Michelle "Shelley" Hanson

Articles and Reviews

 

 

Reviews

All reviews reprinted with permission.

From Raymond Buckland:

“ Conchomancy is the art of divination using seashells. Most books on the subject follow the traditional   diloggun form which utilizes cowry shells, associated with the Afro-Cuban religion of Santeria and tied-in to worship of the Orishas. But in Ocean Oracle , Michelle “Shelley” Ziff Hanson opens up conchomancy to a whole new dimension. Rather than adopting and adapting the old cowry divination, she draws upon an army of two hundred different shells and has devised an entirely new system based on their four major characteristics. This is a whole new world, rich in oracular language that is accurate, scientific, and downright fascinating!
    All two hundred shells are detailed, with picture, description, meaning and explanation. The four overview plates make it relatively easy to tell one shell from another and to find the appropriate associations. But the test of a divination system is its accuracy. The Ocean Oracle easily passes the test. I expect to see it being used a great deal by Readers across the country.” 

From Dr. Christiane Northrup:

“I’ve been drawn to sea shells since I was a young child so I was delighted to see their considerable wisdom recognized and made accessible for everyone in Ocean Oracle.”

From One Spirit Book Club:

“ A beautiful, unique toolkit to decode the wisdom of the deep...the Ocean Oracle…puts the wisdom of the sea within your reach and translates its timeless language…one of the most unusual—and unusually revealing—divination tools we’ve seen.”

These comments are taken from the July, 2005 One Spirit Catalog as seen below.
To read full review inside,click here.

 

 

Captiva Chronicle by Emilie Alfino-August 2006

Listening to the language of seashells. What can they teach us about ourselves?

She looks to her science background to find what she considers “demonstrable proof” for every meaning she ascribes to a seashell. Many times after she has assigned a meaning to a shell based only on its name, or her own intuition, that meaning will be validated by something she learns about the mollusk or by the result of readings.

Under one of the pictures in the article, it states:

Author, scientist and shell reader Michelle “Shelley” Hanson also teaches about seashells. She says she loves her name, because it makes her one of the shells (Shell-ey), the one with the vocal cords, to serve as an ambassador on their behalf.

New Age Retailer by Skye Alexander-2005

For more than 30 years I have been using oracles, and I even have created a couple of oracles myself.  Ocean Oracle: What Seashells Reveal About Our True Nature (1-58270-113-X) by Michelle Hanson is one of the most unique and accurate divination tools I ever have used. This fascinating oracle, which uses seashells as links to the unconscious, operates on the premise that shells possess their own special language. 

The 5.5-X-8-inch boxed kit retails for $26.95 and includes 200 full-color cards depicting shells from around the world. On the flip side of each card, users will find the shell's name and the message it brings when it turns up in a reading. For instance, the familiar Quahog Clam shell is associated with blood pressure and heart health. The rare Torr's Whelk indicates that something is increasing in value. Querents begin a shell reading by contemplating a question or issue. They select cards from the deck that seem attractive, repulsive, or both. They arrange the cards in whatever order they choose and then turn the cards over and read their messages. 

Ocean Oracle comes with two full-color charts that show all the cards in the deck. A companion book explains the history and characteristics of each shell and the behaviors of the creatures that inhabit them. Hanson has devoted her life to studying seashells, and she unveils a rich tapestry of information that will intrigue readers. She explains how the shells' physical attributes and uses led her to discover the shells' mystical meanings. For example, the heart cockle is shaped like a heart, and sailors used to give these pretty tokens as valentines. The cards can point to personality issues and highlight readers' emotional situations. Your customers will be amazed at the insights they achieve using the Ocean Oracle.

Springfield Republican by Kathleen E. Moore - 10/13/2004

Biologist believes seashells reveal our “true nature.”

Like a Tarot card reading, Hanson allows the subject to choose the shells that will guide the reading. Each choice is like a unique brush stroke in an evolving portrait of that person.  It is Hanson’s hope that the subject will use that new found perspective to make more conscious life decisions.  In “Ocean Oracle” Hanson shows readers how science, history, intuition and physical appearance blend together to create a language of shells.