Opals~Good Luck or Bad Luck~You Decide

Polished Black Opal

There are many kinds of Opals in the world just waiting to be discovered but there are also just as many myths associated with those Opals.  Ask yourself, you might of heard that Opals can be considered good luck to those who have them as their birthstones or maybe that they are bad luck for those that come by them through nefarious means.  In other words, the legacy and truth about Opals are….at best…cloudy.  I’ll try to provide both sides of the story and let you decide.

One cannot deny that opals are beautiful, fiery, intriguing and mystifying but what can you do with them and how can they aid you in your crystal therapy or your life in general.  Well, lets get down to the basics such as where to find them, the history, that “Greek” connection, what they look like, as well as some of that myth and lore.

The Opal is sometimes called the “Queen of the Gems” because of that mystery and seductive element when people see them as well as having all of te colors of other gemstones inside one stone gave Opals this nickname.   Most people that I have run into have very definite ideas about this stone…either they like it or dislike it.  There is no “in between” with this crystal.  The word “Opal” comes from various languages such as “Upala” which is Sanskrit for precious stone, “Opallios” which is Greek for observing color change, and “Opalus” which is Latin for seeing jewel.  There are many ancient myths that surround this stone that involve seeing the future to the stone of the Gods.

Polished Common Opals

The Greek God, Zeus, was so happy when he defeated the Titans that the tears he wept from Mt. Olympus turned into Opals when they hit the ground.  The ancient Greeks felt that Opals could give the wearer the gifts of foresight and prophecy.   In other words, it was sort of an ancient “roofie” because the stone was supposed to lower the inhibitions of the wearer and allow them to reveal their true feelings.  Oh BTW, did you know that the oldest book on precious stones was an ancient GREEK named Theophrastus?

The Indian Goddess of Rainbows, Indra was so beautiful that many of the Indian male divinities sought her out for love and passion.  She was not interested in their advances or their love, so as an desperate act of escape, she turned herself into a rainbow colored opal.

Arabs believed that Opals were generated from lightening storms.  They thought that Opals fell from the heavens and with each lightening strike provided the stone with its firey colors.

Romans prized this stone over all other gemstones and paid enormously high prices for these “fortune telling” stones.  Marc Antony wished to present Cleopatra with an Opal but his “connection” fled rather than be parted with his stone.  The Roman philosopher, Pliny the Elder, described Opals as having the “fire of a Ruby, the glorious purple of an Amethyst, the sea green of an Emerald, the golden yellow of Topaz, and the deep blue of the Sappire and mixed in such a way that the colors sparkled in a wonderful play of colors”. The Romans also believed that this was a stone of hope, love, purity and had the power to cure diseases.

During the Middle Ages, people called the Opal the “eye stone” because they thought it was beneficial to the eyes.  Many blond women during this time wore Opal necklaces to protect their hair from losing its color.  Really, that is all it takes to keep the gray out of your hair…I’ve been using hair dye all of this time.

Rough Cut Fire Opal

Opals are usually formed in cracks or fissures in volcanic rock.  It opalescent or sparkly quality is due to the prescence of microscopically small water drops under the surface of the stone.  In other words, it sort of reflects all of the colors through the prism of water.  This stone can be found in just about any color from the common white to iridescence fire in pink, black, blue, yellow, and purple.

This stone is commonly found in Australia, Peru, Mexico, Brazil, South America, Britain, Canada, United States, Honduras, and Slovakia.  While Opals are pretty common, they can be extremely expensive.  The bigger the size equals the bigger the price tag.  The idea that the Opal is a stone of bad luck, sorrow, and misfortune is mainly a modern day idea.

During the 12th Century, Opals were the most used stone for jewelry, that is until the Black Plague struck and people believed that the crystal would flare with color indicating the person had the plague.  When there was no color left, the person inflicted with the plague would die.  King Henry XIV of France named all of his coaches after gems.  The one called “Opal” had a driver that was rarely sober and would have many accidents, so people considered it “unlucky” to ride in the Opal coach.

It’s bad rap continued in to the following centuries because writers would attach sinister or bad omens to the stone.   Another reason Opals were considered bad luck was because the jewelers of the time did not understand how to work with the gem.  This led to the Opals drying out or cracking whether they be polished and set into jewelry or rough and in their natural state.  In Asian cultures, Opals were a stone of belief and the Aborigines of Australia believed that Opals held fire inside the center of the stone and have spiritual properties that were left behind by departed ancestors as a sign that their presence was nearby.

