Throughout antiquity, scallops and other hinged shells have symbolized the feminine principle.
Outwardly, the shell can symbolize the protective and nurturing principle, and inwardly, the "life-force slumbering within the Earth",  an emblem of the vulva.

Many paintings of Venus, the Roman goddess of love and fertility, included a scallop shell in the painting to identify her.
This is evident in Botticelli's classically inspired 15th century painting The Birth of Venus.

One legend of the Way of St. James holds that the route was seen as a sort of fertility pilgrimage, undertaken when a young couple desired to bear offspring.
The scallop shell is believed to have originally been carried, therefore, by pagans as a symbol of fertility.
Throughout antiquity, scallops and other hinged shells have symbolized the feminine principle. Outwardly, the shell can symbolize the protective and nurturing principle, and inwardly, the "life-force slumbering within the Earth",  an emblem of the vulva.
Many paintings of Venus, the Roman goddess of love and fertility, included a scallop shell in the painting to identify her. This is evident in Botticelli's classically inspired 15th century painting The Birth of Venus.
One legend of the Way of St. James holds that the route was seen as a sort of fertility pilgrimage, undertaken when a young couple desired to bear offspring. The scallop shell is believed to have originally been carried, therefore, by pagans as a symbol of fertility.
Scallop