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Opal, a Water and Fire stone and the birthstone for
October, can be quite a useful and valuable tool to use at Samhain, not to
mention throughout the long winter months. It is a stone of
"happy dreams and changes", a stone of communion, revelation and
vision, and a bringer of love and understanding. And so, as we
move solidly into the realm of Autumn and prepare for all the changes that Winter
brings (just as those in the Southern Hemisphere are welcoming the
change to Spring and looking forward to Summer), and as we seek to reunite with the
Old Ones and family and friends beyond, let Opal be our
guide!
A very interestingly structured stone, Opal is
actually a hydrated Quartz containing minute spheres of silica and oxygen
bonded by up to 10% water within its form. For this reason, Opal
is considered a mineraloid and not truly crystalline. But a precious stone
it is! In fact, the name Opal derives from the Greek "opalios"
meaning "all-seeing gem" and earlier from the Sanskrit word
"upala" meaning "precious stone". This beautiful but
sometimes brittle gemstone has been well sought after for centuries,
especially what they call the Precious White or Black varieties. Unlike
Common Opal whose tiny internal spheres are unorganized, the Precious
varieties contain fiery flashes of color due to various wavelengths of diffracted light emanating
from their own internal spheres which are stacked and uniform! These
flashes are called "fire" and appear in bright
confetti-like hues of blue, red, pink, yellow, orange, green and purple
in varying combinations. The Ancients, though, believed that Precious
Opal came into its true being when the Storm God, jealous of the beauty of
the Rainbow God, shattered the rainbow to bits which then fell to the
earth and were captured within the Opals.
Perhaps because of its association with the beauteous
Rainbow God, Precious Opal is believed to give its wearer an incredible
charisma and charm. It is said to increase and enhance our
personal power and self-esteem and help us to take assertive action
whenever needed. All Opal can alleviate shyness, timidity and dispel
lackadaisical attitudes, creating a joyful atmosphere during exploration and acknowledgement
of the Higher Self and other realms.
These silky and milky translucent opalescent stones were
revered by ancient Romans who mined them in the area of what is now
the Czech Republic. The early Aztecs mined the Mexican lands as
did the Spanish Conquistadors who brought Opal back to Europe with them. Today, 90%
of Opals come from Australia (the most beautiful fiery black variety found
in New South Wales, and other precious varieties hailing from South Australia
and Queensland), with other significant sources being the United States, Mexico,
Honduras, Peru and Chile. Opal deposits occur in
masses, veins, nodules, stalactites, and at times within petrified wood.
Its environment is either volcanic, deposited from hot springs, or in
sediments.
Aside from the Precious Opals of either black or white,
there are many other colors and kinds of Opal, including the more common Pink
Opal, Blue Opal, White Opal (containing no fire), and Brown, Black or Clear
Opal. There is also an orange variety called Fire Opal, clear Oregon Opal
and Water Opal, Andean Opal with a pattern of swirling colors, brown Boulder
Opal with or without fire, Cherry Opal, and a "jelly" type Opal
exhibiting a gelatinous blue color. There are many synthetic Opals on the
market, so care should be taken when opting to buy the real thing.
Magically, Black Opals open up our Third Eye, allowing
for our own flashes of clear insight and revelation to spring forth. It
can help us peer into the true heart of another. Just as the Australian
Aborigines and Native American shamans used Opal to invoke visions during
Dreamtime ceremonies and vision quests respectively, so too can we use
this powerful stone during Astral travel, for accessing vital
past-life information, meditation, trance work or divination. Metaphysically, Black
Opals encourage a stronger connection to the spirit world, helping us to
more fully experience the Divine and bringing us to a welcomed state of high
spirituality. Often used in Tantric sex, this Opal helps one achieve a
divine and extremely connected sexual experience - one that takes
us beyond the ego so that we can more fully merge with the
cosmos. Opals, of any kind, activate matters of the heart by promoting
love, loyalty, attraction and the fiery passion that comes when those three traits
are combined. It can be quite an exciting and explosive stone!
Precious White Opal does much the same as the Black,
but is known to help diminish any anger, fear or negative emotions.
It helps us release old patterns that no longer serve us, and then sweetly pushes
us along to welcome in the new and improved path or relationship it
has attracted to us. In ancient France, it was believed that Opals could
make one "invisible" and thus help one steal - a quality that
most likely played a part in giving Opals a bad reputation back then for
being "unlucky". But this characteristic of
"invisibility" - what I call donning an "invisibility
cloak" - can be used for much better purposes. It can allow us to
more stealthily move through situations or times when we wish not to be noticed,
and it can also allow us to move more readily between realms.
Additional properties of various other types of
Opal are:
~ Common White Opal brings productivity and helps us to get
things accomplished efficiently. It calms and soothes the emotions.
~ Pink Opal heals emotional trauma and allows love to
flourish once again.
~ Boulder Opal helps us wade through any "muddy"
areas of our lives.