In ancient times, it was believed to provide its wearer the power of invisibility.  During the medieval times, if you wore an opal and your birth month was not in October that the offense was punishable by death.  Sir Walter Scott wrote a novel called Anne of Geurstein in which the main character, Lady Hermione (not the Harry Potter Hermione:-) ) wore an enchanted Opal in her hair which shined with fire when she was angry and sparkled brightly at her happiest.  When she was accused of being possessed by demons, some drops of holy water fell on the Opal causing it to lose some of its color and fire, the lady fell ill and when they checked on her the next day, all that was left of her and the Opal were ashes.  The people of the time thought that the author was warning them of the bad luck associated with the stone which caused the legend that Opals were unlucky.  While I find the stone beautiful and alluring, you need to keep in mind that it is “us” that program and charge crystals.  Stones themselves are inherently good energy unless some one forces bad programming on to it.   Well, there are the myths and legends, did we create our own monster or is it true?

Now, it is time to move on to the descriptive and scientific portion of this blog about Opals.   This stone can come in numerous colors ranging from the common iridescent white to black, each color in between all sparkling with that opalescent glow that reflects the colors of the rainbow.  This crystal is classified as a mineraloid but does not have a typical “crystalline” structure that you see with most crystals and stones.  Opals are primarily silicon dioxides but there is the water that is present in the stone which creates that “fire”.  It has a hardness of around 5.5 which tends to be fragile as it can dry out and crack as well as “fracturing” with one good whack on something hard, so when buying this gorgeous stone, ensure you get instructions on how to care for it and wear it someplace where an accidental knock on a table will not cause it to break.  While not a true “rare” stone, it is difficult to mine in large pieces (that fragility thing again) and most good grade Opals are very pricey.

Blue and Red Flame Queen Opal

Opals are used in a lot of ways from magical to healing properties.  The healing properties of this stone can strengthen your will to live and aids in treating Parkinson’s disease.  Opals can aid in curing infections, fevers, purifies the blood, regulates insulin production, eases childbirth (why didn’t I know this while I was in labor?), and the darker colored stones alleviate PMS.  This crystal strengthens your memory, provide intuition, and expand your creativity and imagination.  Opals may be the good luck charm one needs when “at the tables” in Las Vegas because it can help you increase your trust in those “gut feelings”.

This opalescent crystal is linked to the heart, stomach and digestive properties where it can stimulate the glands and regulates the acids and enzymes which aid in making your metabolism work.  It provides solace for a broken heart and taking chaos and restoring your inner harmony.  Opals are wonderful for use during your meditation time since it is one of the most powerful stones for your soul and aids in the balancing of your entire energy centers.  Yes, you guessed correctly, it works on all of the chakra’s since it has all colors captured inside the crystal.  It can supercharge and change someone with low self-esteem or depression.  While this crystal does much for physical ailments, it also attacks emotional, magical, and spiritual ills with just as much vigor and vim.

Mentally, the Opal aids according to specific color, now I know your thinking….she just said that the white can tackle just about everything…. and you are right but when you want to put that “MMA” move on a problem, you want more strength behind the Opal.  So you choose the color that best suits your problem areas or your “enemy within”.

Rough Cut Cherry Opal

For example, Cherry Opals, which look similar to Fire Opals, are stones that you utilize for cleansing and activating your Base and Sacral Chakras and promotes the feeling of being centered.  This particular stone is very helpful when trying to get rid of headaches caused by blocked or unopened third eye chakra.  Cherry Opals are also useful for promoting tissue regeneration, healing blood disorders, and alleviating muscle tension and pain from spinal disorders.   It is a great stone to those who need a boost in their self-worth, spontaneity, intuition or loyalty.

Fire Opals are wonderful for increasing your energy, calming your central nervous system, expanding your meditative practice and all psychic abilities.  This is the crystal for you if you want to awaken or take back your personal power or awaken that inner fire.  It is a symbol of hope and is great for enhancing your natural business stratagem.  The Fire Opal is basically a energy amplifier and is most specifically attuned to the emotions, either yours or someone else’s.  This crystal is re-energizing and warming as well as helping prevent burnout.   Fire Opals are also used to “draw in money”, so just like a Citrine, keep a Fire Opal on your person or in your business to draw in “customers”.  Keep in mind that Cherry and Fire Opals can look similar to Amber, Carnelian, and Citrine, so be sure that what you are buying is truly an Opal.

Black Opal

Black Opals are useful specifically for the Sacral Chakras and the reproductive organs.  It is primarily beneficial when used to release sexual tensions and for processing and integrating newly released emotions.  These Opals are a favorite stone of Magicians and Wiccans because it is considered a power stone.  It amplifies the amount of power that is drawn and released from the body during magical practice.

Green Opals are a cleansing and rejuvenating stone that aids in emotional recovery as well as navigating relationships.  This crystal can filter information your mind takes in and allows you to reorient it into positive thoughts and actions.  The Green Opal strengthens your immune system, lessening the effects of colds and flu.  This stone also provides the wearer a meaning to everyday life and bring things into a spiritual perspective.

