Myth & Mussel

Mussel: as an animal that lives in the sea, the mussel is frequently an attribute of sea deities. The mussel was sometimes symbolically associated with the MOON (and thus with the Yin principle), such as in China. - As "she who rose up from the foam of the sea (anadyomene), Aphrodite is sometimes portrayed as standing on a mussel. It might have become associated with Aphrodite (and in India with Lakshmi, the goddess of happiness and beauty) because of the fact that the mussel is shaped like the female sex organ, because it shares in the symbolism of the fertile WATER of the SEA, and because the beautiful PEARL grows within it. - In Christianity, the mussel as an object placed in a grave, symbolizes the grave from which man will rise from the dead on Judgement Day. The mussel became a symbol of Mary because Mary carried Jesus, the "precious pearl", in her womb and because it was believed during the Middle Ages that the mussel was fertilized "virginally" by dew drops. The mussel shell became a symbol of the Holy Sepulchre and the Resurrection and thus a sign of pilgrims; the mussel shell was usually worn on the pilgrim's hat. The Jacob Mussel became a sign particular to pilgrims on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.

fonte: https://books.google.it/books?id=00kybj_-nBIC&pg=PA207&dq=Symbols+mussel&hl=it&sa=X&ei=g62pVOigMMblaMaMgXg&ved=0CBQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Symbols%20mussel&f=false

Triton and sea creatures covered in mussels
Mussel associated with the moon (and the Yin principle)
Aphrodite (Venus) born of a mussel shell
Lakshmi and the devgunya chordophone (instrument) made of mussel shells
Mussel as female (sex) symbol
Mussels and Pearls
Mussel, shell as symbol of the Virgin Mary

Symbols according to medicine wheel, psychologically, spiritually and popular culture