Opal Symbolism, Origin, and Uses

Opal is a gemstone known for its unique and varied colors. Each one is a little different. Some have deep and rich colors, while others are bright and remind you of a sunset or a fire. With their brilliant colors, it’s no surprise that opals have a great deal of symbolism and myths surrounding them.

To learn more about opals, continue reading below.

The Different Kinds of Opal

There are a few different kinds of opals. The most brilliant and known is the white opal, but opals come in a total of nine colors.

White Opal

White opal is one of the most common. They usually have shades of green, red, pink, and yellow. This color absorbs negative energy.

Gray Opal

Gray opals offer many of the same reflective colors as white ones. However, the colors tend to stand out because of the slightly darker background. It shares the same purpose as white opals as well.

Pink Opal

These pink opals don’t have the firey, shimmery shades that other opals have. They range from deep pink to light lilac. This color represents love, healing, and compassion.

Black Opal

This is the rarest and most in-demand of opals. It shows a rainbow of colors when it shines on a black background for the greatest contrast of all opals. It offers protection for both the body and the mind.

Orange Opal

Orange opals are not quite the rarest, but they’re close. These stones include greens, blues, yellows, and purples on an orange background. Orange opals represent passion and success.

Yellow Opal

Yellow opals come in a shade anywhere between pale and canary yellow with green, blue, red, and orange shining inside. This opal brings its wearer confidence and joy.

Red Opal

This is one of the rarest colors, just a little behind black. They are often called fire opals because they display mostly firey colors like red, yellow, and orange hints. There may even be a hint of green. The color represents fortune and passion.

Green Opal

Green opals are very limited in color, only having various shades of green for their shine. These stones clean your energy.

Blue Opal

These opals are often lighter blues, like baby or turquoise blue. However, some are dark blue, like blue-black or royal blue. Sometimes, they have a shine with hints of sky blue, purple, and green. The color represents balance and reduces stress.

Opal’s History

Once, opal was one of the most popular stones. Before the 1800s, it was the second most in-demand stone globally. Only emeralds had a higher demand.

Opal was originally thought to have earned its name from Opalus, a Latin word meaning “shining stone”. However, some think that the name came from even further back, from Upala, which is a Sanskrit word meaning “precious stone.”

People all over the world fell in love with opals. Even Greek mythology mentions these uniquely shining opals. The myth states that when Zeus cried, his tears turned to opals and fell to earth.

There’s an Indian myth as well centered around opals. One of the deities is known as the Goddess of Rainbows. When she is on the run from other gods, she turns herself to stone. Opals are means to represent the various fragments of her body.

For a while, the demand for opal dropped hard. This is because Sir Walter Scott and his book, Anne of Geuerstein, written in 1829, portrayed opals in a negative light.

After the book came out, and for roughly 50 years afterward, opal sales stayed low. Thankfully in 1877, mines in Australia found a rare black opal and the market came back to life.

The Symbolism Behind Opal

Because of their unique colors and the fact that they seem to move like they are alive, opals are the source of many stories.

For example, Arabic stories tell of a stone that fell from heaven in a flash of lightning. In Ancient Greece, the stone provided prophecies and protected from disease. In Europe, opals are a symbol of hope, truth, and purity.

Across several cultures and religions, these colorful gems bring the wearer luck. Some even went so far as to claim that it could extend their life.

Thanks to Sir Walter Scott, it was thought for a while that anyone born outside of October would be unlucky if they wore the gemstone. However that’s not the case, and the love for opals and the luck they bring has started growing again despite Scott’s story.

Uses for Opal

As far as benefits, it’s said that an opal wrapped in a bay leaf could stop others from seeing you. It’s also said to cure eye diseases when kept near the eyes. If you used it before you had a problem with your vision, it would prevent you from losing your sight.

Following the focus of sight, it’s considered a revealing stone. Based on the color change, the stone reveals if someone is a friend or foe.

Opal was said to bring money in because the firey notes in the stone attracted wealth. Many also believed that magicians stored their power inside the stones, especially in black opal. Sometimes, opals even helped with memory.

Additionally, it’s an amplifying stone. This means that it takes the emotions and thoughts you are feeling and brings them to the surface. When you wear the stone, you must only focus on good thoughts or you may make your situation worse instead of better.

There are a lot of different things that opals were said to do. However, each stone has slightly different benefits. The uses you get from the opal depend on the colors present and the amount of the color present.

For example, an opal with a lot of red would have the same benefits and uses as a ruby. Opals with lots of green mimic an emerald in benefits. If you have a stone with just a little of a color, the benefits are more muted.

Opals in Jewelry

Though opal is beautiful in jewelry, and often highly in demand, it’s not always easy to find. This is because the stone is rather fragile, raking about a six on the Mohs hardness scale. Its toughness isn’t good either, ranking as high as fair, but more often ranking in the poor category.

This is not a stone that goes into traditional jewelry. While it’s possible to get jewelry pieces with opals, these are the ones you want to wear only for special occasions. You also want to take care of your jewelry. It’s easily susceptible to scratches, cuts, and dents.

Another problem is that this stone is hard to form for jewelry. It’s fragile enough that many jewelry makers don’t want to work on the stone. This makes it rare, and often expensive.

Opal as a Birthstone

Opal was once the birthstone for October. It held the title until 1912. That was when the National Association of Jewelers changed the birthstones to only include transparent gems for a more modern feel. Now, tourmaline holds the crown.

Opal is now an alternative birthstone. These are the stones that go with the hour of your birth, instead of the month. Opal is the alternative stone for those born between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.

It’s also the stone for the Libra, which is mostly in October. Because it’s associated with a Libra, which is considered the most romantic sign, opals are often associated with love and passion as well.

Finally, opals have one other purpose. They are used to celebrate the 14th year of marriage.