Opal
Description: Opal crystallizes in the form of masses, and sometimes, stalactites. The color range and related names are varied. The cause of the color of Opal was once a mystery that has recently been unveiled through the use of the electron microscope. Viewed through the microscope, precious Opal is seen as a uniform stacking and sizing of a great number of tiny spheres. These three dimensionally stacked spheres and the cavities between them, together, act as a diffraction grating which can divide light into the spectral colors, the diameter of the spheres within any grouping determining the resultant color. Opal without color (common Opal) contains spheres that are not of orderly size or stacking.
Location: Australia may be the world's most important source of opal, but it is found pretty much worldwide, in such diverse places as Mexico, South America (Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, and Peru), Hungary, the US (Nevada, California, and Idaho), Ukraine, United Kingdom, Turkey, Tanzania, Sweden, Norway, Spain, S. Africa, Russia, Japan, Italy, France, Germany, Israel, India, Japan, Greece, Greenland, China, Canada, Austria, and even Antarctica.
Astrological Sign: Cancer, Libra, Pisces, and Scorpio
Spiritual Uses: Opal can provide inspiration and imagination to all situations, helping one to recognize and to feel the creativity that is within the self. This mineral has been used to awaken both the psychic and the mystical qualities, helping one to understand the higher powers of intuition and mysticism. It further can help one to utilize these powers to enhance personal understanding and personal experiences in the different realms of being. Opal can enhance cosmic consciousness and bring joy and creativity. It is known as a “stone of happy dreams and changes,” the happy dreams arising from the understanding of personal higher potentials coupled with the glad acceptance of one’s inherent perfection. The happy changes emanate from those events and situations allowing one’s aspirations to surface. Opal has the curious ability to help one in becoming “invisible” in circumstances where one does not wish to be noticed. When the energy is directed towards this outcome, Opal can bring one a quality of “fading-into-the-background.” For this purpose, Opal was wrapped in a fresh bay leaf and carried on the person. Because of this quality of rendering invisibility, Opal has been called patron of thieves. Stones (and herbs) that are linked with invisibility are actually very good for promoting astral projection. The Opal is ideal for this activity, and is to be worn during astral projection for protection as well as to facilitate the process itself. They can also be used to recall past lives. People wear Opal to develop psychic powers and also to bring out their inner beauty. The Opal, because of its beauty and flashing colors, is also considered a luck-bringing stone.
Physical Uses: The most well-known use of Opal is that it has the ability to amplify one’s traits and characteristics, which provides impetus to overcome the lesser attributes. This stone enhances that which one is feeling and allows for the release of inhibitions. It further promotes clean, true, and spontaneous action. Opal can be used to instill faithfulness and loyalty with respect to love, personal, and business relationships. It also can be used to strengthen the memory as well as being used to disperse infections and purify the blood and kidneys. It can help regulate insulin production and can be used in the treatment of disorders of vision and of the eyes, to alleviate fevers, and to stimulate circulatory functions. It can be used to assist in the recovery from Parkinson’s disease and to provide comfort and ease during childbirth.
History: Opal has been used by the Native Americans and the Australian Aboriginal shaman during ceremonies known as vision quests. In the Aboriginal culture of Australia, it was used during “dreamtime.” In the Middle Ages, Opals were thought to cure eye diseases. Blond maidens supposedly valued nothing more highly than necklaces of Opals, which while being worn would ensure their hair would guard its beautiful color. It has been said that if one dreams of Opal, one will receive great possessions.
Different Types: Opals come in many different varieties.
The Andean Opal contains a swirling of pink, black, beige, and sometimes, blue color. It provides one with centering and grounding and has been used to activate the heart chakra. It can be used for spiritual journeying to protect, assist one in selection, and to bring availability to the locations one wishes to visit. It instills knowledge of “right action” and dispels reaction. It has been used in the treatment of disorders of the heart, the thymus, and the lungs and can be used to alleviate water retention, muscular swelling, and spinal mis-alignment.
Black Opal is affiliated with the astrological signs of Scorpio and Sagittarius. Some very beautiful deposits of Black Opal can be found in New South Wales, Australia. Lightning Ridge black opals are the rarest, and they have a brilliant color which makes them a unique collectible. Black Opal is excellent for grounding, providing both grounding and concurrently stimulating activity. This stone can be used for “gazing” and can provide insights into matters of the past, present, and future. It is connected with the third-eye chakra, and can be used in “reading eyes,” providing insight into the truthfulness and development of the person of concern. Black Opal can be used for disorders related to reproduction, depression, and digestion as well as in the treatment of dysfunctional eyesight.
Blue Opal ranges in color from blue-white to deep blue and is affiliated with the sign of Taurus. It can be used to stimulate communication skills and to assist one in voicing thoughts and information that one previously didn’t have the courage to voice. It provides one with the freedom and courage needed to speak freely, and it gives one the discernment to recognize those with whom this free speech will be accepted. It can be used to balance one’s metabolism, to assist in the assimilation of iron, and to treat hair loss and fatigue.
