OPAL

OPAL

What is Opal?

Opal is a gem formed from silica-rich waters. It takes its name from the Sanskrit word Upala which means precious stone. Later, it would be called Opallios during Roman times. There are two kinds of Opal – the common opal and the precious opal. Opal meaning is amplification, hope, and purity.

 

The Gemstone of Amplification

  • A stone of light, purity, and play
  • Opal mining dates back to 400BC
  • Has a high water content

Flashing in a thousand shimmering shades and with the dance of fire gleaming beneath its surface, the Opal stone is an enigma of light, purity, and mystical play. This gem is pure eye candy, with its spectral colors shining and its cool weight sitting in the palm of the hand. It’s a hugely amplifying stone and also known for its connection to fable and folklore.

Opal re-entered our modern world when it was found in Queensland Australia a century ago. A young boy who was out searching for gold and quartz with his father stumbled upon the shimmering delights and filled his sack with fistfuls of these fallen stars. The dream of collecting Opal tempted few men to battle the harsh elements of Australia’s backcountry, with Opal miners penning tales of desperation, extreme heat, thirst, stabbing bushlands and larger than life bugs. But Opal was such a precious prize to be won. Beyond the far corners of Australia, Opal is also mined in Mexico and Brazil.

But the Opal stone goes back further than this relatively recent discovery in Australia. The first notes of Opal mining can be traced back to the winding Carpathian Mountains in 400 BC and the gem was even penned into tales spun by the Ancient Greek Philosopher Plato. Roman Historian Pliny the Elder also talked about Opalus holding the garnet flame, the purple essence of amethyst, and the shimmering sea greens of emerald. It was a bewitching gem. Opal fell out of favor a little later in life when Sir Walter Scott penned his 19th-century novel Anne of Geierstein. In these pages, his character Lady Hermione is said to have an Opal which ultimately leads to her demise and death. After this, the Opal had a spell of being seen as a gem of bad luck and the Opal market took a tumble as people stopped being enchanted by the iridescent precious opal and instead feared its dark powers. Queen Victoria shrugged off this superstition and instead gave her daughters Opals for their wedding day and slowly Opal became to be accepted as a sweet and hopeful gem again.

Opal is amorphous, meaning that it doesn’t have a crystalline structure but is instead classed as a mineraloid. It has high water content and is made from silicon dioxide and water. When water runs into the cracks and crevices of the earth, it collects silica sands along its journey. This forms silica spheres tightly packed together. Opal is storms and rain and the tears of the sky. It is softer than quartz and has a play of perfect color. Opal is definitely poetry in motion.

Opal is a mineral of amplification. It’s absorbent and reflective meaning that it collects thoughts and feelings turns up the dial and sends them back to you. This brings clarity, energy, and high vibrations which helps to call on the law of attraction.

There are several different styles of Opal out there, each with its own color, charm, and patterns. While common Opal may be the kind that springs to mind with its milky pearly sheen or precious Opal with its spring of colors, there are a few other varieties of Opal in the mix too and each correlates to a different chakra and brings its own healing properties under the banner of Opal.

  • Black Opal/Boulder Opals – For the Root Chakra. This helps us to feel grounded, stable, and safe in the world.
  • Fire Opals – For the Sacral Chakra. This helps us boost our sense of sexuality, boosts our passion, and can help improve fertility issues.
  • Ethiopian Opal – For the Sacral Chakra. This helps to bring high vibrations, ancient wisdom, and sheer ecstasy and joy.
  • Mostly Yellow Opals – For the Solar Plexus Chakra. This helps us ground into our warrior spirit and also helps to treat any liver, stomach, and gallbladder issues too.
  • Mostly Green or Pink Opals – For the Heart Chakra. Open your heart, learn to love and trust with ease, and rid yourself of negative energies like jealously and resentment.
  • Mostly Blue Opals – For the Throat Chakra. Let’s your truth flow, eases and improves communication, and helps all kind of throat and thyroid issues too.
  • Mostly Violet Opals – For the Third Eye Chakra – Tap into your inner wisdom, strengthen your intuition, and find faith in your own guidance.
  • White Opals / Common Opal – For the Crown Chakra – For spiritual wealth and higher consciousness. Also eases headaches and migraines.

Gleaming with healing properties, the Opal stone is full of high vibrational energy, amplification powers, and a perfect sense of balance. It not only kickstarts your creative heart but can also bring renewed hope, good karma, bright balance, and regulation. Opal can also be a good luck charm, helping the wearer to attract amazing things into their aura. Thanks to the infusion of color and light, it is an awesome gem for rousing lightness and spontaneity and also lends a hand when it comes to all kinds of creative projects too. It’s a rare stone and this comes with its own kind of status and elements of luxury, opulence, and leading a unique life. This doesn’t have to be related to money but can also be about the other luxuries of life. The luxury of knowing and trusting yourself. The luxury of fortune and luck. The luxury of seduction, love, and passion. Just like the dancing light of its surface suggests, Opal wants you to taste all the colors and more.

