Of all the shell species, none is more impressive than the nautilus. Some have used the nautilus shell as an analogy of a spiritual evolution that takes place in ever-widening spirals; others speak of "sacred geometry." Francene Hart, a visionary artist based in Hawaii, says: "Sacred geometry offers us an effective avenue for healing, growth, and balance."

Loretta D. Melancon, from Healing Environment Services (a consultancy and advocate for holistic approaches to health and healing), takes this concept a step further:

"The nautilus has much to impart about balance, growth, and expanding possibilities....[it] is a mollusk of the Pacific and Indian Oceans that has basically not changed in 450 million years and is indeed a living fossil. It's growth begins with crisis when the walls of its world seem to be narrowing down, creating a "crunch," and hemming it in. It is forced to reach beyond those limits and create a new space, pushing beyond the old boundaries by secreting a new, larger chamber and walling off the one left behind. If it were to choose not to do this, the animal could not grow and would die.

"There is wisdom in the nautilus' path of growth. Though sealed off from previous chambers, the nautilus remains connected to each compartment by means of a thin tube, the siphuncle, which reaches back to the center of the spiral shell and can secrete or absorb special fluids in the various outgrown chambers thus creating the necessary buoyancy for maneuvering in its environment. In other words, it uses its outgrown chambers, its past, only to maintain its balance and facilitate movement in the present, the now. Thus, the nautilus is forever connected to its center, the point of origin, and carries the unique story of its past wherever it goes. However, the past does not weigh it down. Instead, age and maturity actually enhance its balance and make the journey easier by creating additional buoyancy to float along without effort. Like the maturing nautilus, [we] carry with {us} the full potential for growth and the creation of a splendid, health-full body. [Our] task is to remain aware of the connection between past and present, to choose to access the wisdom of past experiences rather than closing them off and pathologizing them as illness or disease?.

"The nautilus allows [one] to understand that discovery and growth involves continual crisis with moments of comfort scattered in-between. In pushing past what seems to be the outer limit, new doors open, and the promise of the future unfolds. As English author and editor, Theodore A. Cook, suggests in his book, "The Curves of Life," one of the most beautiful aspects of the nautilus' spiral shape is that it is always growing but never covers the same ground. '...It is not merely an explanation of the past, but is also a prophecy of the future.' "