~ Boulder Matrix Fire Opal, so named because it is
found within the fissures of massive boulders and contains brilliant
flashes of light refracted colors of the highest intensity of all the Opals, is noted
for helping us know what we truly desire and, in turn, bestows
us with a greater creativity, inspiration and intuition on how to go about
attaining it.
~ Orange Fire Opal enhances sexuality and heightens
passion.
~ Blue Opal gives us the courage to voice what we desire.
~ Gray or clear Opal helps bring about the
"invisibility" factor.
~ Jelly Opal releases our resistance to going with the
flow.
Physically, all Opals help stimulate circulation and
purify the blood, help clear and strengthen eyesight, keep kidneys healthy, and
help break up infections in the body and move them more quickly through the
system.
Opal is associated with the astrological sign of Libra, but
also with Cancer, Pisces and Scorpio. It is medium hard as stones go,
registering between 5.5 and 6.5 on the Mohs Scale, and is best cleansed under
softly running water or under the light of the Moon. It is important to
keep Opals out of sunlight where their water content can dry out and cause
cracking or loss of iridescence. In the Northern Hemisphere where sunlight
has now waned, it is time to work with Opal!
As brightly colored Autumn leaves herald change, so do
the flashes of color in this precious opalescent and iridescent gemstone.
And as those sudden colors are revealed within the cloudy matrix of Opal, the
veil is pierced. With the veil thinnest now...
With Opal fire to shine the way, we sing a joyous tune,
As we dance
with those who've gone before, under the opalescent Moon.
http://www.galleries.com/minerals/mineralo/opal/opal.htm
The Book of
Stones, Robert Simmons & Naisha Ahsian
Love Is In the
Earth, Melody
Opal, itself.
All photos by Patricia
J. Martin
Let there be peace in the world - Where have all the flowers gone?
My Personal Page / My Place in England, UK / My Family Tree (Ancestry)
Wicca/Witchcraft / What is Wicca / What is Magick
Traditional Writings:
Wiccan Rede / Charge of the Goddess / Charge of the God / The Three-Fold Law (includes The Law of Power and The Four Powers of the Magus) / The Witches Chant / The Witches Creed / Descent of the Goddess / Drawing Down the Moon / The Great Rite Invocation / Invocation of the Horned God / The 13 Principles of Wiccan Belief / The Witches Rede of Chivalry / A Pledge to Pagan Spirituality
Correspondence Tables:
Incense / Candles / Colours / Magickal Days / Stones and Gems / Elements and Elementals
Traditions Part 1 - Alexandrian Wicca / Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC) / Ár Ndraíocht Féin (ADF) / Blue Star Wicca / British Traditional (Druidic Witchcraft) / Celtic Wicca / Ceremonial Magic / Chaos Magic / Church and School of Wicca / Circle Sanctuary / Covenant of the Goddess (COG) / Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS) / Cyber Wicca / Dianic Wicca / Eclectic Wicca / Feri Wicca /
Traditions Part 2 - Gardnerian Wicca / Georgian Tradition / Henge of Keltria / Hereditary Witchcraft / Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (H.O.G.D.) / Kitchen Witch (Hedge Witch) / Minoan Brotherhood and Minoan Sisterhood Tradition / Nordic Paganism / Pagan Federation / Pectic-Wita / Seax-Wica / Shamanism / Solitary / Strega / Sylvan Tradition / Vodoun or Voodoo / Witches League of Public Awareness (WLPA) /
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esoteric guide to visiting London / Satanism
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/ Part 2 / Part
3 / A
history of the Malleus Maleficarum: includes: Pope
Innocent VIII /
The
papal Bull /
The
Malleus Maleficarum /
An extract from the Malleus Maleficarum
/ The letter of approbation
/ Johann
Nider’s Formicarius /
Jacob
Sprenger /
Heinrich Kramer /
Stefano Infessura
/ Montague Summers /
The Waldenses
/ The Albigenses
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The Hussites / The
Sun Dance
/ Shielding (Occult
and Psychic Protection) /
Sabbats in History and Mythology / Samhain (October 31st) / Yule (December 21st) / Imbolc (February 2nd) / Ostara (March 21st) / Beltane (April 30th) / Litha (June 21st) / Lughnasadh (August 1st) / Mabon (September 21st)
Rituals contributed by Crone: Samhain / Yule / Imbolc / Ostara / Beltane / Litha / Lammas / Mabon
Tools of a Witch / The Besom (Broom) / Poppets and Dolls / Pendulums / Cauldron Magick / Mirror Gazing
Animals in Witchcraft (The Witches Familiar) / Antelope / Bats / Crow / Fox / Frog and Toads / Goat / Honeybee / Kangaroo / Lion / Owl / Phoenix / Rabbits and Hares / Raven / Robin Redbreast / Sheep / Spider / Squirrel / Swans / Wild Boar / Wolf / Serpent / Pig / Stag / Horse / Mouse / Cat