Water or Hyalite Opals are very useful for scrying or other magical purposes and stimulates a connection with spiritual realms.  This stone is a great mood stabilizer and connects the Base Chakra with the Crown Chakra which augments your meditation practice.  One last Opal that deserves mentioning is the Andean Blue Opal.

Andean Blue Opal Wand

The Andean Blue Opal is just gorgeous and is an greenish-blue Opal from the Andes Mountains in Peru.   This stone stimulates the right action for the highest good.  This particular Opal is very helpful in your metaphysical gifts by boosting your natural receptivity to the spiritual realm and is considered a “karmic” healer.  It seals emotional wounds from any lifetime and enhances inner serenity during stressful situations.  Andean Blue Opal is also very useful in environmental healing of mother earth.   I think I may just have to add this particular Opal to my ever growing collection.

Opals are associated with the Zodiac signs of Cancer, Pisces, and Scorpio but has a special connection with the Libra sign since that is their birthstone.  This crystal has both receptive and projective energies and is linked with all of the planets and elements.  Opal is often coupled with Cupid as its deity and connected with the herb, Bay Leaf.  Its magical properties include astral projection, beauty, money, luck, and increased intuition.  In ancient times, Opals were thought to give the wearer the ability of invisibility but really this meant that the person who wears an Opal could astrally project out into the world while asleep.  So you were “invisible” as you travelled at night outside of your body.  Many believe that wearing an Opal will enhance your psychic and “future telling” powers.  It allows the release of both positive and negative energies so that you can deal with both and is useful for psychic and shamanic vision quests.

Since Opals hold the essences of all colors within themselves, this enhances its connection with all of the Chakras.  Many people use the Opal as a gazing crystal for looking into the future or enriching its capacity in prophecy telling.  This stone aids us in connecting in and utilizing our sensitivity to “read” the emotional states of others as well as our own.  Opals enable the wearer to distinguish which feelings are our own and which emotions are influenced by others.

The Galaxy Opal

The Galaxy Opal  deserves mention in this blog due to its enormous size.  It was certified as the largest polished opal in the world by The Guinness Book of World Records in 1992.  This Opal was found in northeast Brazil in 1976 with its final weight being 3,479 carats and was originally the size of a large grapefruit weighing in at 5,205 carats.  The final product was carved by Scott Cooley and is fashioned in the shape of a small child’s head.  So now, I’m sure you are asking…what do I do with an Opal, where do I put it, and how do I care for it?…don’t worry, I won’t leave you hanging.

As with most crystals and gemstones, wearing it as jewelry is the most common way to make use of this beautiful and highly metaphysical stone.  You can also place in your home or business for luck.  Another way to continually have access to its powers, is to carry with you in a purse or your pocket.  For me,  the stones that I feel the need to have with me at all times, I have a pretty, hot pink, drawstring bag that I carry in my purse.  It holds my Herkimer Diamond, Tektite, Blue Chalcedony, my evil eye, my guardian angel, and a pink Quartz pendulum.  This way they stay together and I don’t misplace one in the bottomless, black hole that is my purse.   Use Opals only in conjunction with other Opals as it not recommended to be used with other crystals.

Water Opal

 You can use various color coordinated opals when you wish to heal or open your Chakras.   Using Opals in a grid formation for crystal therapy is another way of tapping into this extraordinary stones powers.  One of my favorite crystal therapy authors is Judy Hall.  In her books, The Crystal Bible 1 & 2  and The Encyclopedia of Crystals, She breaks down everything into simple, understandable categories like healing properties, source of origin, attributes, positional healing uses and grids, crystal system, hardness scale, related numerology as well as how rare the crystal is and how expensive it can be.  While her Crystal Bible series is broken down by alphabet, I truly love the way she breaks down her book, The Encyclopedia of Crystals.  This book is separated by color which is very useful for those of us who find a “pretty stone that speaks to us” but have no idea what it is.    I can usually find it in this book by searching through it for the color of the stone.  So, in homage, to one of my favorite crystal guru’s, Judy Hall, here are some grids to use with your Opal.

  In a Triangulation Grid, you will need 3 cleansed and activated crystals and a crystal wand.  This type of griding works great when you are trying to get rid of negative energy and increase the positive energy especially if you are working on the energies of a room or house.  Place one crystal centrally against one wall and place the other two crystals on the opposite wall and make a triangle.  This works great for a single room but if you are cleansing your whole house, use the crystal wand in the center in order to connect all the points as they need to go through the walls.  Another grid is the  Five Pointed Star and this is good for both a house or a person.  You will need 5 cleansed and charged stones and a crystal wand.   You place the first crystal at your head, second crystal at your left foot, third crystal on right hand, fourth crystal on left hand, and fifth crystal on right foot.  You start at the beginning again with your crystal wand at the head.