Emerald green mimic toramalli
Born out of a rainbow
The balanced shield of protection
Transform the negative flow

Tourmaline is one of the birthstones for October.  It also happens to be one of my favorite stones.  My first experience with tourmaline was many years ago when I was looking for some stones for feng shui.  One of the stones that I took home was a tourmalated quartz.  The one in the photograph has lived in my pocket for several years now.  To me, tourmaline is that black crystal that provides a shield of protection that feels like a security blanket.  To most people, tourmaline is the beautiful green stone that is often set in  Sterling jewelry.  In reality, tourmaline is much more than either one of these.

Tourmaline is an aluminum borosilicate, silicon aluminum and boron, with a Mohs hardness of 7 to 7.5 and a hexagonal crystal structure.  It can also contain sodium, lithium, calcium, magnesium, manganese, iron, chromium, and other minerals.  It is actually a fairly wide ranging class of stones found mostly in igneous deposits that comes in an array of colors.  Tourmaline can appear somewhat fibrous when viewed with a magnifying glass.  Historically, this gem was mis-identified as other gems, hence the name which is derived from the Sinhalese, tormalli, meaning mixed gem.  Deposits of this gem are found in Brazil, Madagascar, Afghanistan, and the US.

Is tourmaline the energy of the rainbow that you can hold in your hand?  Maybe.  It is thought to spark imagination, play, joy, and prosperity.  Many people carry or wear tourmaline as a shield of protection.  It is believed to cleanse, purify, and transform negative energy.  It can be helpful in balancing polarities and assisting the flow of energy through the chakras.  Some believe that tourmaline helps clear the mind, promotes healing, and encourages unconditional love.

Like most gems that have multiple colors, the color of the tourmaline fine tunes the significance of the stone.

BLACK - protects against negative energy and helps transmute and purify difficult energy.
GREEN - helps move energy and heal the heart chakra.
PINK - helps dispel destructive emotions and attract love.
PURPLE - activates the third eye and encourages creativity and intuition.
​YELLOW - promotes personal power and the courage to overcome obsticals and abuse.

Delicate gem of hope and peace
Bring intuition to the transformation
Creativity with luck we may bring
Our best selves into amplification

One of the birthstones for October is opal.  This delicate gem is what is called a hydrated amorphous silica.  It is basically SiO2 with a lot of H2O.  The tiny silica globules are bonded together with water, up to 20%, for a stone with a Mohs hardness of 5.5 to 6.5.  If the water is allowed to dry out of the stone, it can crack and crumble.  The name opal may have been derived from the Sanskrit word for jewel, upala, or the Greek word opallios (change in color).  In general, opal comes in two classes.  Precious opal has the iridescence or color change.  Common opal has none.  Most people think of opal as white, but it actually comes in a variety of other colors as well, including black, blue, green, pink, red, and clear.  Among the places where this stone can be found is Australia, Ethiopia, Mexico, and Peru.

To the Romans, opal was the most precious and powerful of all stones because it contains the colors of all gems.  the Bedouins believed that it contains lightening and fell from the sky during thunderstorms.  In Asia, opal is a symbol of good luck, peace, love, and passion.

Opal is seen as a stone of transformation and amplification.  It is thought to amplify thought, emotions, and personal traits, and bring them to light so they can be transformed or used.  It helps promote intuition, creativity, and imagination.  It was once believed to be a useful aid in becoming invisible ad as protection for shamanic work.

In addition to the general information for opal, each color fine tunes the energy available.  Just a bit of a disclaimer here.  The attributes of the colors varies widely by source.  This is what resonates with me.  For more information, check thespruce.com, The Book of Stones, and The Crystal Bible.
BLACK - is a stone of magic and mystery. It magnifies intention, invites vision, and aids with inner work and shadow work.
WHITE - is a stone of spiritual energy and mental clarity.
BLUE - is used to aid communication and creativity.
PINK - is calming for physical, emotional, and spiritual healing.
FIRE - is about personal power, change, passion, and hope.

So, now you know.  Treasure your opal and treat it kindly so it will be with you for a lifetime.