In Worship of Trees - Myths, Lore and the Celtic Tree Calendar. For descriptions and correspondences of the thirteen sacred trees of Wicca/Witchcraft see the following: Birch / Rowan / Ash / Alder / Willow / Hawthorn / Oak / Holly / Hazel / Vine / Ivy / Reed / Elder. Also see: The Willow Tree (Folk Music)
Mystical Sacred Sites - Stonehenge / Glastonbury Tor / Malta - The Hypogeum of Hal Saflieni / Avebury / Cerne Abbas - The Chalk Giant / Ireland - Newgrange /
Rocks and Stones:
Stones - History, Myths and Lore
Articles contributed by Patricia Jean Martin: / Apophyllite / Amber / Amethyst / Aquamarine / Aragonite / Aventurine / Black Tourmaline / Bloodstone / Calcite / Carnelian / Celestite / Citrine / Chrysanthemum Stone / Diamond / Emerald / Fluorite / Garnet / Hematite / Herkimer Diamond / Labradorite / Lapis Lazuli / Malachite / Moonstone / Obsidian / Opal / Pyrite / Quartz (Rock Crystal) / Rose Quartz / Ruby / Selenite / Seraphinite / Silver and Gold / Smoky Quartz / Sodalite / Sunstone / Thunderegg / Tree Agate / Zebra Marble
Wisdom:
Knowledge vs Wisdom by Ardriana Cahill / I Talk to the Trees / Awakening / The Witch in You / A Tale of the Woods
Articles and Stories about Witchcraft:
Murder by Witchcraft / The Fairy Witch of Clonmel / A Battleship, U-boat, and a Witch / The Troll-Tear (A story for Children) / Goody Hawkins - The Wise Goodwife / The Story of Jack-O-Lantern / The Murder of the Hammersmith Ghost / Josephine Gray (The Infamous Black Widow) / The Two Brothers - Light and Dark
Old Masters of Academia:
Pliny the Elder / Hesiod / Pythagoras
Abramelin the Mage / Agrippa / Aidan A. Kelly / Albertus Magnus “Albert the Great” / Aleister Crowley “The Great Beast” / Alex Sanders "the King of the Witches” / Alison Harlow / Amber K / Anna Franklin / Anodea Judith / Anton Szandor LaVey / Arnold Crowther / Arthur Edward Waite / Austin Osman Spare / Biddy Early / Bridget Cleary / Carl Llewellyn Weschcke / Cecil Hugh Williamson / Charles Godfrey Leland / Charles Walton / Christina Oakley Harrington / Damh the Bard (Dave Smith) / Dion Fortune / Dolores Aschroft-Nowicki / Dorothy Morrison / Doreen Valiente / Edward Fitch / Eleanor Ray Bone “Matriarch of British Witchcraft” / Dr. John Dee and Edward Kelly / Dr. Leo Louis Martello / Eliphas Levi / Ernest Thompson Seton / Ernest Westlake and the Order of Woodcraft Chivalry / Fiona Horne / Friedrich von Spee / Francis Barrett / Gerald B. Gardner / Gavin and Yvonne Frost and the School and Church of Wicca / Gwydion Pendderwen / Hans Holzer / Helen Duncan / Herman Slater "Horrible Herman" / Israel Regardie / James "Cunning" Murrell / Janet Farrar & Gavin Bone / Jessie Wicker Bell “Lady Sheba” / John Belham-Payne / John George Hohman / John Gerard / John Gordon Hargrave (the White Fox) / John Michael Greer / John Score / Johannes Junius the Burgomaster of Bamberg / Joseph John Campbell / Karl von Eckartshausen / Laurie Cabot "the Official Witch of Salem" / Lewis Spence / Margaret Alice Murray / Margot Adler / Marie Laveau the " Voodoo Queen of New Orleans" / Marion Weinstein / Matthew Hopkins “The Witch-Finder General” / Max Ehrmann and the Desiderata / Monique Wilson the “Queen of the Witches” / Montague Summers / Nicholas Culpeper / Nicholas Remy / M. R. Sellers / Mrs. Grieve "A Modern Herbal" / Oberon and Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart / Old Dorothy Clutterbuck / Old George Pickingill / Paddy Slade / Pamela Colman-Smith / Paracelsus / Patricia Crowther / Patricia Monaghan / Patricia “Trish” Telesco / Philip Emmons Isaac Bonewits / Philip Heselton / Raymond Buckland / Reginald Scot / Robert Cochrane / Robert ‘von Ranke’ Graves and "The White Goddess" /
Rudolf Steiner / Rosaleen Norton “The Witch of Kings Cross” / Ross Nichols and The Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids / Sabrina - The Ink Witch / Scott Cunningham / Selena Fox / Silver Ravenwolf / Sir Francis Dashwood / Sir James George Frazer / S.L. MacGregor Mathers and the “Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn” / Starhawk / Stewart Farrar / Sybil Leek / Ted Andrews / The Mather Family - includes: Richard Mather, Increase Mather, Cotton Mather / Thomas Ady / Vera Chapman / Victor Henry Anderson / Vivianne Crowley / Walter Brown Gibson / William Butler Yeats / Zsuzsanna Budapest
Many of the above biographies are brief and far from complete. If you know about any of these individuals and can help with aditional information, please cantact me privately at my email address below. Many thanks for reading :-)
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