More than 100 million years ago, a vast, tropical inland sea stretched across what is now North America from the Rocky Mountains in the west to the Appalachians in the east. Exotic creatures swam in its depths, including marine reptiles, sharks, fish, and shellfish, all of which grew to massive proportions compared to today’s species. The ammonite was one of the most prolific and adaptable of these. Fossils of their chambered shells, with precise proportions reminiscent of the golden spiral, still exist in the soil along the Rocky Mountain Front and inspire transformation and personal growth.
The soft-bodied creature that created the shells is still a bit of a mystery, but they are thought to be closely related to the modern octopus, one of the sea’s most intelligent creatures. Ammonites built their shells in a way similar to oysters and nautiloids, by filtered calcite from the seawater to construct a chamber sized to fit their bodies. As the ammonite grew, it added ever larger chambers that coiled outward connected by special interior walls. The smaller sections in the middle became useful for controlling buoyancy, and the ammonite was able to swim freely through the depths.
But the inland sea in which ammonites lived underwent constant transformation, growing and shrinking, absorbing microscopically complex deposits of silt from surrounding dry land, and hosting new species. All along the Rocky Mountains today, a rich fossil record tells of a time when ammonites responded to environmental changes by evolving into a wide variety of sub-species marked by a range of sizes, exterior ornamentation, and even coil patterns. This remarkable ability to adapt and thrive in new conditions parallels a powerful metaphysical energy. Ammonite allows one to release the past and embrace the future, to see potential and opportunity instead of turmoil. Keep ammonite in the home or the office to invite prosperity, success, and vitality.