  • Can treat infections and reduce fever
  • A good elixir for the eyes and renewing skin cells

In physical healing, the Opal Stone is believed to be flushed with health. This gem can help to treat infections and lower fevers along with boosting the immune system. If you have any constriction of the chest or respiratory system, Opal can also help to alleviate this pressure and bring a lightness to the breath once more. Those who have been struggling with a long-term illness or chronic condition may find the Opal stone a solid companion in assisting their journey back to the fullest flush of health.

The Opal Stone can also help the liver the function well and can cut down on the pains associated with PMS and childbirth. It’s a good elixir for bringing brightness to the eyes, for renewing skin cells for dewy youth, and for strengthening the condition of the nails and the hair. For those who struggle with water retention, Opal can also help to flush the system too.

  • Brings balance and harmony
  • Known as a hope stone

A savvy supportive stone, Opal always wants to bring complete balance and harmony to your being. This gem has deep internal energy and encourages you not to shy away from yourself but to have the strength and the courage to look deep inside. Opal is also about amplification, meaning that this gem takes a smidge of a thought or feeling and shines a light on it so you can see clearly. It takes these feelings and amplifies it, sending messages out to the universe, and helping you to sweep out the junk that may have been clouding your vision and your heart.

Opal invites you to let go of old wounds, old patterns, and old connections that aren’t serving you anymore. But it also invites you to take those lessons with you without being attached to the pain. Opal is known as a hope stone and a stone of pure positive change. It won’t lead you down any paths that will set you back, but instead, it helps you to work through the emotional challenges so that you can balance your feelings and find your full potential waiting at the other side. Opal doesn’t skim the surface on emotional healing but invites you to take responsibility and own your actions. This is hugely important in life as it helps us to understand the ways we are acting and to make reparations when necessary. This maturity is pure magic and heals relationships deeply without invalidating our own feelings.

  • Can clear all the chakras
  • Connected to higher communication

There are so many different shades of Opal out there and you will find the kind that links to each and every chakra. Infused with light and shot with color, Opals respond well to many different chakras and thanks to all that high vibrational energy, they are also great at kicking out any blockages in the body. It’s a glorious mineral for carrying spiritual light to the aura and making sure that even when infused in a heavenly glow, that you stay protected and shielded on your journey through any shamanic path you are sure to take. Being a stone of light means that Opal is also connected to higher communication and the spirit realm. For those looking for angelic connections, to converse with the spirit realm, or wanting to strengthen any psychic gifts they have – Opal can assist in all of this and more.

Having a heavy water connection also means that this mineral brings soft fluid energy to the table too. It’s vibrations connect beautifully with water and as we too are made up of high water content, it also means that we can use our water energy in sync with the stone. Whether wanting a surge of energy, a soft lapping flow, a cleansing plunge, or to be pulled in the right direction by the light of the moon – Opal invites you to stay cool, clear, and in communion with water.

  • An October gemstone
  • Good for Scorpios and Libras

Opal is an October gemstone and is connected to those born under the banner of Libra and Scorpio too. For those who are born under the Libra sign your birth correlates with the autumnal equinox – marking the peak of the harvest and a moment when the day and night exist in balance and equality. This makes perfect sense as Librans love balance and a always look for ways to build harmony into their life. Librans are exceptional at teamwork and as their ruling planet is Venus, they are also etched in shades of love and commitment too. Opal strengthens all of the above when worn by Librans. As mentioned, this gem is a mega amplifier meaning it can take all that balance, harmony, and love and step it up a notch. In particular, you may find that fire opal is a solid choice for those who share the Libra birth sign as it brings radiant energy and a burst of vitality, calling on love and harmony without breaking your own boundaries or stepping into people-pleasing behaviors.

Scorpios too will benefit from the beauty and grace of the Opal stone. Scorpios have a ton of awesome traits – they can be brave, determined, and as loyal as they come. They can also be secretive and prone to jealousy which is where Opal could help. As a balancer of emotions and with green and pink opals working on the heart chakra, you can call on the healing nature of this gem to lend support when you are feeling unsure of yourself. Scorpios are known for being a little contradictory in their nature at times – for example, they can be wildly independent but then also go through clingy phases without warning. Let Opal soothe you into balance and prevent you from feeling all over the show.

OPAL