Left-handed spiral

Orient your snail with the pointed spire facing up. With your thumb pointing up, imagine wearing the snail shell like a glove. If your left hand would best fit in the opening of the shell, then it is a left-handed snail; if your right hand would best fit in the shell, then you have a right-handed snail.

Figure 1. Examples of left-handed snail shells.

Right-handed spiral

Figure 2: Examples of right-handed snail shells.