Opal — October's Stone
October
Iridescent
Opal is a form of hydrated silica that holds water within it; its play-of-color comes from tiny silica spheres scattering light, and it rates a delicate 5.5 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale. Australia supplies most of the world's opal, with pink tourmaline an October alternate.
What tradition gives the opal
Gem lore is older than mineralogy and less careful — which is part of its charm. Worn for a birthday month, the opal traditionally carries:
- Traditionally associated with hope and imagination
- A stone of many colors in tradition
Offered as tradition
Meanings here are cultural tradition — a way of giving a stone a story, never a claim about what it does.
The month around it
October's stone keeps company with the month's flower (Marigold), its full moon, the Hunter's Moon, and the signs that pass through it — Libra and Scorpio.