Opal

Rough opal from Coober Pedy, South Australia by Dpulitzer

Stones for October include Opal & Tourmaline. Here is some information on Opals.

Opal
Rainbows & Lightning In A Rock

Called the “Queen of Gems,” there is no definitive answer to where opal gets its name. It could be from the Sanskrit word Upala meaning “precious stone.” It could be from the ancient Roman word opalus which also translates as "precious stone." It may come from the root word for the Greek term “opallios,” which translates as “color change.” Either way, every term describes a beautiful gemstone that has been prized throughout history for its inspiring play of colors.

Precious opal (Coober Pedy Opal Field, South Australia) 6 by James St. John

Opal is usually found in desert regions and dry lake beds. Australia and Ethiopia are the largest suppliers of the world’s opal. Unlike diamonds and other precious gemstones, opal does not have a crystal structure. It is amorphous and made of millions of tiny silica spheres. According to the Bedouins of the Sahara, opal falls from the sky during thunderstorms and has lightning trapped within it. Though the exact cause of opal formation is unknown, it’s believed that heavy rains carried silica down into rock crevices, and once the water evaporated, the silica became a gel that hardened over time. This makes sense considering the water content of opal is 5-20%. Unfortunately, having such a high water content makes opal very fragile and easy to break.

The silica spheres are what give opal its unique play of color. As white light enters the opal, it hits a silica sphere, bounces off, and displays a different color. The size of the silica is what determines the color that is reflected. Since opal is made of millions of silica of varying sizes, it reflects almost all colors of the visible spectrum.

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Because of its unique beauty, opal was a prized amulet for luck and love. However, because it is such a fragile stone, it would often break, causing people to believe their luck no longer worked or that their love had gone bad. Over the years, opal acquired a reputation as being a bad luck stone because it broke so easily. Once the deposits of opal were found in Australia in 1880 and opal became more readily available, more and more people started wearing it again and realized it was not a bad luck charm. Once again, opal was a prized stone.

In the first Natural History of the World written by Pliny the Elder in the first century AD, he describes opal thus: “For in them you shall see the living fire of ruby, the glorious purple of the amethyst, the sea-green of the emerald, all glittering together in an incredible mixture of light.”

Precious opal (Nevada, USA) by James St. John

Because of this ability to be any and all colors, opal is one of those stones that can be used for whatever magical intent you put into it. It is associated with all of the elements and is both receptive and projective in nature.

In his book Crystal, Gem and Metal Magic, Cunningham assigns these magical properties to opal: Astral projection, psychism, beauty, money, luck, and power. Lore around opal says that it causes invisibility when you wrap it in a bay leaf and carry it. However, Cunningham believes what it did was actually facilitate astral projection, not invisibility.

Opal can also help develop your psychic abilities and aid in meditation, because any naturally reflective stone that seems to have its own inner movement can be used as a mirror of the mind.

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This is a meditation using opal from Cunningham’s book Crystal, Gem and Metal Magic:

Take the stone out into the sunlight, or moonlight, or near a candle. Still your conscious mind and move the stone slowly to let the light play off of it. Don’t try to force anything to happen, but the movement of the light will be meditative enough to release your conscious mind’s hold on your psychic mind.

Apart from magical uses, opal may have therapeutic uses as well. Since it is a stone actually made from water, it could be used for any emotional work that you are doing. If you are lucky enough to find black opal, that would be ideal to use with any shadow work. Opal heightens any emotion you feel and brings it to the surface. If you have buried emotions that you need to deal with, meditate upon an opal and let it bring those emotions out so you can work with them better.

Opal is a stone that sparks creativity and inspires the imagination. Its play of colors make it suitable for any and all magical purposes. Those born in October are lucky to have it as their birthstone.

By Lady Anwyn

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Sources:
Stone Power by Dorothee L. Mella
The Pocket Book of Stones by Robert Simmons
Crystal, Gem and Metal Magic by Scott Cunningham
Gemporia video: Opal 101: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9zpWeNW3JU
https://moonmagic.com/blogs/news/opal-stone
https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/opal-facts-2042975
https://www.gia.edu/opal-history-lore

Photo Credits:
​Rough opal from Coober Pedy, South Australia by Dpulitzer 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coober_Pedy_Opal.jpg
CC BY-SA 3.0
Precious opal (Coober Pedy Opal Field, South Australia) 6 by James St. John https://www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/34386716332/
CC BY 2.0
Precious opal (Nevada, USA) by James St. John
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/29875674746/
CC BY 2.0