The penultimate Dreaming, and the one that propelled me on my spirit quest, Opal bodes the return of the Great Spirit, its rainbow colours representing the bridge from which he descends from the heavens to the earth and back again. The creator, who had taught the people their tribal law and living skills, promised he would return after he had judged them wise enough to be able to achieve unending peace on earth. This return, heralded by a different rainbow, would mark the beginning of this time.[1] Opal is a very ‘hopeful’ gemstone, even though it is sometimes considered unlucky.
Opalised fossils, bones and seashells have been found in limestone deposits, immortal remnants of a time long ago. Opalised jaws of an archaic platypus and other creatures offer archaeologists a chance to examine prehistoric life. Found in such a form, Opal may represent something from the past having an influence in your life today; perhaps an interest in archeology or reincarnation, or a past event which still has repercussions in your life today.
Opals can contain an image in their colours, (like a kangaroo or some other creature, or even a picture of something); these stones fetching a much higher price as a collector’s item. Opal in some ways is like a ‘painting of nature’ or work of art, and so may point to creativity and colour in your life. Opalised rock, or matrix opal may symbolise the beauty in the basics of life as the colourful opal adorns the plain, brown rock. The rock represents one’s foundation (build your house on rock, not sand!) and the opal is the embellishment!
Opal has high water content, and with its spiritual connection in the Dreaming with the creator, Opal is connected with the emotional and spiritual levels. Something in your spirituality makes you feel good, it uplifts you and you feel in touch with the divine – this is opal. Its colours iridescently replicate the colours in our aura and our seven chakras or energy centres, those channels which transmit and channel the higher energies of spiritual thought, our quest to explore and understand life. Opal has a special meaning; it reminds us there is a ‘higher purpose’ in life.
[1] Roberts, D. And A. “Shadows in the Mist.”