a store in your area.
More Info About Our Sand Dollar Shell Nature Jewelry
The Playful Child - Sand dollars were once sea urchins. At some point, for reasons known only to them, they realized that they wanted to go underground, so they buried themselves in the sand on the ocean floor. Over time, their shells adapted by becoming flatter, allowing them to move more efficiently underground. Sand dollars are great for knowing what they need and not being afraid to make drastic changes to get those needs met. They teach us that even if it is uncomfortable at first, we have to do what we have to do to find and rest in being ourselves. In the end, we and everyone around us will adapt.
Sand dollars are often associated with spiritual epiphanies and are an excellent talisman for bringing support to people going through personal metamorphosis.
Talisman for: Playfulness. Safety. Metamorphosis.
Interesting Facts About the Sand Dollar
Sand dollars are actually a species of flat, burrowing sea urchins. They belong to the order Clypeasteroida. Sand dollars have a rigid skeleton called a “test”. The “test” is made up of plates that create the symmetric pattern, and in some species, they have small holes called “lunules” which help the sand dollar from getting swept away by ocean waves.
When sand dollars are alive, the test is covered in small hairs and spines that have a velvet-like texture. These spines are what the sand dollar uses to move across the seabed. The sand dollar also uses its spines and hairs to catch and move food particles along its body to its mouth.
Depending on the species of sand dollar, their hair and spines can range in colors from green to blue to purple. When we find sand dollars on the shore of the beach, they are often white. This means that the sand dollar has died and what you are seeing is merely its test that has been bleached white by the sun.
More facts about the sand dollar:
Sand dollars typically live for six to ten years. Similar to the rings of growth on trees, scientists can tell how old a sand dollar is by counting growth rings on their test. As the sand dollar grows larger, the number of rings increases, that means that the larger the sand dollar the older it is.
Sand dollars typically eat a diet of algae and other organic material found along the ocean floor. Using their spines to move across the ocean floor, they can burrow and sift through sand and sediment to find food. Some species will also tip onto their sides in order to catch plankton and other food floating through the water.
Due to their tough skeletons and few edible parts, sand dollars do not have many predators. However when threatened by predators, sand dollars use their spines to burrow into the sand to stay hidden. One of the sand dollar’s predators, the pink sea star, may often leave a wide path of buried sand dollars in its wake as it moves along the ocean floor.
Sand dollars tend to crowd together on the ocean floor. Over 600 sand dollars can inhabit a single square yard. This is important for reproduction as sand dollars reproduce by spawning. This means that they release eggs and sperm into the water and fertilization occurs externally. So the more sand dollars the greater the chances of reproducing.
When fertilized, the eggs will hatch into microscopic larvae. These free-floating larvae do not resemble their parents and will need to undergo several stages of development before growing a test and settling onto the ocean floor.
Interestingly, sand dollar larvae have the ability to clone themselves. Oftentimes, this is done under threat of predators but can also occur when food is plentiful and temperatures are optimal.
Some species of sand dollars can actually sense the mucus from predatory fish and respond by cloning. They do this by splitting in half, leaving them ⅔ smaller than their original size, this helps to conceal them from predators as well as doubles their population. However, this can also leave them more vulnerable to other, smaller predators such as crustaceans.
Other Names for Sand Dollars
The Sand dollar is referred to as “sea cookie” and “snapper biscuit” in New Zealand and known as “pansy shell” in South Africa, because of its flower-shaped pattern. Some other names include “sand cakes”, “cake urchins” and “sea biscuits”. In spanish-speaking areas the sand dollar is often called “galleta de mar” which translates to “sea cookie”.
What Are The Five Doves Inside of a Sand Dollar?
The sand dollar is a very unique creature and many stories surround it, specifically about the bird shaped pieces that can be found if you break one open.
“Now break the center open
And here you will release,
The five white doves awaiting
To spread Good Will and Peace”
(Author unknown)
When a dead sand dollar is broken open, five v-shaped pieces are released. These pieces are often thought to look like small birds or doves. But what are they?
These pieces actually function as the sand dollar's teeth, allowing the sand dollar to grind and chew up food. When the sand dollar dies, it dries up and the teeth become detached from the rest of the skeleton.
Because these pieces resemble birds or more specifically, doves, people have often associated both the sand dollar and its doves as a symbol of peace. Some people believe that by breaking open the sand dollar and releasing the doves, they are also releasing peace into the world.
What to do if You Find a Sand Dollar on the Beach
Like any other wildlife, it is best to leave sand dollars where you found them. In most places it is illegal to take a live sand dollar from the beach, however laws vary about collecting the shells of dead sand dollars. Always check local laws and signage around beaches before removing anything from the beach.
If you feel you must collect a sand dollar off the beach, always make sure they are no longer alive. The best indication of whether a sand dollar is still living is its color. If the sand dollar is green, blue, purple, reddish or brown the sand dollar is still alive and should be returned to the ocean. Even if a sand dollar is gray in color, you should always err on the side of caution and return it to its home. After the sand dollar has died its color will quickly fade and the skeleton will become white, leaving only its test. When a sand dollar is white and no longer has its velvety spines and hairs, it is dead and can be taken from the beach where it is allowed.
If you do happen to find a living sand dollar that is out of the water, you should gently return it to the ocean. Sand dollars cannot survive out of the water for more than a few minutes and will soon die if left out in the sun.
You can also tell if a sand dollar is alive by observing its spines and hairs. Hold the sand dollar lightly in your hand and watch to see if the spines move. Living sand dollars also secrete a harmless substance that will cause your skin to turn yellow. This is a sure sign that the sand dollar is still alive. If you do find a living sand dollar, never keep it out of the water for more than a few minutes. Sand dollars will quickly die if taken out of the water.
Sand dollars, like any other animal, play an important role in their ecosystem. When they are alive, sand dollars help to filter debris and detritus from the water and ocean floor. They are also an important food source to many other ocean floor predators. However, even after a sand dollar has died it can still provide calcium carbonate for our oceans.
Calcium carbonate is an important building block for the shells and skeletons of many sea creatures. Marine organisms such as corals, crustaceans, and mollusks rely on these minerals to produce, grow and maintain their shells. However, because of ocean acidification, many parts of the ocean are becoming undersaturated with these important minerals. Because of the changes caused by ocean acidification, many calcifying organisms, along with other marine life, will have a hard time surviving. Learn more about this issue…
Sand Dollar Shell Nature Jewelry Reviews
For more information on Sand Dollars
Visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium