Service providers were/are the「fleshpot cavities where the hot dripping loosened fluids of snakes, worms」were blended, merged, fused, softened, and so on. HARMONY, BLEND and MERGE all suggest that as one member in a cave o' wonders caught a case of the crabs, or anything worse, they all caught a case of the crabs, or something worse.
　「Fleshpot」and「snake」depicts cooking meat for a long time, especially snake meat which is a bit tougher than pork, cat, or puppy, in order to SOFTEN, DISSOLVE both the tough meat and the many bones, making both pleasantly palatable. Cooking meat long enough in a large pot and it is sure to SOFTEN, FALL APART or DISSOLVE, including even the toughest, stringiest of snake meat.
　Cauldron depicted here had three hollow legs that were filled with water prior to setting the pot over coals, creating a large, steamy fleshpot with meat juices seething from the hollow shaft of the legs set into the embers. THAW is also a meaning of「soften, fall apart after being heated or warmed for a long time」and while there were not too many freezers in the early days, the winters were long and cold.
　More to the point for HARMONIOUS cohabitation, in addition to SOFTENING someone's meat and THAWING someone who was frigid refers to a changing attitude. Recall that「snake」is comprised of the elements「bent dripping short leg amidst the genitalia, two-sided.」
　HARMONY is a relationship characterized by a lack of conflict, and while generally today thought of as a good ideal, harmony is not necessarily the result of all good or benign influences—a harmony of evil can and does occur quite often in the world, with all participants not in conflict about a common goal or purpose. See similar glyphs.

Modern definitions (that generally disregard history) …excluding politically incorrect concepts and other meanings deemed offensive today; may list only pigeonholed definitions, euphemisms, or meaningless mnemonics)
Chinese: to melt; to thaw; to blend; to merge; to be in harmony
Japanese: to dissolve, to scramble, to melt, to mix, to comb out, to thaw, to fuse
Unihan extended: melt, fuse; blend, harmonize
EDRDG: dissolve; melt

Used within names (nanori)
あきら