Your Power Stone for October 2013

October’s Opal: Your Power Stone

October’s beautiful power stone, opal, stands for creativity, manifestation and mystical inspiration. October is well-known for holding much mystery and magic within its fiery borders. It is a month when nature exhibits all its levels of beautiful color revealing a mystical, magical show for all to behold. Fitting as this month’s birthstone is the equally mystical, magical opal, known for its peculiar qualities. Some say bad fortune comes to those who wear the opal, but were not born within the borders of this month. Those who are particularly drawn to this fabulous stone possess the qualities of refinement and discernment, and also seem to have a great sense of justice. Some say the gorgeous opal is very particular about its wearers, and will not resonate well with some. For instance, the stone seems to demand a purity of heart and motive. And if someone is filled with negativity, the stone will send out vibrations that cause that same negativity to be cast back at the wearer.

Many Unique Qualities

The lesson here is when trying on an opal, feel its vibrations as well. If the stone does not seem to resonate with you, do not buy it. It is not meant for you. Those who can wear this fabulous stone will feel the vibrations opening the door to higher consciousness. Opals will guide the wearer toward ideals and their manifestations. Opals have many unique qualities, among them the range and diversity of colors. For instance, white opals can be either white or milky white; black opals can be black or shades of gray or blue. Opals can also be transparent. These types of opals are usually fire (yellow to red-orange), or water (having little color or iridescence). Common opals usually show a milky coloring without additional sparks of intrinsic color. Most opals have a beautiful array of color—a pattern within the stone. These patterns are called harlequin, flame, flash and pin-fire. Perhaps the most desired pattern is the harlequin with its interplay of equally-sized patches that form a beautiful mosaic-like pattern within the stone.

Healing Powers and History

The healing power of opals is tremendous, including calming the nerves and helping with easing depression and improving sight and eye diseases. Opals are perhaps best known for increasing mental clarity, intuition and psychic gifts. Throughout history, opals were known for bringing good fortune—especially for those born in the magical month of October. Opals were one of the predominant gemstones used for Episcopal rings in the Catholic Church. Romans and Greeks highly prized the opal. (83 – 30 B.C.E.) Mark Antony wanted to buy an opal ring he saw for his love, Cleopatra. The owner of the ring, Senator Nonius, fled Rome rather than give his precious ring to Antony. Renaissance England held the opal in high esteem, valuing it as one of the most wanted gemstones. Queen Elizabeth I was a fan of the gemstone and had many sets of jewelry made from opals that included earrings, bracelets, necklaces and brooches.

The turning point for the fortune of the opal came (in 1829) when popular writer of the day, Sir Walter Scott, chose to use the stone in his story “Anne of Geierstein.” Anne’s grandmother, Lady Hermione’s father was a shaman. The Lady always wore an opal in her hair. The author wrote about how the stone reacted to Lady Hermione’s many moods, enhancing them. When the lady was angry the opal would flash bright red. When the Lady was excited, the stone would enhance that by emitting a twinkling, flashing gleam. At the baptism of her daughter, Hermione was accused of being a witch who was afraid of the holy water from the baptismal font. Her husband, the Baron, tried to angrily refute the charges. In his haste, he knocked over some of the water from the font, dropping it on the opal. The stone immediately lost all color, going grey. The Lady fainted and was taken to her chamber. When the doctor arrived several hours later, he found a pile of light grey ash where the Lady had lain.

Due to the popularity of the author, everyone seemed to take the story literally. Opals quickly became known as being unlucky. For the next 60 years, people gave up their gemstones, and stayed away from what they believed was a bad-luck stone. Only Queen Victoria’s love of the then-discovered black opal made the stone popular again in the public’s eye. Victoria wore opals, gave them as gifts and generally transformed the vision that Scott’s story had created. Today, a remnant of the story remains, as people debate whether to wear the stone or not.

The general consensus seems to say that the opal is okay to wear if you’re born within the month of October. But for all others born under different signs, beware, or at the very least, be cautious. Fittingly, mystery and magic are keynotes for this gorgeous month. It’s keynote for it’s glorious birthstone, the opal, as well.