Boulder Opal is affiliated with the sign of Scorpio and is found in the color brown, sometimes with “fire” and sometimes without “fire.” Many fine pieces of boulder opal do not have a full face of opal, but have bright gem material randomly intermixed with the ironstone (of the boulder). This stone can provide a connection to the stars, facilitating communication between the Earth plane and the “star people” of this world and other worlds. The stone provides for a grounding action while enhancing the transfer of information and can clear any “muddy” areas from one’s aura. It assists one in communication between the conscious and sub-conscious thought systems. This initiates the healing state on all levels. The stone enhances mental clarity by helping one to “sweep the cobwebs” from one’s mind. It also helps one to enhance emotional security, physical well-being, and spiritual progression.
Boulder Matrix Fire Opal is associated with the astrological sign of Virgo and is found in Queensland, Australia. The matrix opal frequently displays the highest intensity of striking color and fire, one rarely matched by any other opal form. It is an opal of purity as well as intensity. This variety of opal allows one to remain centered during times of decision-making and stress and brings clarity to problematical situations. It assists in calming the inner soul while facilitating the end of dilemmas. Boulder Matrix Opal assists one in communication between the conscious and sub-conscious thought systems and has been used in assisting one in determining that which one truly desires. It has been used also to provide a connection to the stars, providing insight and knowledge concerning structures of creation. It is excellent for clearing and brightening the aura, stimulating the healing of those areas that were unclear and assisting in the maintenance of the status. Boulder Matrix Fire Opal can assist one in accessing one’s spiritual guides and one’s animal guides and can be used in medicine-wheel ceremonies to stabilize energy, to bring contact with guides, and to instill permanence to continuity. It has been used physically to treat circulation disorders, to stimulate the flow of blood, and to release blockages.
Fire Opal is related to the signs of Pisces, Sagittarius, Leo, Libra, and Cancer. It is red to orange in color and contains the spectral of color called “fire.” The energy of this stone assists one in endeavors of looking within the self and understanding the forces involved in one’s life. Its energy is conducive to mystery, variety, progress, and change. It helps one to reflect upon the many facets of one’s life and to understand the basis behind the changing tides of one’s existence. This stone is excellent for assisting one in “maintaining” during stressful situations, providing an added energy to ameliorate feelings of “burn-out.” It can bring one both hope for the future and faith in the self. It can be used to stimulate circulation, to enhance the physical sight, to ameliorate emphysema, and to treat disorders of the central nervous system.
Golden Opal is red to orange in color and does not contain “fire.” It resonates with the signs of Leo and Libra and has been used to assist one in defining and redefining those attitudes and beliefs that are self-limiting. It can activate the crown chakra and provide for the alignment of the chakras with the ethereal plane. It can assist in the removal of negativity from the chakras and can further stimulate the base, navel, and solar plexus energy centers. Physically, it can be used to remove blockages within both the nervous system and the circulatory system. It can be used to disperse gallstones, kidney stones, calcium deposits, and other growths in the body. The energy is great for clearing away infection and disorder at the onset of the symptom, providing also insight into the attitudes that have caused these problems.
Pink Opal is affiliated with the signs of Virgo, Libra, and Sagittarius. It is sometimes known as the “peppermint candy stone.” It is a stone for renewal and renews the sacred relationship between the self and “All That Is.” It promotes permanence in the connection between the conscious self and the inner “knowing,” and helps to guide one in the journey of life. It can assist one in releasing old patterns and can deepen insights into psychological issues, cleansing, and purifying the mind and heart space. It can be used in the treatment of disorders of the lungs, the heart, the spleen, and the connective tissues.
Red Opal is affiliated with Leo and Taurus, and it has been used to stimulate positive aggression, and to reduce hostility and offensive behavior. By simply placing the stone within the environment of that which is hostile or offensive, the energy tends to be dissipated. Red Opal has also been used in body balancing, to create a balanced identification with both the left and right sides of the brain, and to produce the ideal state of cooperation within the mind. This balancing effect creates the potential for unlimited actualization and assists one in the creation of positive results. It has been used physically to treat disorders of the lungs, the stomach, and the liver.
White Opal is colored a milky white and contains a spectral of color. It is affiliated with the signs of Virgo and Libra, and can be used to stimulate the crown chakra, providing deep states of mental clarity. It further helps one to remain calm in the midst of chaos. In business dealings, the stone can be used to enhance adeptness, and it can bring inspiration from worldly goods.
Water Opal is colorless and clear, exhibiting a spectral of color suspended within the structure. It has an affiliation with the sign of Cancer. Water Opal can be used for “gazing” and to stimulate visions from within the realms of eternity. It helps to clarify and to assist one in understanding that which will continue to exist after the completion of one’s time in the physical body. It is an excellent stone for someone contemplating leaving one’s body, and can be used in the treatment of disorders related to birth, water retention, and stress reduction.