Editing Cowrie-shell divination (section)

===In Candomblé===
{{multiple image
 | footer    = Cowrie shell modified for divination, showing the natural and contrived openings.
 | width     = 150
 | image1    = Buzio aberto.jpg
 | alt1      = Natural opening
 | image2    = Buzio fechado.jpg
 | alt2      = Artificial opening
}}
The cowrie shell, as collected from a beach, has a flattened side with a longitudinal slit, and a smooth, rounded side. Like a [[coin]], the shell has only two stable positions on a flat surface, with the slit side facing either up or down. A few cowrie-shell diviners use the shells in this natural state; then the outcome of the throw, for each piece, is either "open" (slit up) or "closed" (slit down). Some modern day witches also use cowrie shell divination.

Most priests, however, use modified shells whose rounded part has been ground away, creating a second, artificial opening. The two stable positions of the shell are still called "open" or "closed" for divination purposes. In most [[Candomblé]] houses, "open" still means that the natural opening is facing up; but some traditions (mainly in [[Candomblé Ketu]]) use the opposite convention.
The number of "open" shells is used to select an item (''odú'') which direct the diviner to a fixed list of oracular verses.